How to make pizza

The Crust

Luckily you don’t need to know how to make pizza dough, because with Pillsbury pizza crust the hard work (plus some of the waiting) is already done for you. And if you want to pass it off as your own, we won’t tell! However, if you insist on making a scratch pizza crust, our sister site, bettycrocker.com, has a great recipe for homemade pizza crust.
Even with a premade crust you have a few methods to choose from when baking it. You could play it safe and bake on a baking sheet based on the package instructions. (Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.) If you’re craving a crispier crust, a baking stone or pizza crisper are both good tools to keep on hand. Using a stone? Make sure to heat it in the oven 10-30 minutes before you plan to bake so the stone is piping hot. You should probably also make your pizza on top of a pizza peel sprinkled with a little cornmeal to make it easy to transfer your pizza to the oven. If you don’t have a pizza peel, an upturned baking sheet (flip it over and sprinkle with cornmeal, then assemble your pizza on the bottom) works too. We’ve even got an easy step-by-step guide on how to grill pizza for that smoky flavor and lightly charred crust.
For a Crisper Crust
Pre-bake dough for 8-9 minutes. Flip crust with spatula. Top with pizza sauce, cooked meat, cheese and other toppings as desired. Bake 6-10 minutes longer or until crust is deep golden brown.
For Soft Crust
Do not prebake dough. Spread with sauce and top as above. Bake 9-13 minutes for cheese pizza, 13-17 minutes if additional toppings are added, or until crust is deep golden brown.
Depending on your crust preferences you could choose whole grain, classic, or thin crust.

The Sauce

It’s easy to buy your favorite sauce, but with just five minutes and a few simple ingredients, you can make a tasty pizza sauce at home. Mix it up to suit your family’s tastes with your favorite flavor of canned tomatoes. Fire-roasted crushed tomatoes or crushed tomatoes with basil used in the recipe below both make an excellent marinara.
Start with about two tablespoons of sauce in the middle of your pizza crust, then spread it out using the back of a large spoon or ladle for the best coverage.
Make this recipe your own! If you like a little spice, throw in a 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes to add an extra bit of warmth and flavor. Basil and oregano are traditional pizza sauce flavors, so add in a little of one or both to taste. If you like your sauce with a little texture, you can leave it as is, but if your family prefers a smoother sauce, you can blend it with a stick blender or in an upright blender. For a regular blender, simply pop open the pour spout and cover it with a kitchen towel when you blend to avoid exploding sauce all over your kitchen.
While store-bought pizza sauce does not need to be heated before use, cooking your own tomato sauce helps the flavors to meld together and the tomatoes to break down.
If you’re not a huge fan of tomato sauce, you can also make a “white pizza,” which is made with a sauce that’s typically just a bit of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.