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Build Your Own Pizza

You can easily host a Build-Your-Own Pizza Party by purchasing frozen or unbaked fresh cheese pizzas and letting people add their favorite toppings, or you can have fun rolling up your sleeves and making homemade pizza crust and sauce. Either way, your guests will have a blast.
Course: Main Course, Snack
Keyword: Dairy-Free Option, Entertaining, Gluten-Free Option, Vegan Option, Vegetarian Option
Servings: 8

Note: If you are cooking for a particular style of eating, please check all of your ingredients carefully.

Many of my recipes have alternatives, and you want to choose the alternatives that fit the style you are preparing. Also, packaged goods may have ingredients you wouldn't expect. Soy sauce may or may not have gluten. Chocolate may or may not have dairy. This means you want to check the ingredients labels on the products you will use. Also, it's important to be aware that if you are cooking for someone with allergies or other reasons to take special care, you should avoid cross-contamination. For example, don't use the same utensil that was used in food containing the allergen or use the same cutting board that was used for food containing the allergen.

Ingredients

Pizza Sauce (or use purchased sauce)

  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
  • 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (less if you don't want spice)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Pizza Crust (or use purchased crust)

  • 3 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 3 3/4 cups warm water (105 to 110 degree is best)
  • 11 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Cheese (choose your cheese options, or use purchased frozen or uncooked fresh cheese pizzas)

  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds shredded mozzarella cheese (and/or use goat cheese mozzarella or non-dairy cheese)
  • 1 package small fresh mozzarella balls (optional)
  • 1 package shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Choice of Toppings (use some or all)

  • sliced pepperoni
  • Italian sausage (made into bite-sized pieces and cooked)
  • sliced onions
  • sliced red or green bell pepper
  • sliced mushrooms
  • sliced black olives
  • tomatoes (cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half or larger tomatoes chopped)
  • broccoli (in bite sized pieces)
  • fresh basil (torn into pieces)

Instructions

Pizza Sauce (skip if using purchased sauce)

  • Prepare the sauce the day prior to or in the morning of the party so that flavors blend and sauce is chilled. Cook garlic briefly in oil.
  • Add remaining ingredients and bring sauce to a boil. Refrigerate sauce.

Pizza Crust (skip if using purchased crust)

  • In the morning of the party, dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cups warm water.
    Add 1 1/2 cups flour.
  • Cover bowl with a damp cloth and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. Yeast will begin to ferment.
  • Stir remaining warm water, olive oil and salt into dough. Add enough flour to make a thick dough.
  • Generously flour counter and scrape dough from bowl onto counter. Begin to knead the dough, continuing to add flour to counter and hands to avoid sticking.
  • The dough will gradually come together to form a soft dough. If you poke into the dough, there will be an impression in the dough.
  • Continue to knead the dough. It will become smoother, less sticky and more elastic.
  • Check for readiness by gently poking the dough.
  • When it is ready, it will bounce back.
  • Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn it so it is oiled on all sides.
  • Cover bowl with a damp cloth and allow it to rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about one hour.
  • Divide dough into eight balls. Cover and refrigerate until ready to make pizzas. You can make all the balls the same size, or consider guest preferences, such as making smaller balls of dough for children.

Prepare for guests to make pizza

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If you are using a pizza stone, heat the stone in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
  • Set out ingredients. If you are using a pizza stone, generously sprinkle a pizza peel or cookie sheet without sides with cornmeal. The cornmeal will make it easier to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone.

Allow each guest to assemble pizza (skip to adding toppings if using frozen or uncooked fresh cheese pizza)

  • Roll out dough. The dough will rise a bit in the oven, so roll it out a bit thinner than you want for your finished pizza.
  • Place the dough on a baking pan, or if you have a pizza stone, place the dough on the pizza peel or baking sheet without sides that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
  • Add sauce.
  • Add cheese.
  • Add toppings.
  • Bake until crust is cooked and cheese begins to brown.

Notes

 I like to freeze any leftover sauce in the quantities needed for one pizza.  With the sauce ready to go, it's quick and easy to use purchased crust and make a homemade pizza any time.
My go-to solutions for dietary restrictions:   If I have a gluten-free guest, I usually make the homemade crust for the group and purchase a gluten-free frozen crust.  For dairy-free guests who can eat goat cheese, goat cheese mozzarella is a delicious option.  For vegan guests, you can purchase a frozen pizza with vegan cheese topping or provide plant-based cheese as an option to be added to the pizza.
For toppings, if you know what your guests like, you can offer the types and amounts of the toppings that the guests will use.  I like to provide a good amount of all sorts of toppings without worrying about having extra, and I use the leftovers for more pizza the next day or for salads or omelets.  Most of the pizza toppings also work well in a pasta dish.
As another option, if you have room in your freezer, you can assemble leftovers into additional pizzas and freeze them on a cookie sheet.  After they are frozen, wrap in plastic.  Enjoy within the next week or two by removing them from the plastic and placing them on a cookie sheet, letting them thaw and baking them on the cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven.