Homemade pizza

You can choose to make one of the classic pizza varieties:

• Margherita: tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil
• Marinara: tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, and olive oil
• Frutti di Mare: tomato sauce and seafood, e.g. mussels, shrimp, and squid
• Prosciutto e Funghi: tomato sauce, ham, and mushrooms
• Quattro Formaggi: four types of cheese, usually mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, and gorgonzola
• Quattro Stagioni (the four seasons): tomato sauce and mozzarella, and the pizza is divided into four equal sections, each with its own topping: ham, artichokes, mushrooms, and black olives
• Diavola: tomato sauce, mozzarella, and spicy pepperoni

You can create your very own version and decide the flavour yourself. All it takes is a crispy base, a flavourful tomato sauce, delicious toppings, and of course cheese that practically melts on your tongue. That’s how you get a wonderful pizza.

To get the very best results from your homemade pizza bases, we recommend planning your pizzas well in advance. You’ll get an easy, pliable dough with lots of flavour if you let it mature for 18–24 hours. But if you don’t have time to wait, you can still get a pretty good result in 2–3 hours.

Pizza dough can be made in different ways depending on the type of base you want. Always shape the pizza with your hands so the air pockets aren’t pressed out of the dough. Never use a rolling pin to roll out pizza dough.

Here’s the recipe for a pizza dough with Tipo “00”.
The dough is developed specifically for making authentic thin and crispy pizza bases and is suitable for: Neapolitan pizza, New York style pizza, and classic Pizza Romana.

Mozzarella is the safe choice and works really well on pizza, and can be used both fresh and grated. Mozzarella melts easily and gives a bubbling surface, but can also brown a little in the oven. The flavour is mild and rounded, and suits most people.

You can add an edge to the cheese flavour by combining mozzarella with another type of cheese, which also changes the texture and results in the perfect layer of cheese on your pizza.
If you prefer a crispy cheese that doesn’t bubble when baked in an oven heated to ideally 250–275°C, cheddar and mozzarella are a great combination. Cheddar is both flavourful and mild and melts well. An aged cheddar gives a slightly crunchy, crumbly texture and a slightly sharper taste.

If you want a more runny cheese that pulls into strings of melted cheese, choose Emmental in combination with mozzarella. Cheeses like Italian provolone or Swiss Gruyère don’t turn as golden on the surface, but they do have the perfect melting consistency.

There are other great, delicious cheeses that work really well on pizza. Blue cheese like gorgonzola often has a strong, distinctive flavour and is very suitable on a pizza, especially with beef. Mascarpone gives a soft, creamy flavour and can be spread directly on the base. It’s especially great on a white pizza. Parmesan is a salty cheese that adds character to your pizza with its nutty flavour, and is excellent for sprinkling on your pizza once it’s baked.

Bake the pizzas in as hot an oven as possible—ideally between 250–275°C, and preferably hotter. Bake the pizza in the upper third of the oven so there’s less space for the pizza to bake in. Once the cheese has melted, the pizza is ready.

What you put on top of your pizza is crucial to the flavour experience, and you can add exactly what you like. Zelected Foods’ range of delicacies and specialties helps you take your pizza to new heights. From delicious sauces, pesto and olives in countless varieties, to marinated and pickled vegetables like grilled artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes—made to tempt your taste buds. Whether you’re into the classic or the creative, we have the perfect topping for your pizza. The great thing about homemade pizza is that you decide how it should taste, and what filling and topping to use. Get plenty of inspiration right here.

Add extra z-factor to your “pizzza”.