I’ve grown up making pizza *almost* every Friday since I was little. We started by making our own creations on top of Boboli pizza crusts and they slowly but surely evolved into the masterpieces that they are today. Ever since I moved to DC, to help fuel my creativity, my dad and I will text each other photos of the pizzas we made to see who’s turned out best! I’m pretty sure this is what helped birth my pulled pork pizza, just to make sure I was able to one-up him that week. But let’s be real…if you’re eating homemade pizza every Friday you’re pretty much already winning.

Whenever we have friends over for pizza, which is almost every time we make it, I always get asked how they come out so delicious. And of course, a lot of that comes from drool-worthy ingredients but I’ve also found that having a few of the “necessities” before you even get to the ingredient stage is a real game-changer.

1. Pizza Stone: This is pretty obvious but it really is a necessity. We always leave our pizza stone in the oven and whenever I’m getting ready to make a pizza I turn the oven on to 550 degrees Fahrenheit and let it get really hot before I put the pizza in the oven. Here’s the link to the current stone that I have.

2. Pizza Peel: This will easily help you get your pizzas in and out of the oven without burning yourself. Here’s the link to the one I currently have.

3. The Dough: I have yet to make my own pizza dough but that’s because I’m just so obsessed with the dough I currently use. It’s called Portland Pie Beer Pizza Dough and it comes in a variety of flavors like beer, wheat, garlic, and everything. At the moment, I can only find it in Boston so every time I go home my dad gives me dozens of doughs so that I can keep them in our freezer in DC. So, if anyone knows where to get it in the DMV area please let me know!

4. Parchment Paper: I highly recommend using parchment paper when making your pizzas. It helps minimize clean-up while in your pizza-coma and it helps your pizzas easily slide on and off your stone, peel, and onto your serving pan.

5. Pasta Flour: I always sprinkle a bit of pasta flour on my parchment paper before I place my rolled-out dough on top. It just helps minimize the dough sticking to the parchment paper and it helps the bottom of your dough get nice and crispy.

I hope these tips help make you feel more confident while pizza making! Use #EnamoredEats in your Instagram photos so I can see what delicious pizza creations you whip up!