The Pizzaiolo

How to complete The Pizzaiolo

Making a pizza fully from scratch means owning every layer: a fermented dough, a sauce you seasoned, and toppings you assembled, baked into one pie. The payoff is a crust with real chew and char you can't buy frozen.

1. Mix flour, water, salt, and a little yeast into a dough and knead until smooth, then let it rise several hours or overnight in the fridge.
2. Blend canned San Marzano-style tomatoes with salt for a no-cook sauce; skip simmering so it stays bright.
3. Stretch the dough by hand from the center outward, leaving a thicker rim, and never use a rolling pin.
4. Top lightly with sauce, cheese, and a few toppings so the dough can cook through.
5. Bake on a preheated stone or steel at your oven's highest setting until the crust blisters and browns.

Tips

• A long cold ferment (24-72h) deepens flavor more than extra yeast ever will.
• Overloading toppings makes a soggy center; restraint gives a crisp base.
• Get the oven and stone screaming hot before the pie goes in; heat is everything.

What counts as done

You pull a fully baked pie from the oven where the dough, sauce, and toppings were all made by your hand.