• Source: Emeril's Table: Pizza at Home

Basic Pizza

Ingredients

• Basic Pizza Dough
• All-purpose flour, for rolling
• Cornmeal, for baking sheet
• Assorted pizza toppings

Instructions

Place a pizza stone or invert a metal baking sheet on an oven rack and preheat oven to 500 degrees. (Alternatively, you can simulate a wood-burning oven by lining the oven with unfired bricks.)

Dust a clean work surface with flour and divide dough in half. Roll each portion of dough out to form a 12- to 14-inch circle, about 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer dough round to a pizza peel or the back of a large baking sheet that has been lightly coated with cornmeal. Top with your favorite toppings. Gently shake peel every so often to make sure pizza isn't sticking. Once topped, quickly slide dough onto hot pizza stone and bake until toppings are bubbly and crust is browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cut each pizza into 6 slices and serve immediately.

Pizza Topping Suggestions

Spinach
Arugula
Mushrooms
Broccoli florets
Tomato, sliced
Onion, sliced or chopped
Bell peppers, sliced

Array of cheese (such as feta, fresh mozzarella, Monterey jack, cheddar, Romano, blue, fontina)

Herb oils
Fresh herbs

Tomato sauce
Pesto
White sauce
Garlic oil

Anchovies
Canadian bacon
Sausage
Pepperoni
Crispy prosciutto
Grilled shrimp
Grilled chicken

Olives
Pickled jalapenos

Cook's note: Encourage a bubbling-hot pizza with a crisp crust by lining your oven with firebricks to create a double oven, so to speak. The pizzas will bake with heat radiating from the top and bottom.

Line two racks with ceramic firebricks. Preheat oven to 500 degrees one hour before baking.