How to get that amazing pizza at home?  The secrets of a good pizza are many but they are simple and accessible to anybody.  I stumbled on them through trial and errors and input from different people, including my brother or a previous flatmate. Now I think we have nailed it!  I say we, because my two daughters are now in charge of the topping and are getting pretty good at it.

We do pizzas regularly, maybe a few times per month.  A pity I don’t take more photos or them, the ones last weekend were amazing! My children invariably ask for the Hawaiian pizza (ham, cheese, pineapple).  Not my favourite! The “grown up” pizza is different depending what we have in the fridge: a salami pizza, a three cheese pizza, a vegetarian pizza and even a tahini based with spices mince pizza.

Here are my secrets, I expend on each further down:

1. The dough: keep it thin and simple
2. The order of the ingredient: cheese does not go on top but directly above the tomato sauce
3. The quality of the ingredients: good quality ingredients and please no tin food (exception of the pineapples pieces!), use fresh food!
4. Limit the amount of main ingredients: there should be up to 3 key ingredients above the cheese layer, no more.  See the list below
5. The use of a hot oven and pizza tray or pizza stone: make sure your oven is super hot, same for the pizza tray.  I use these large aluminium pizza tray (less than $10 each at hospitality stores, same as in pizza shops), they do a great job and are easy to handle.  I prepare the pizza on baking paper which when ready I slide onto the hot tray.

Here we go in more details.

Secret No 1: the dough

Making your own dough at home is not hard nor does it require hard labour.  Feel free to use a food mixer (dough hook) but if you are making just one pizza, your food mixer may be too big for the small amount of dough.  For pizza, I don’t mind doing it by hand from the start.

Preparing the dough

A very large pizza (or 2 medium) will need 250 g plain flour (bakers flour if you have some), 150 g of warm water, 1/2 sachet of dry yeast (4 g), a good pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of honey, a drop of olive oil.

Note here that honey and olive oil are not strictly necessary t the process. I find that the olive oil makes the process easier and smoother and gives the pizza base a little extra taste. The honey is not necessary to the rising of the dough, it does help accelerate it and more importantly for me, give a tiny sweet touch to the base.

It is important not to put the salt in direct contact with the yeast (it kills it).

Mix all together, if the dough is a little dry add additional water one spoon at the time (it can happen as some flours require more water). Once you have a ball, punch that ball on the counter back and forth. it is very easy if you alternate hands each time: push with the right hand to the back (and a bit left for ease), bring back, push with the left hand to the back (and right) and bring back. This move is effortless.

Last weekend, I had some friends of my young children wanting to help in the kitchen towards the end of their playdate, the 6 years old little girl did a great job while chatting away, just to show you how effortless it is.

After 5 minutes your dough will be quite soft and flexible.  This is enough, let it to rest in a bowl covered with a cloth.  If you don’t have much time, give it 1/2 h rest minimum, otherwise, wait until double, knock back gently, this is then ready to use.

A thin dough

Unless you train again and again to master extending the dough when suspended on the top of your fist, you need to find something that works for you.  For me, I simply use a rolling pin with a little flour for dusting . I roll the dough quite thin over a baking paper.  Make sure it does not stick to it, and rest for a few minutes while getting all the ingredients ready (or calling in the kids to do the topping).  And don’t worry if the form tends to look like the map of Australia, even better!

Secret No 2: the order of the ingredients

The order should be:

1. Tomato sauce
2. Cheese
3. If I am using white mushrooms very thinly sliced, this is when I put them
4. Meat or vegetable
5. Additional item such as olives, capers, small quantities of blue or goat cheese
6. And finally some salt if necessary and a filet of olive oil

Secret No 3: the quality of the ingredients

If there is something I do not like it is to get tinned vegetables on my pizza, let it be artichokes, peppers or others, yuk! They taste of tin food, most of the time because they have not been rinsed.

For me, a pizza is a great opportunity to use these remaining mushrooms, or that lonely capsicum which otherwise may have to wait a little longer until I get an idea of finally chuck the all in a soup or casserole! Be creative! And if you are not the creative kind, don’t worry, planning for pizza in your shopping will at least mean no bad surprises!

Secret No 4: limit the amount and numbers of ingredients

Caution! You are not trying to replicate Mt Everest, nor are you trying to empty your fridge.  If so, invite your friends and have a pizza party!

For me, a maximum of three core ingredients is like an unspoken practice. Then there are the small garnishes which can add a lot to a pizza. See the table below.

Base	Core ingredients	Additions
Tomato	red onions	fresh thyme, rosemary
	salami, ham	little specks of goat cheese or blue cheese
	pinapple	olives
	mushrooms (white or the asian styles, which then go on top)	capers
	capsicum cut in long strips	dash of olive oil
	green asparagus	pressed garlic (small quantities here and there)
	thinly sliced potatoes (the waxy style)	cherry tomatoes (cut in halves or full)
	anchovies
	fresh salmon, prawns, fish pieces, mussel and other seafood (all in raw form)
	for a cheese pizza, the different cheese
	bocconcini
	Thinly sliced fresh tomatoes
Sour cream	Salmon (fresh), capers	olives, fresh dill (once cooked)
	red onion cut in circles
Tahini	spiced mince (mix mince with 2 tbsp tomato paste and marocan spice mix)	pressed garlic
		olives, rosemary, fresh herb (once cooked)
		cherry tomatoes (cut in halves or full)

Secret No 5: the cooking of the pizza

Now, you need a super hot oven to start with and as importantly a hot base. Either you use a pizza stone or a pizza tray, up to you.  The bricks of a wood fired pizza oven play a great role in getting that base cooked and crispy.  If you base is too thick, you will most likely overcook the top.  What temperature? I preheat my oven at 250 °C, and bring it down at 200 for the cooking.

Cooking time ? 10 minutes roughly. Just enough to prepare the side salad!

A table!