5 Top Mistakes People Make When Making Pizza at Home (and How to Avoid Them)

Making pizza at home is a fantastic way to express your inner pizzaiolo, but it can also lead to frustration when things go wrong. Fear not! We are here to help you avoid the common pitfalls and take your homemade pizza game from floppy to fabulous.

Here are the top five mistakes people make—and how to fix them.

1. Using the Wrong Flour

All-purpose flour is fine for many things, but if you want authentic, chewy pizza with a crisp crust, it won’t cut it. The secret? Use high-protein Italian flour. The higher gluten content creates the structure you need for that perfect bite.

Fix: Switch to Caputo 00 flour, and watch the magic happen. Your crust will be stretchier, springier, and just plain better.

2. Overloading with Toppings

Piling on toppings sounds like a good idea—more is more, right? Wrong. Too many toppings will lead to a soggy, undercooked pizza center.

Fix: Practice restraint. Limit yourself to three or four high-quality toppings. And don’t forget: less is more when it comes to sauce and cheese. You want everything to complement the crust, not drown it.

3. Not Preheating Your Oven (or Stone/Steel)

Home ovens just don’t get as hot as professional pizza ovens, so preheating is crucial. If you skip this step, you’ll end up with a pale, doughy crust.

Fix: If you are using a home oven crank it up as high as it will go (usually 300degrees) and let it preheat for at least 30 minutes. If you’re using a pizza oven, stone or steel, make sure to preheat that too. It’ll give you that crispy, blistered crust you’re dreaming of.

4. Not Letting the Dough Rest Properly

Skipping the dough’s resting phase (or not letting it rest long enough) is a rookie mistake. Dough needs time for gluten to relax so it’s easier to shape and less likely to shrink back.

Fix: After mixing, let the dough rest for at least an hour, or better yet, overnight in the fridge. Longer fermentation equals more flavour and a better texture.

5. Using Cold Dough

Taking dough straight from the fridge and trying to stretch it out is a recipe for frustration. Cold dough is tight and will resist shaping.

Fix: Let the dough come to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before you start stretching. It’ll be easier to work with and won’t spring back every time you try to stretch it.

Want to learn more?

Come along to our Pizza making classes in our Deli Shop in South Auckland.