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Takeout and restaurant pizza can be pretty good, especially when cooked in a searingly hot, wood-fired oven. But there's something truly satisfying about making it yourself, and it's easier than you might think. Here's our guide to creating pizza perfection, with tips and tricks for the best dough, the all-important crisp base, and a choice of sauces and toppings. There are speedy pizzas, some that take a little more time, gluten-free and vegan options, yeast-free pizzas, and new twists on favourites.
The best flour to use <br>Strong Italian 00 flour, or pizza flour, is the best flour to give a crisp, light crust with lots of big, airy pockets. It's very finely ground and the Italians love it for pasta-making too. If not available, use a strong bread flour instead or a 50-50 mixture of strong flour and plain flour. The result won't be exactly the same, but you'll still have a tasty pizza.
Making dough <br> Pizza dough consists of just four ingredients – flour, yeast, water and salt. It's by working and kneading the dough that the gluten protein in the flour expands and stretches, which will cause the dough to rise. You can knead by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. It usually takes around 10 minutes. Check it's kneaded sufficiently by pressing the dough with your finger – it should bounce back.
Allow the dough to rise <br> Leaving enough time for the dough to rise will give it a better structure and improve the flavour. Recipes will vary, but as a rough guide, allow four hours for it to rise, covered with a damp cloth or oiled clingfilm. You can also leave it for 24 hours in the fridge for a slow rise which will add even more flavour. Follow our recipe for perfect pizza dough. It calls for fresh yeast but just halve the quantity if using active dry yeast.
Rolling out the dough <br> Once the dough is ready to shape into pizzas, it will be stretchy and pliable, so you can pull it into shape with your hands. Otherwise, use a rolling pin to start with. It should be uniform in thickness all over, and it's easy to coax it into being even by simply pulling the dough.
Sauce: tinned tomatoes <br>There's nothing wrong at all with using tinned tomatoes for the sauce. However, buy Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano. Although they will cost a little more, cheaper brands tend to be too watery and not as sweet. Take the tomatoes out of their juice and mash them with your hands or a potato masher to keep the texture, and add a little sea salt and black pepper. A simple yet tasty sauce.

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