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Time to call your local pizzeria.
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Pizza night happens quite a bit at our house. My husband is usually at the restaurant in the evenings, so it’s often just me and the kids for dinner, and homemade pizza has become one of those reliable weeknight meals I can pull together without too much negotiation. Everyone gets what they want, nobody has to agree on toppings, and, if I’m lucky, there are leftovers for pizza croutons the next day. The only part I’ve never been especially committed to is making the pizza dough.
Which is why I was so delighted to see Stanley Tucci express a similar sentiment. In a recent Instagram video, Stanley walks viewers through one of his favorite homemade pizzas, then casually reveals that the dough came from his local pizza maker. It may be the most relatable thing I’ve ever heard him say. More importantly, it’s a genuinely smart tip.
What is Stanley Tucci’s homemade pizza shortcut?
Early in the video, Stanley introduces the simple ingredients for his pizza and slips in one candid confession. While his wife knows how to make pizza dough, he says, he does not. So rather than making it himself, Stanley starts with fresh dough from his local pizza maker.
It’s the kind of brilliant tip that makes you wonder why more people don’t do the same thing.
With the dough already waiting on his work surface, Stanley gets on with the fun part: building the pizza. He layers on simple toppings with casual skill before sliding the whole thing into his Indoor and Outdoor Pizza Oven. Just six minutes later, he pulls out a beautifully blistered pie with a browned crust, proudly announcing that he’s made a “really, really good pizza.”
It’s a great reminder that homemade pizza doesn’t have to mean making every ingredient yourself. Sometimes it means starting with the best version of an ingredient someone else already makes exceptionally well.
How to Buy Pizza Dough From Your Local Pizzeria
If you’ve never asked your local pizza shop whether they’ll sell you raw pizza dough, it’s definitely worth a phone call. Many independent pizzerias are more than happy to sell customers a ball of fresh dough for just a few dollars. And because it’s made for the restaurant’s own pizzas, it’s often fresher than the refrigerated dough at the grocery store and typically easier to stretch. It also usually contains just the basics: flour, water, yeast, salt and oil, without the extra stabilizers needed for a longer stay in the grocery store.
If you pick some up, let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before stretching so the gluten has time to relax. Then top it however you like and bake it in the hottest oven your range allows, ideally on a preheated pizza stone.
Stanley Tucci may not make his own pizza dough, but after watching that video, I’m not convinced that’s the part of homemade pizza that matters anyway!
Related:
- Stanley Tucci’s Go-To Tomato Sauce Is All About the Method
- I Made Stanley Tucci’s 6-Ingredient Pasta Casserole and It’s Pure Leftover Magic
- Stanley Tucci Made His Favorite Childhood Meal with His Mom—and It’s the Best Use for Leftover Potatoes
