This past summer for me was a summer of pizza. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy pizza before, but someone else always did the cooking. Whether at a restaurant or at a friend’s pizza party, I never did much of the work myself. The pandemic changed all that, sending me down a rabbit hole of how to make better pizza at home. In my latest article at Inside Hook, I cover the options from basic pizza pans to dedicated backyard ovens that reach more than 900° F. It was a very fun piece to write, and if you’ve been curious about making pizza I think you’ll find it worthwhile.

I wrote this a couple months ago, and if I were writing it today there are a couple things I would change. First, the the article implies that you need a baking steel to accompany the pans from Lloyd. I’ve been using both together, but this isn’t necessary; you can make good pizza with just the pans and your home oven. Second, I’d add a recommendation for these personal-sized 7-inch pans. The 10 x 14-inch pans mentioned in the article are great, but they make a big a pie. These smaller pans are perfect for when you’re cooking solo.

If you’re on the fence about upping your home pizza game, here are a few recent pies for inspiration.

Pep cups! A quick, simple pizza from my home oven with a baking steel.
For contrast, here’s a pepperoni pie my friend cooked in the Ooni Koda oven. Note the super puffy crust.
Part of the fun of making your own pizza is that you can put anything you want on it. Here we did a bulgogi pizza with a gochujang-based sauce drizzled on top.
You can also turn your favorite take-out into pizza. For this completely over the top pie, we ordered Texas barbecue brisket from the wonderful Matt’s BBQ, along with their queso and smoked and pickled jalapenos.
Pizza can be a vehicle for your leftovers. Last night’s butter chicken becomes tonight’s butter chicken pizza.
An example of improvising a pizza with whatever you have on hand: chanterelles, tomatillo and jalapeno jam, chevre, mozzarella, basil, and black pepper.
An early attempt at a Detroit pizza. Still working on building up those cheese walls…
For transparency, my first sad attempt at a margherita pie in my home oven. It still tasted good, but handling dough takes practice!