The WORLD’S BEST Homemade Pizza Recipe

Do you think you have the perfect homemade pizza recipe? If so, I want you to forget everything you know about pizza and follow me.

Have you been searching and scouring the Internet to find that one special recipe that will satisfy even the biggest appetite with yummy pizza goodness? Then look no further.

This is my serious face {if you could see my face, it looks very serious}. Look into my eyes and believe me when I tell you that THIS, my friend, is the WORLD’S BEST homemade pizza recipe.

One of the biggest things that sets this pizza apart from all other pizzas is the super special secret ingredient. I have debated over revealing such proprietary information on the Internet. But I like you. I want you to have good pizza. So, at the risk of being exploited, I’m going to reveal to you my super special secret ingredient.

The secret ingredient is…love. That’s right.

In order to properly include the secret ingredient of LOVE, there are two things you need to consider:

1. TIME – I’m a fairly really particular person. I prefer to call it “detail oriented.” As such, I invest time and pride into pretty much everything I do. This pizza is no different. It takes time to show the love. Nobody likes pizza that looks like you threw ingredients on the dough from across the kitchen (although that does sound like fun…Pizza Olympics).
2. QUALITY – You cannot have a fabulous pizza without quality ingredients. Sure that pepperoni might be on sale, but are they good? If they don’t taste good, that’s not a steal. Put them down and walk away. Grab the good stuff. I will list the actual brands that I use to create this awesomeness. This has come from years of tweaking and playing with different brands of ingredients.

Now let’s get started:

The World’s Best Homemade Pizza Recipe

You will need:

• Pizza Dough (from the deli section at Publix)
• 1 Jar Pizza Sauce (Prego Pizzeria Sauce…or Publix brand in a pinch)
• 1 Pkg Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (Sargento Whole Milk Mozzarella)
• 1 Pkg Pepperoni (Boar’s Head Turkey Pepperoni)
• 1 Green Pepper (Fresh & Organic, if possible)
• 1 Pkg Mushrooms (Fresh & Organic, if possible…or Publix Baby Bella Mushrooms)
• 1 TBS Butter (Amish butter or Kerrygold)
• 1 Clove Garlic (Fresh & Organic, if possible)
• Italian Herb Seasoning (McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder)
• Cornmeal
• Olive Oil Spray
• Pizza Pan or Cookie Sheet

 Step 1 – Preheat & Prep the Produce

Preheat the oven to 450.

Wash and prep the produce. Cut the peppers and slice the mushrooms, if needed. Put each in separate bowls with just a little bit of water.

 Microwave for just a few minutes until crispy tender and vibrant in color. No mushy veggies. On my microwave, it takes 3 minutes for the mushrooms and 2 minutes for the peppers.

Drain the excess water and set aside to cool.

Step 2 – Dough Magic

Spray your pizza pan with the olive oil spray. Sprinkle lightly with the cornmeal.

Your dough should be ready to go at this point. Make sure you pre-plan if you are creating from scratch. Dough needs time to rest and rise.

Gently stretch and pull the dough to get it to the shape and size you need. Place on the pan. Be careful and don’t overwork the dough. It will deflate and make it not so pretty.

Dough Tip: For the Publix dough, I gently stretch it into a circle. Once it stops easily stretching, I rotate the circle of dough around and let gravity pull the dough down to stretch it out further. This keeps it from ripping. I also like to pretend that I’m a chef in a pizzeria and that I sound like Mario and Luigi.

Step 3 – Buttery Goodness

Mince or finely chop your garlic. In a small bowl, add the butter, garlic, and about 1/2 tsp of Italian Herb Seasoning. I use the grinder seasoning, so I just grind it until it looks good!

Warm it up in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds until melted. Then use a brush to paint it all over the pizza dough. Use a fork to poke a few holes in the dough.

Sprinkle the dough lightly with cornmeal, especially in the areas where there might be more butter. This keeps the buttery taste without it being greasy.

Step 4 – Put it in the Oven

Put the pizza in the oven on the bottom rack. Cook the dough until it is just done. You want it to be cooked enough that you could eat it, but don’t let it get overly brown. A few small brown spots are good. Make sure it is not doughy in the center.

In my oven, this takes 6 minutes. Depending on your dough and your oven, this could vary. I would start out at 4-5 minutes and then check every minute or so until it is perfect. Some different dough brands that I have used have taken a lot longer.

Step 5 – For the LOVE of Toppings

Now is the time to make a majestic tower of toppings on your pizza. My official topping philosophy is to ensure that there is a little bit of everything in each bite. Here is the order of yum:

1. Pizza sauce – Use about half a jar and spread it toward the edges leaving a yummy crust. If you are a saucy person, save the other half of the jar to warm up and use a dipping sauce.
2. Pepperoni – Make a bull’s eye pattern completely covering the pizza with a layer of pepperoni.
3. Cheese – lightly sprinkle some cheese.
4. More Pepperoni – divided the rest of your pepperoni evenly on top of the pizza.
5. Mushrooms – spread evenly around the pizza.
6. Green Peppers – give each mushroom a green pepper friend.
7. More Cheese – sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly across the pizza.
8. Italian seasoning – sprinkle a little seasoning around.

Step 6 – Melt that Cheese

Put the pizza back in the oven on the middle rack. Since the dough is already cooked, you are just trying to melt the cheese and warm up the toppings. It is done with the cheese creates a gooey layer of yum across the top. In my oven, this takes about 5 minutes.

I always try to let it set for about 5 minutes after it comes out of the oven to make it easier to cut and serve. But honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever lasted the entire 5 minutes. It smells so good that I just can’t help myself!

You can top it with parmesan or red pepper. You can serve it with beer or soda. In our family, good pizza deserves an Ale-8-One. Unfortunately this fabulous soda is only available in my home state of Kentucky. We try to stock up when we visit!

So, there you go >>> The World’s Best Homemade Pizza Recipe! If you are able to make it with the ingredients I suggested then I absolutely guarantee you will LOVE it!

Do you have any “World’s Best” recipes? Let me know because I am always on the lookout for some yummy new recipes.

Peace, Love & Happiness,

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