4 Things You Need to Make Perfect Pizza at Home

2 min read

EXPERIENCED PIZZA-MAKERS KNOW: Your homemade pies are only as good as your gear. But the good news is that you don’t need much in order to crank our delicious, crisped-crust pizzas in your own backyard. This expert-backed guide has you covered on the essentials.

The Outdoor Ovens

THERE ARE A bunch of these on the market. Your best bet is to pick the rig that matches the kind of pizza-maker you are.

Its large rear hopper lets you burn wood or charcoal, and it’ll run on gas with an optional propane or natural gas attachment. The 17-by-5.4-inch mouth of the oven accommodates Detroit- or Sicilian-style pans, as well as most 10-inch cast-iron skillets, and pies up to 16 inches wide.

This propane-fed rig’s LED display shows the temperature of the stone so you can hyper-manage the fire using a simple click wheel. Crust done but the toppings aren’t? Slide a peel under the pie, lift the pizza off the stone, and hold it closer to the flame above.

This oven’s rotating stone ensures an even bake. Behind the stone, an arched burner hugs the back, while an infrared element heats underneath. An analog gauge reads the ambient temp, with a simple knob for gas flame control. You can run the oven off a wall socket or two D batteries.

The Other Essential Gear

THESE THREE PRODUCTS will help take your pizza game from good to holy stromboli.

This oversize paddle, used to launch and retrieve pizzas, isn’t typically included with most ovens. But it’s ideal for stretching your dough and rotating the pie in the oven or on the grill so it cooks evenly.

You’ll want one for checking the surface temp of the stone before launching a pizza. Slide the dough onto a stone that’s too cold and you increase the risk of sticking. Too hot and you’ll scorch the underside before the toppings are done.

Once a pie comes out of the oven or off the grill, it’s usually too hot to eat and sits on a flat surface. But that traps steam underneath, which can de-crisp the crust. These fix all that.