I’ve Been Making Great Pizza at Home for Years, and My Favorite Tools Start at $6

Making great pizza at home is not as hard as you think. With a few basic tools and a desire to simply make and eat a lot of pizza, you can become very good at it. I know this because while all my friends were spending the pandemic working on sourdough starters, I was cooped up at home making pizza. And I made a ton of it. 

The best advice I’ve ever gotten about homemade pizza was from a restaurateur who makes some of my favorite pies. He recommends using store-bought yeast and forgoes starters entirely, which made me a believer that you can make world class pies in your home using easy-to-get ingredients. (Seeing the absolutely bomb pizza other people were making in their home ovens didn’t hurt, either.) 

So, I set myself up for success by researching and testing out a bunch of pizza gear. I’m far from a world-class master at this point, but I do think I make decent pie. Below are 13 pizza tools I use consistently. If you own at least a few of the following things, I’m confident you’ll be serving terrific pizza in no time. 

• KitchenAid Classic Pizza Wheel, $6, originally $15
• American Metalcraft Wide-Rim Pan, $6
• Pizzacraft Steel Baking Plate, $48, originally $53
• Cuisinart Boxed Grater, $14, originally $15
• ‘The Elements of Pizza’ by Ken Forkish, $19, originally $30
• ‘Pizza Camp’ by Joe Beddia, $16, originally $33
• Briout Cooling Rack, $10
• Amazon Basics Digital Kitchen Scale, $9
• Winco Stainless Steel Dough Scraper, $5
• LloydPans Detroit-Style Pizza Pan, $41, originally $47
• American Metalcraft Pizza Peel, $15, originally $23
• New Star Foodservice Pizza Peel, $29
• Mike’s Hot Honey, $13

KitchenAid Classic Pizza Wheel

If you make even mediocre pizza (or are a frozen pizza connoisseur), you have to respect it by cutting it cleanly.  After all, nothing’s more of a bummer than reaching for a slice of pizza and watching as all the cheese slides off or the crust tears unevenly. This KitchenAid pizza wheel is sharp, dependable, and on sale for just $6. 

American Metalcraft Wide-Rim Pan

Serving your pizza on a baking sheet or cutting board? No, serve your pizza on a pan instead — it looks cool and professional, and it ensures you can serve guests (or just yourself) efficiently, since it’s large and strong enough to hold a whole pie comfortably.

Pizzacraft Steel Baking Plate

Some people are loyal to pizza stones or baking sheets. I’m a major fan of the pizza steel, which gets incredibly hot, never breaks, cleans ultra-easily, and virtually never sticks. It’s basically like cooking on a huge cast iron slab, especially if you’re super-heating it with the broiler (which you should do). 

Cuisinart Boxed Grater

If I’m being honest, buying shredded cheese is for amateurs. When companies package shredded cheese, they often mix it with additives to make the shreds not stick together in the bag. Get a box grater so you can grate fresh mozzarella and parmesan every time you’re making a pizza. You’ll see and taste the difference immediately. 

‘The Elements of Pizza’ by Ken Forkish

I spent a lot of time with this book when I first got serious about pizza. There are a ton of recipes for doughs and pizzas, and Forkish’s explanation of the techniques of mixing, shaping, and tossing dough are pretty essential for me.

‘Pizza Camp’ by Joe Beddia

If you’ve been to Pizzeria Beddia in Philadelphia, you might have already been inspired to buy this, because Joe Beddia’s restaurant is incredible. This fun, colorful book is one of the coolest pizza manuals out there, and its simplicity is pretty amazing — unlike most pizza books, this has just one dough recipe and one main red sauce recipe, fleshed out with a bunch of genius topping combinations. This is in frequent rotation in my household.

Briout Cooling Rack

If you want the crispiest undercarriage on your pizza, let it cool for a bit on a rack instead of steaming on a tray. Measuring 16 by 10 inches, Amazon’s bestselling cooling rack set includes two racks for just $10.

Amazon Basics Digital Kitchen Scale

Having an accurate kitchen scale is important because you’ll be measuring flour, water, yeast, salt, and other ingredients, and you need to be precise. You don’t need an expensive scale — I had one, and I dropped it in the sink and it died. This one from Amazon is $9 and has over 92,000 five-star ratings, so I’d trust it to measure some flour.

Winco Stainless Steel Dough Scraper

This is an easy, clean way to cut pizza dough without stretching or tearing it. Pros use these, and you should, too.

LloydPans Detroit-Style Pizza Pan

If you’re ever making Detroit-style pizza, LloydPans are legendary for the task. These pre-seasoned, nonstick pans use anodized aluminum (read: they give you those incredible caramelized edges without your pizza sticking).

American Metalcraft Pizza Peel

I personally love this thin, metal pizza peel. I like how light and easy to maneuver it is, and its small size made it perfect for the tiny kitchen apartment I had when I started my pizza journey.

New Star Foodservice Pizza Peel

Some people prefer a thicker, wooden peel, and I totally get it. My fiancée is one of those people, and her pizza is really good. Honestly, there’s no right answer other than that you should use whatever kind of peel fits your personal style. This one is voluminous and sturdy, but its angled lip makes it really easy for your dough to slide off into the oven. I’ve also found that dough sticks less to wood than it does to metal, so there’s that. 

Mike’s Hot Honey

I’m pretty traditional when it comes to pizza and its toppings (though I do love pineapple, but that’s a conversation for a different day). Still, it’s hard to deny that hot honey can be perfect alongside the right ingredients. Keeping a bottle handy is one of the most crowd-pleasing moves you can keep up your sleeve.