The Tip Paul Hollywood Swears By When Baking Homemade Pizza Dough

Having pizza from the comfort of your own home is hard to beat. Sometimes it's enough to just lean on some budget-friendly hacks to elevate frozen pizza, but you really can't beat a from-scratch version — and perfecting that homemade pie might be a lifelong pursuit. Maybe you've mastered how to sidestep the common pizza mistake that leads to soggy dough or even toyed with the tip that your oven's broiler is the key to pulling off a restaurant-style pizza, but there are plenty of ways to improve your pizza game — and, fortunately, some come straight from experts willing to share.

TV host and celebrity chef Paul Hollywood is one such authority. Maybe you've already tested out his advice for baking the perfect crusty bread, but he also has some strategies for baking pizza that can make all the difference when creating those craveable, crusty slices. One such suggestion is all about process. Hollywood's two-fold tip for pizza dough preparation is to roll it super thin and bake it super hot.

High heat is critical to pizza perfection, which is why commercial ovens fit for the culinary task are designed to reach upwards of 900 degrees Fahrenheit. And while some pizzas are known for thickness (looking at you, Detroit and Chicago), the style that strikes that perfect crispy-chewy balance needs to be very thin before going into the oven. Both factors can seem a bit tricky to pull off at home (especially if you don't own a pizza oven), but they're not impossible to nail.

Since high heat is critical to creating the best pizza, Paul Hollywood suggests firing up the oven and leaving a plate (an oven-proof option or pizza stone) inside for at least an hour or hour and a half at the highest temperature possible. Meanwhile, it's time to get rolling. Demonstrating his process in a YouTube video, Hollywood is especially generous with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface (in his case, a butcher block cutting board). This method, as opposed to stretching, will result in a thin, crispy base with a thick crust, and helps to guarantee an evenly cooked pizza. Hollywood starts from the center of the dough, rolling outwards in all directions to achieve that signature circular shape and a consistently thin base on which to place your sauce and toppings.

When baking pizza, you're going for golden brown not only around the crusty perimeter of the pizza, but underneath as well — that color indicates crispiness. If you have a pizza oven, this should only take about three minutes, but you can still reach that peak texture in a standard oven, just add about four to five minutes. If you have a digital cooking thermometer, like this one from ThermoPro, you're going for an internal read of at least 190 degrees Fahrenheit. From there, the only tip left is to enjoy. By starting thin and baking hot, you can count on a crowd-pleasing pizza that would make Paul Hollywood proud.