How to Make a Classic Cheese Pizza
- Total Time: 2 hours 25 mins
- Yield: 6-8 slices 1x
Description
Nothing too fancy here, just a homemade version of your favorite tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese pie.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 3 cups grape tomatoes
- 1/4 medium white onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
For the crust:
- 1 1/8 cups (270 ml) warm water
- 3 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups (720 ml) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- To make the dough, in a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, garlic powder and dried basil, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work the additional 1/2 cup flour into the dough, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
- Moving on to the sauce, pre-heat oven to 425°F. Place tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a baking tray covered with tin foil. Brush with one tbsp of olive oil, place in oven and bake for 30 minutes until tomatoes are tender and beginning to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Place roasted tomatoes in a food processor and add in olive oil and basil. Pulse until the everything is well mixed. Set sauce aside while dough is rising.
- Lower the oven temperature to 375°F. After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back onto a floured pizza stone or baking sheet. Using a roll pin or your hands, form it into your desired shape.
- Spread the roasted tomato sauce over the dough using a spoon or spatula. (Save extra sauce to use for a next-day pasta dish.) Sprinkle with 1 3/4 cups mozzarella cheese, or more if desired.
- Bake the pizza for 25 minutes , or until crust and cheese are both golden.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Pizza
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 290
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the dough need 1 1/2 hours to rise?
The recipe uses 3 tsp of active dry yeast, which needs time to fully leaven the 3 cups of flour into a light, airy crust. Before rising, you also let the yeast activate for 10 minutes in warm water with honey until foamy — skipping or rushing either step will give you a dense crust.
Why are two different oven temperatures used?
The sauce ingredients (grape tomatoes, onion, garlic) are roasted at 425°F for 30 minutes, then the oven is lowered to 375°F for baking the assembled pizza for 25 minutes. The higher temp is needed to blister and concentrate the tomatoes for the sauce; the lower temp bakes the crust and melts the 1 3/4 cups of mozzarella evenly without burning.
What can I do with leftover roasted tomato sauce?
The recipe notes that the sauce batch makes more than you need for one pizza and suggests saving the extra for a next-day pasta dish. 
