My Pepperoni Pizza recipe is everything I want in a pizza. A chewy homemade pizza crust, topped with a delicious tomato pizza sauce, gooey cheese, and loads of pepperoni. I love to top mine with hot honey, but you can finish it however you like - it will be delicious however you decide to serve it! My Pepperoni pizza recipe includes instructions for baking pizza in your home oven or a pizza oven.
Hi hi! I am just popping in to share my easy pepperoni pizza recipe with you! This is almost always part of the lineup when we have a pizza night and is often the one we double up on at the end of the night if we have extra bits and pieces as it reheats super well the next day.
This pepperoni pizza couldn't be easier - I use a simple pizza sauce which takes 2 minutes to make, loads of stretchy mozzarella cheese, and then enough pepperoni so that you get some in every bite. Just the best.
This Pepperoni pizza recipe uses my homemade pizza dough recipe - there are notes and tips and tricks on how to make the dough and detailed shaping instructions in the post. My dough recipe makes enough for two pizzas, this Pepperoni pizza recipe has the topping quantities for one pizza. For other topping options, please see my other pizza recipes!
How to reheat Pizza so that it doesn't suck
Don't you dare microwave your leftover pizza. Well, you can if you want, but I promise that there is a better way to reheat it that will return it to its former glory. We reheat our pizza in a toaster oven on 350°f / 180°c for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melty and the crust is crispy again, but you can also do this in the air fryer. If I am doing it in the toaster oven I like to lightly cover the pan with foil to help the steam refresh the pizza.
Pizza also reheats really well on the stovetop - in a cast iron skillet on medium heat, place the slices in, then heat it uncovered for a few minutes. Once it is starting to heat up (you will see the cheese starting to re-melt), add a few drops of water (not on the pizza), then cover and turn the heat to low. This adds steam into the pan, which helps to really refresh things.
The best pepperoni for Pizza
Not all pepperoni is made equal - lots of pizza recipes look for one that makes 'cups' - where the pepperoni forms little cups in the oven which trap the oil and make for delicious little flavour bombs.
I have found the best way to find pepperoni that does this is to find one that is thinly sliced (either you slice it yourself or you get one already sliced), and has a natural casing on it. I get an italian one from my local specialty supermarket.
Pepperoni coverage here is key. When I am adding it I like to almost overlap it so that you get great coverage when the pizza bakes up.
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
My Dream Pepperoni Pizza
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American, Italian
Description
My Pepperoni Pizza recipe is everything I want in a pizza. A chewy homemade pizza crust, topped with a delicious tomato pizza sauce, gooey cheese, and loads of pepperoni. I love to top mine with hot honey, but you can finish it however you like - it will be delicious however you decide to serve it!
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- One ball of homemade pizza dough, ready to use, or dough of your choice
- Semolina flour or regular flour for shaping (semolina is my preference)
Pepperoni Pizza Toppings
- Homemade Pizza Sauce or sauce of your choice (I use about 60ml / ¼ cup but use however much you like)
- 75g (Or however much you want to use) shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- about 50g pepperoni salami, sliced (I buy mine pre sliced, use however much you need to get good coverage)
- Hot Honey / Spicy Honey to finish (optional)
Instructions
There are a few methods to bake the pizza - I use a pizza oven but there are notes in the recipe on a few options. Please make sure you read the recipe all the way through first as the oven needs to preheat for quite a while if you are using an at home oven. Make sure that your oven is preheated and ready to go before you assemble your pizza. I recommend you read my homemade pizza dough post for detailed notes on shaping the dough.
SHAPING DOUGH
- Once the dough is ready to use, place some semolina flour onto a dinner plate or sheet pan. Carefully remove one piece of dough from the container you have risen it in, and place it directly onto the semolina, flipping it so that both sides are covered.
- Transfer the dough to the work surface, adding more semolina if needed. Using your fingers, press in a circle around the edge of the pizza, leaving about a 1-2cm edge. Press down the middle of the ball of dough to gently flatten it off.
- There are lots of ways to stretch pizza but I like to use what I call the 'steering wheel' method - place one hand on the middle of the dough and using the other hand, gently grab the edge of the dough and stretch it out slightly, then turn the dough about 45°. Repeat, going around the edge of the dough 2-3 times until it has stretched out nicely.
- If you would like to, you can carefully pick the dough up and holding it by the edges, move your hands around the sides to use gravity to help stretch the dough further. You can also place it over the backs of your hands to gently stretch it out. This takes practice and you will get better at it with the more pizza that you make.
- You are aiming for a circle of dough that is 12-13" (30-33cm) in diameter, and has a slightly thicker edge.
- Transfer the pizza dough to your pizza peel, giving it a little wiggle to make sure that there are no stuck spots. As you top the pizza, give it a little wiggle every now and then too to ensure that it is not stuck to the peel.
TOPPING THE PIZZA
- Once the pizza is on the peel, give it a little shimmy to make sure that it is not stuck - If it feels sticky, add some more semolina flour. I like to shimmy it between every topping that is added to make sure that the launch goes well.
- Top the pizza crust with sauce, spreading almost to the edges. Scatter the cheese over the sauce, then top with the pepperoni - I like to arrange the pepperoni so it is touching so that when the pizza puffs up, you have great pepperoni coverage.
- Bake the pizza using one of the following methods.
- When out of the oven, top with hot honey (optional)
TO BAKE USING A PIZZA OVEN
- Top the pizza as desired. Transfer using the pizza peel to the pizza oven and bake according to the manufacturer's instructions - my dough usually takes about 2-3 minutes in a gas fired oven, or 4 minutes in an electric pizza oven. Again, this will take some practice. Once baked, finish as desired.
TO BAKE USING A BAKING STEEL
- An hour before you want to bake the pizza, place a baking steel or pizza stone into the oven. I prefer to use a baking steel as they are much more durable. Preheat the oven to 500°f / 260°c or as high as your oven will go if it will not reach that temperature.
- Shape and top the pizza as instructed in the shaping section. Using the peel (or if you don't have a peel, the back of a sheet pan will work but you have to be very careful), wiggle the peel to transfer the pizza to the baking steel.
- Bake the pizza for about 5-6 minutes until bubbly and golden brown, and you are happy with the colouring of the crust on the bottom of the pizza. Use the peel to remove the pizza from the oven.
- If you are baking another pizza, make sure that you give the steel enough time to heat up again before cooking your next pizza.
TO BAKE IN THE OVEN.
- About an hour before you are going to bake your pizza, preheat the oven to 500°f / 260°c or however high your oven will go.
- Shape and top the pizza as instructed in the shaping section. You can top the pizza on the sheet pan you are going to bake it on, either directly on the baking sheet or on some parchment paper. While you are shaping the pizza, if you have one, preheat a second baking sheet that stacks with the one with the pizza on it in the oven for about 10 minutes - this helps with the initial burst of heat.
- Top the pizza as desired, then transfer to the oven. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, until the crust is brown and the cheese and toppings are bubbly.
Notes
This recipe makes one pepperoni pizza. My pizza dough recipe makes enough dough for two pizzas (or scale as needed)
All my pizza making equipment is linked in my pizza stuff products page.
I find that it works best to buy blocks of mozzarella and shred them myself as needed rather than buying pre-shredded cheese, but use whatever you like and what you are comfortable using. I usually use roughly 75g of cheese per pizza, but cheese should always be measured with the heart.
Comments
caribou says
love this!!