Pizza stones are available in home goods and kitchenware stores. To use one, place it in the oven as soon as you turn it on. Once the pizza dough is stretched out, place the pizza on a floured pizza peel (a wooden board used to transfer pizza to and from the oven) and add the sauce and toppings, then carefully use the peel to transfer the pizza onto the pizza stone in the oven. If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use the floured back of a baking sheet to transfer the pizza to the oven.
If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can stretch or roll the dough and place it on a baking sheet lightly dusted with flour, cornmeal, or semolina flour.
Variation
A calzone is like a large turnover. Roll the dough out to ¼ inch thick and place it on a cookie sheet. Arrange the sauce, cheese, and toppings on half of the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over, making sure to force out the air, and then pinch the edges to seal everything inside. Bake the calzone until it is golden brown.
Keep it simple: If you pile on too many toppings, it will be much harder to get the pizza in and out of the oven.
Cheese: Mozzarella can be purchased in 1-pound blocks or shredded and is the traditional cheese for pizza. Other varieties that work well are Parmesan, provolone, or ricotta, but you can experiment with any of your favorite cheeses.
Onions, garlic, and peppers: Slice thin and use raw or sautéed. Don’t brown the garlic when sautéing or it will taste bitter.
Mushrooms: Slice fresh mushrooms and sauté in a little olive oil or butter before adding to the pizza.
Meatballs: Use whole or sliced cooked meatballs.
Pepperoni: Can be purchased in the deli section of the supermarket.
Ham: Chopped or torn deli ham tastes great paired with pineapple for a Hawaiian pizza.
In the United States, pepperoni is the most popular of all the pizza toppings.