Here are two ways to enjoy homemade pizza that’s just as tasty as take-out. First, here’s my original recipe, one I’ve been making for over 30 years. You’ll find lots of instructions and pictures that will turn your kitchen into a pizzeria in no time.

Second, you can also bake your pizza in a super hot oven on a baking stone. I use a different pizza dough for this method, which I share at the end. Some people are blessed with true pizza ovens, but for the rest of us, we have to crank our regular oven as high as it will go. Recently I found a mini pizza oven to use on your grill. It’s not as good as those fancy home pizza ovens you see advertised, but it’s way cheaper and still turns out a delicious result.

A few tips for baking pizzas this way: 1) Precook any veggies. Because of the higher temperatures, these pizzas cook quicker than their traditional counterparts. A commercial wood-fired oven can reach 1000 degrees with pizzas cooking in a minute or less. At home, I’m happy to get to 500 degrees and 10 minutes cooking time. But that’s still quicker than the 15 to 20 minutes my original recipe can take.

2) Use a peel to put your pizza on the baking stone. It helps keep you away from the intense heat and is the best way to get your pizza in and out of the oven. Don’t have a peel? No worries. Just use the back of a cookie sheet. Just dust your peel with semolina flour or plain cornmeal and make sure you pizza “slides” a bit before putting onto the stone. I find it’s easier for me to form my crust, put some cornmeal on the back side, place it on a dusted peel and form my pizza there. When you put it on the stone, give it a little jerk so the front edge of the pizza touches the stone. Then slide the peel back and angle it up and the pizza comes right off.

3)Rustic is good! If you’re a perfectionist, this method might drive you crazy. Sometimes ingredients slide around or the edges get wonky when you put the pizza on the stone. The taste is just the same and the fact your pizzas look homemade just adds to the charm.

4) The pizza is done….when it’s done. It all depends on how hot your oven and your stone are, how thick you made your crust, how many ingredients, etc. Mine took about 10 minutes but your’s could be less or more.

5) This makes a great social meal. Set up the ingredients and let your guests make their own flavor combos.

6) Use the right dough. I found a Nancy Silverton recipe that is designed to help home cooks duplicate what a commercial pizza oven can create. But it takes at least 3 1/2 hours and has some hard-to-find ingredients. If you want to try the original, which I highly recommend, it’s in The Mozza Cookbook. I created a simplified version that uses common ingredients and takes less time. It’s not quite as good as her technical one, but I think it’s a fair compromise and easier to make.

Pizza Oven Dough

Makes 3 8-inch pizzas. You can easily double this recipe.

In a mixer bowl, mix together well 1 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon yeast, and 1 1/2 cups bread flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let set in a warm (not hot) place for 45 minutes. (This is called a sponge.)

After 45 minutes, add 1/4 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon of honey, and 2 cups of bread flour. Use the dough hook and mix together for a minute or so. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and continue mixing on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl. You may need to add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead at medium speed for 6 minutes or until the dough has changed texture because of good gluten formation. It can be a bit sticky, but it should come together into a nice ball shape if your hands are oiled with olive oil.

Why are your hands covered in olive oil? Because you just oiled a nice glass bowl for your dough to rise in. So form your dough into a ball, put it in the bowl then turn it over, so the top is oiled. This keeps the outer layer of the dough flexible is it can rise better. Cover bowl, which is at least 2X the volume of your unrisen dough, tightly with plastic wrap and keep in a warm place.

In about 20 to 30 minutes, punch down the dough, form back into a ball, put back in the bowl, cover with the plastic, and let rise for another 20 to 30 minutes. You may need to add a bit more olive oil to the bowl if the dough wants to stick to the bowl. Now’s a good time to crank up your oven as high as it will go.

After this last rise, divide the dough as needed—I split mine into 3 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball, sit on the counter, cover in plastic, and let rest for 5 minutes. This will make the dough easier to roll out.

Roll out your dough to the desired size and form a crust on the edge by rolling over the edge and pinching it down. Put a little olive oil on the crust. Finish however you like. I made sure some corn meal was on the back of the crust and finished my pizza on a dusted peel. I start with sauce, put shredded mozzarella, and then whatever toppings. If it’s veggies, I saute them first.

Use your peel to put pizza on the hot stone and remove it when it’s done. You can add fresh basil or other herbs to the top before serving.