Freeze it.
Everything goes into your freezer right away. Only take out what you’ll bake that day. Frozen, it keeps for up to 4 months.
Sauce to the fridge.
Move your sauce packet from the freezer to the fridge for the day. One packet covers one pizza.
Thaw the dough.
Take the dough out of the freezer and leave it on the counter, still sealed in its bag, for 2.5 to 3 hours. Don’t open it yet.
Sauce out of the fridge.
Take the sauce packet out so it can come up to room temperature. Leave it sealed until you’re ready to use it.
Preheat: get your heat going.
Pick your setup, then preheat it hotter than you think you need to.
Your oven
- Pizza stone or pizza steelPut it on the middle rack, set the oven to 500°F (or as hot as it goes), and give it a full hour.
- Cookie sheetFlip it upside down so the back is your baking surface. Heat it in a 500°F oven for 20–30 minutes.
- Pizza screenNo preheating needed. Just get the oven hot (500°F if you can).
- Oven only goes to 450–475°F?You’re still fine. Bake a little longer and go by color, because you don’t want the crust too dark.
Gas grill
Got a stone or steel for your grill? Treat it just like the oven: lid closed, 500°F if you can, for a good hour. No stone or steel? Use your oven.
Ooni
You know the drill. Heat it the way you always do.
Set up your station.
Cut or shred the cheese and set your toppings out in little bowls. Flour your counter, then flour your peel (or a cutting board) like you mean it.
Cut it out and ball it.
Snip the bag open with scissors (watch the blade). Use the dough right away, or cover it in flour for up to another hour. If you wait, keep it covered with a towel so it doesn’t dry out.
- Set the dough in a bowl of flour (semolina or all-purpose), or right on your counter.
- Pinch the edges together and pull the top down around the bottom, like pinching a dumpling. You want a tight ball with good surface tension.
Stretch it.
- Flour your hands and the counter, then set the ball down gently.
- Work from the center out with your fingertips, keeping a good inch around the edge. That rim is where all the goodness is, so don’t squash it flat.
- Lift it and let gravity do the work. Rotate it and keep stretching with your fingers and the insides of your hands.
- Fighting you? Let it rest on the counter for a bit, then try again.
- Tore a hole? Just pinch it shut. This dough is very forgiving.
Top it.
Go light. One sauce packet is plenty, just enough to coat it, because wet sauce makes a soggy pizza. Spread it evenly, add your mozzarella (chunks or shredded), then a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt for a little bite. Basil goes on after baking.
Work quickly. Then slide it onto your floured peel in one confident motion, with plenty of flour underneath, or it will stick.
Bake it.
Carefully slide the pizza onto the hot stone, steel, or sheet with your peel. A screen goes straight into the oven.
Oven or grill
8–12 minutes, but watch it. It’s done with some nice leopard or brown spots on top and a light browning on the bottom.
On a gas grill, keep the lid closed.
Ooni
About 90 seconds, depending on your heat.
Please don’t walk away. Watch it the whole time.
Rest, slice, eat.
Let it cool for a few minutes so the cheese sets. Pizza scissors make neat slices you can fold. Then do it twice more.
What you supply
We bring the sourdough and the sauce. You bring mozzarella (chunks or shredded), olive oil, salt, flour for dusting, and basil if you like it. The gear for baking and sliding it in is just below.
Keeping it fresh
Everything is sold frozen, and it needs to stay that way. Here’s the fine print.
Gear for the job
Already own something that will work? Use it. You don’t need to buy all of this.
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Pizza steel
Heats up fast and holds the heat. Great for a crisp bottom and leopard spots.
See options on AmazonIf something goes sideways
Every one of these has happened to us. Most are easy fixes.