My delicious family pizza recipe is way cheaper than a takeaway and tastes amazing! 

We tend to make this as a treat at the weekends roughly once a month. It involves make the dough from scratch, which does take a little extra time especially as you need to allow the dough to rise, but the results are so good. 

Do I need a pizza oven to make my own homemade pizza?

No you do not need a special pizza oven to cook pizza from scratch for your family. 

However there’s no doubt that homemade pizza tastes way better when cooked in a proper pizza oven, so if you are lucky enough to have one in your garden then it’s worth using. 

Otherwise you can cook homemade pizza in a normal fan oven, placed on a baking tray. Make sure the temperature is whacked right up to full. I always cook mine at 220C. 

Making pizza dough from scratch 

When I first started making my own pizza dough I was really intimidated by the process. However even though it’s quite a messy process it’s actually really easy. 

The other great thing is I generally always have the dry ingredients – flour and yeast – ready to go in the cupboard so I can whip up a dough at the last-minute without dashing out for supplies. 

This pizza dough is based on the recipe from Jamie Oliver.

This homemade pizza dough is quite sticky, so I recommend getting a little flour on your hands before getting them involved with kneading as it prevents you getting quite so much stuck to your hands.

Making this dough is a great activity to do with your kids on a Saturday afternoon! It needs an hour to rise, so do remember to make well in advance of dinner time.

This is what your dough will look like after mixing.

This is what your dough will look like once it’s had time to rise.

Once your dough is finished you can use right away, or you can wrap it in cling film and freeze it or pop it into the fridge (you can keep in the fridge for a couple of days).

Pizza recipe for toddlers 

My kids have loved this recipe since they were tiny! The recipe detailed at the end of this post is perfect for the entire family – from babies and toddlers through to adults. 

When I make our pizzas I simply adapt the toppings of each pizza. So us adults prefer a bit of spice on ours, my eldest loves pepperoni on hers and my littlest one likes mushrooms and peppers. If I want to stay simple then I make simple Margherita pizzas for everyone. 

Whatever your toddler’s tastes this pizza works great. You can also reduce the amount of salt added to the dough if you prefer. 

Pizza recipe for babies 

When adapting this recipe for babies you can cut right back on the use of salt in the dough – ditch it altogether if you want. 

You could add a little golden caster sugar to the dough (around half a tablespoon) to add a little sweetness to the dough. 

To add more flavour why not pop in some dried mixed herbs – I have an Italian mix with oregano, rosemary and thyme that I often sprinkle into my flour before adding water to make the dough. 

Keep it simple with just cheese and the passata topping or you could add some cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters, before popping into the oven to cook. 

Cut the pizza up into small, skinny slices and it makes a perfect meal for baby-led weaning. 

You may also like: How to make your own homemade baby food

How to make homemade pizza from scratch

I always give myself plenty of time to make my pizza dough, as it needs an hour to rise before you can roll it out and pop it into the oven.

The actual process of making the pizza dough is definitely the messiest and longest party of the process. While the dough is rising you can prep your toppings.

You can choose whatever toppings you want – I will often use leftover peppers, mushrooms and sliced ham from the fridge.

Occasionally where I haven’t had any mozzarella in the house I have used grated cheddar instead. This is absolutely fine as an alternative, be generous with it and ensure its spread evenly over the entire pizza.

When I roll out my pizza dough using a rolling pin I always roll it into more of a rectangular shape, because it fits my baking trays that way! If you want to make it round then you absolutely can do that. You may need to sprinkle a little extra flour on top of the dough as you are rolling it out, because otherwise I find the rolling pin can stick to the top of the dough as you are trying to roll it out.

It’s essential to place the rolled out pizza dough onto baking paper on your baking tray – as I’ve found it can stick otherwise.

Once all of your toppings are on your pizza then you can pop it into the oven. It’s ready when the cheese is melted and the crust is starting to brown – this typically takes between 8-15 minutes. Keep checking regularly as it really can depend on your own.

Once it’s ready it’s a simple matter of slicing up your pizza and serving!

If you want to make a lower maintenance pizza then you can try my tortilla pizza recipe!