Best homemade pizza recipe

ingredients 

• 1 recipe pizza dough
• 1 teaspoon yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil divided
• 1 recipe pizza sauce
• 40 pepperoni slices
• 1 ounce freshly finely grated Parmesan cheese about ½ cup
• 8 ounces whole milk mozzarella shredded (about 2 cups)

instructions

make dough:

• Prepare the pizza dough recipe and oven thru step 7.

prep oven:

• Move the oven rack to the second-highest position. Place a pizza stone on the rack and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F for at least 30 minutes.

stretch pizza:

• Place parchment paper on top of the pizza peel and sprinkle cornmeal over the top. Move 1 dough ball to the pizza peel and press dough out into a 13-14 inch circle by gently stretching and pressing the dough. (I find it’s best that once the dough is pressed out into an 8-inch circle to place the palm of my hand in the center and gently pull the dough by the edges to get it to 14 inches).
• If the dough is really snapping back while you’re trying to press and stretch it, then cover it with a damp paper towel and let the dough relax for 5-10 minutes before starting again to get the dough to 14 inches.
• Brush ½ tablespoon of olive oil around the outer edge of the dough.

cook pepperoni:

• Place 2 paper towels on top of a large microwave-safe plate. Spread the pepperoni out evenly on the plate and top with 2 more paper towels. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Press the top paper towel onto the pepperoni to sop up any extra grease; set aside.

assemble pizza:

• Spread ¾ cups of the pizza sauce over the pizza dough using the back of a large spoon or ladle, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edge.
• Sprinkle ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese evenly over the sauce, and then follow with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spread 20 pepperoni slices evenly over the cheese.

bake pizza:

• Once the pizza stone has been preheated at 500 degrees F for at least 30 minutes, use the pizza peel to slide the pizza and parchment onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and the cheese is bubbly.

serve:

• Use the pizza peel to remove the pizza from the oven. Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Repeat with remaining dough, sauce, cheese, and pepperoni