Why this formula works
A 250 g base comfortably carries 100 g thick sauce and 125 g low-moisture cheese. Pepperoni is kept in one non-overlapping layer so its edges crisp and rendered fat stays in small beads. Oregano and garlic season the tomato instead of burning loose on the surface.
Honest timing
| Active preparation | 20 min |
| Hydration / proof / preheat | 1 h |
| Cooking / baking | 8 min |
| Elapsed total | 1 h 28 min |
Ingredients
- mature room-temperature pizza dough ball250 g (8.8 oz)
- thick pizza tomato sauce100 g (3.5 oz)
- whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella, coarsely grated125 g (4.4 oz)
- pepperoni, sliced 2 mm thick75 g (2.65 oz)
- dried oregano1.5 g
- garlic powder1 g
- extra-virgin olive oil8 g (0.28 oz)
Equipment
- pizza steel or stone
- pizza peel
- digital scale
- box grater
- pizza wheel
Exact method
- 1. Place a steel or stone on the lower-middle rack and preheat at maximum heat for a full 60 minutes.
- 2. Stir tomato sauce with oregano, garlic and 5 g olive oil. It should mound on a spoon rather than run like juice.
- 3. Grate mozzarella through the coarse holes. If its surface is wet, spread it on a clean towel for 10 minutes.
- 4. Open the dough from the center to 28–30 cm, preserving a 1.5–2 cm rim. Transfer to a lightly dusted peel and check that it slides.
- 5. Spread all 100 g sauce to within 1.5 cm of the rim. Add mozzarella in an even, airy layer rather than compact piles.
- 6. Distribute pepperoni in one layer with small gaps; do not overlap slices. Drizzle the remaining 3 g oil around the exposed rim.
- 7. Bake at 250–300°C / 482–572°F for 5–8 minutes, rotating once. Use the broiler only after the underside has browned.
- 8. Rest on a rack for 2 minutes, blot only unusually large oil pools and cut into six slices.
How to know it is ready
- The rim is browned and the center remains firm enough to lift.
- Cheese has joined into an even layer without a deep oil pool.
- Pepperoni edges curl and crisp while the centers stay red-brown, not burnt.
Troubleshooting
- Wet center: use thicker sauce and drier mozzarella before reducing the 100 g sauce.
- Greasy surface: keep pepperoni in one layer and choose smaller slices.
- Pale base: preheat the steel for the entire hour.
- Burnt pepperoni: slice no thinner than 2 mm and avoid an early broiler blast.
How to adapt the base recipe
- For a deliberately juicier home-oven pizza, increase sauce to 115–120 g and keep the steel fully heated.
- For 35 cm, use a 300–320 g dough ball, 130–150 g sauce, 150 g cheese and 90 g pepperoni.
- Hot honey is a post-bake variation, not part of the classic base formula.
Storage and food safety
Best eaten immediately. Refrigerate within 2 hours for up to 3 days; reheat on a hot covered skillet and uncover for the final minute.
Allergens
Gluten (wheat), Milk Depending on the selected product, may also contain: Mustard, Sulphites.
Always verify every label and cross-contact risk; brand formulations can change.