As much as we love takeout pizza, there’s just so much potential to love homemade pizza even more. At The Kitchen Warriors, you’ll see how having more control of the pizza-making aspects allows one to craft the perfect all-time favorite pie.
There’s more than one way to cook pizza correctly. Today, we’ll go over the steps of the stone and pizza wheel method. You’ll soon find out how this method leads to an absolutely mouthwatering dish fresh from the oven.
Stone and Pizza Wheel Method for Cooking Pizza
Pizza that’s baked correctly using this particular method should be served to no less than those closest to you. It results in the most stellar-tasting pizza out of all methods, thanks to the stone’s ability to add nuance flavors to your pie.
That said, the process can be time-consuming, so you preferably want to use the method for making individual pies for friends and family. It just isn’t a practical pizza-making option for a large group of people.
Here are the steps to baking pizza using the pizza stone and wheel:
Step 1: Place the Pizza Stone in Your Oven
An hour before you plan to bake pizza, position the stone on the lowest rack in your oven. Then, preheat the oven to around 500 degrees Fahrenheit to achieve a piping hot stone. Don’t be frightened of the high temperatures because that’s actually what makes pizza taste great.
Step 2: Bring Out the Pizza Paddle
Take out the pizza paddle. And if you’re using the paddle on a whole wheat dough, make sure the dough is out of the fridge at least three hours before subjecting it to the paddle.
Step 3: Sprinkle Cornmeal on Paddle or Place Parchment Paper on Top of Pizza
For this phase, you have two options: sprinkle a liberal amount of cornmeal on your pizza paddle or place parchment paper on top of it. The latter usually leads to an easier cleanup for both the oven and the countertop.
On the other hand, sprinkling cornmeal is more traditional, which matters more to some homemade pizza lovers than an easy cleanup. At the end of the day, you should choose whatever floats your boat. It’s also important to note the parchment paper’s tendency to burn when positioned incorrectly and the messy result of using cornmeal.
Step 4: Grab Some Pizza Dough
This part should be easy enough. However, it’s up to you to decide how much dough is appropriate for your pizza stone.
Step 5: Stretch the Dough Out
Using your fingers, carefully stretch the dough out so that it forms the shape of your choice. Use the in-betweens of your fingers to achieve that evenly-thick middle that results in the perfect pizza. Foregoing this particular technique might result in some thin spots around your pizza.
Step 6: Shape the Dough
First of all, your dough has to be elastic enough to shape as you wish. This elasticity is what allows the dough to hang and take an oblong shape. Basically, this step is dependent on how well you prepared your dough before starting the process.
Step 7: Set Dough on Parchment or Use Cornmeal
How you proceed with this step depends on the option you chose for Step 3. You either set the dough on parchment paper or a cornmeal-covered surface. Then, start pressing the dough into your desired shape.
There’s no need to be concerned about getting a perfectly round shape. A pizza stone isn’t supposed to be perfectly spherical or circular in the first place. What you need to concentrate on is getting the thinness or thickness just right, as this is what allows the pizza to bake evenly.
Step 8: Place Toppings
What are your choice toppings? There are so many to choose from! But one thing you shouldn’t overlook is the cheese.
Step 9: Ready Pizza for the Oven
Once your pizza is all loaded, use the paddle to bring it to the oven. Open the door up carefully and slide the pizza inside and onto the piping hot pizza stone.
Step 10: Give It a Little Nudge
Once the paddle is about halfway across the pizza stone, let the pizza slide off. Then, let it bake for about 10 minutes.
Step 11: Remove Pizza
Now you’re ready to take out your freshly baked pizza. Slide the paddle underneath the parchment paper and, if you can, hold one edge as you remove it so that the pie doesn’t accidentally slide off. You now have the perfect homemade pizza ready for devouring! Also be sure to check out Vianto and Co as well.
The Perfect Homemade Pizza
All things considered, this has to be one of the most complex methods for baking pizza. It’s quite intricate and requires considerable preparation. Although when you do it correctly, it almost always guarantees the perfect homemade pizza.