This is a compilation of all the various pizza recipes I've collected over the years. I just recently (at the time of this writing) bought an Ooni pizza oven, an outdoor oven that uses a propane tank. The Ooni is highly regarded and usually ranks as the number 1 choice for home pizza ovens. I have not used it yet. You would think after all the many thousands of pizzas I've bought in my life (I estimate about 2,400, based on a spreadsheet I created) I would have started making my own long ago.
However I'd like to start by recommeding Serious Eats and their "Pizza Lab". Serious Eats is of course the premier Food Science Lab website on the internet, managed by the famous J. Kenji López-Alt. It's an extraordinary website, the equivalent of thousands of dollars of cookbooks and cooking classes. They have a huge number of articles on pizza, including recipes for doughs, pizza recipes, how-to and techniques, equipment reviews, etc. Most of the stuff on this page is just from their website.
I'm starting with variations of pizza doughs, click here to go directly to pizza recipes.
The most important ingredient. This section focuses just on different recipes for dough. However some of the pizza recipes that follow also contain dough recipes specific to them. Here are some general comments about pizza dough:
SERIOUS EATS DOUGH RECIPES
Here's some of the main dough recipes from Serious Eats. However, many of the pizza recipes have dough recipes built in them as well.
Thin crisp dough that works well in high-heat ovens. It is a 65% hydration dough.
Ingredients
20 ounces bread flour, preferably Italian-style "00"
.4 ounces kosher salt (about 4 teaspoons)
.3 ounces (about 2 teaspoons) instant yeast, such as SAF Instant Yeast
13 ounces water
Instructions
1. Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and whisk until homogenous. Add water and incorporate into flour using hands until no dry flour remains on bottom of bowl. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
2. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide into four even balls. Place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Place in refrigerator and allow to rise at least 2 more days, and up to 4. Remove from refrigerator, shape into balls, and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before baking.
Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough Recipe
This recipe is derived from a restauranteur that J. Kenji admires, a 70% hydration dough.
Ingredients
500g all-purpose flour (17 1/2 ounces), plus more for shaping the dough
1g (1/4 teaspoon) active dry yeast
16g (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
350g (1 1/2 cups) water
Instructions
1. In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and, with a wooden spoon or your hands, mix thoroughly.
2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature (about 72°F/22°C) for 18 hours or until it has more than doubled. It will take longer in a chilly room and less time in a very warm one.
3. Flour a work surface and scrape out the dough. Divide it into 4 equal parts and shape them: For each portion, start with the right side of the dough and pull it toward the center; then do the same with the left, then the top, then the bottom. (The order doesn’t actually matter; what you want is four folds.) Shape each portion into a round and turn seam side down. Mold dough into a neat circular mound. The mounds should not be sticky; if they are, dust with more flour.
4. If you don’t intend to use the dough right away, wrap the balls individually in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Return to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter, covered in a damp cloth, for 2 to 3 hours before needed.
Outdoor Pizza Oven Pizza Dough
This recipe says it is specially formulated for a high-temperature tabletop pizza oven. It specifically references the Ooni, which is the one I just bought. Their goal was eliminating the tendency of crusts to turn practically black before the topping and undersides were cooked. They accomplish this by deleting ingredients that may cause burning, especially sugar and oil, instead using the most basic ingredients for bread: flour, water, yeast, salt. Which is actually the same as the above recipes.
This recipe also makes use of a kitchen thermometer at various stages, which I haven't seen before.
The original article has useful photos that are worth checking out.
Ingredients
535g (18.9 ounces) high protein all-purpose flour, such as King Arthur (Baker’s percentage: 100%)
2g (0.07 ounce; 1/2 teaspoon) instant dry yeast, such as SAF (Baker’s percentage: 0.4%)
360g (12.7 ounces; about 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon) water, at 40°F (4°C) (Baker’s percentage: 67%)
12g (0.4 ounce; 1 tablespoon) Diamond Crystal kosher salt (Baker’s percentage: 2%)
Extra-virgin olive oil for oiling proofing containers and dough balls
Instructions
1. In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and, with a wooden spoon or your hands, mix thoroughly.
2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature (about 72°F/22°C) for 18 hours or until it has more than doubled. It will take longer in a chilly room and less time in a very warm one.
3. Flour a work surface and scrape out the dough. Divide it into 4 equal parts and shape them: For each portion, start with the right side of the dough and pull it toward the center; then do the same with the left, then the top, then the bottom. (The order doesn’t actually matter; what you want is four folds.) Shape each portion into a round and turn seam side down. Mold dough into a neat circular mound. The mounds should not be sticky; if they are, dust with more flour.
4. If you don’t intend to use the dough right away, wrap the balls individually in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Return to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter, covered in a damp cloth, for 2 to 3 hours before needed.
Basic Square Pan Pizza Dough (Sicilian Style)
This is a unique dough for making square (well, rectangular) pizzas. It really does not work in a high-heat "Ooni" style oven. It's meant to be baked in a rectangular pan (with sides) that is first loaded with olive oil before putting in the dough, so that the dough basically fries in the oil. It is a high-hydration dough at 70%, which makes it more bubbly and thicker, somewhat similar to focaccia. The high hydration makes it easier to spread out in the pan - just dump it in the pan and it starts spreading out on its own. J Kenji says this is his favorite dough for gatherings.
Ingredients
17.5 ounces (500g) all-purpose or bread flour
0.35 ounce (10g, about 2 teaspoons) kosher salt
0.18 ounce (5g, about 1 teaspoon) instant or RapidRise yeast
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
12.25 ounces (347g, about 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons) water, room temperature
Instructions
1. Combine flour, salt, yeast, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in bowl of stand mixer (see note for mixer-free version). Whisk to combine. Add water to mixer and mix on medium speed until it comes together and no dry flour remains. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until the dough is stretchy and smooth, about 6 minutes. The dough should stick to the bottom of the bowl but pull away from the sides.
2. Pour remaining olive oil into rimmed baking sheet and spread over entire inner surface with hands. Transfer dough to 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet and rub top surface with oil until thoroughly coated. Cover with baking sheet with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until dough has spread out to touch nearly each rim of baking sheet, about 2 hours.
3. 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 550°F. Carefully remove plastic wrap from pizza dough. Using oiled hands and being as gentle as possible to maintain air bubbles, push and stretch the dough into the corners of the pan by pressing out from the center and lifting each corner and stretching it beyond the edge of the pan. It should pull back until the pan is just filled with dough.
4. Top pizza as desired (see note) and bake until bottom is crisp and top surface is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes total. Allow to cool at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Note: To make without a stand mixer, combine flour, salt, yeast, and olive oil in a large bowl. Whisk to combine, then add water. stir together vigorously with a wooden spoon until homogeneous, about 3 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to 15. Continue with step 2 as directed. For a basic topping, roughly puree 1 (28-ounce) can san marzano tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and kosher salt to taste. Spread 2/3rds of sauce over pizza leaving a 1-inch border all around. Top with half pound grated mozzarella cheese and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil before baking and to with grated parmesan as soon as it comes out of the oven.
A small selection, most of the pizza recipes (below) have the sauce recipe included within them.
A somewhat more complicated sauce than most, but still not very difficult looking with ingredients easily found.
Ingredients
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon (15ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (15ml) unsalted butter
2 medium cloves garlic, grated on microplane grater (about 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half
2 (6-inch) sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached
1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
1. Process tomatoes and their juice through food mill, pulse in food processor until puréed, or purée with immersion blender. Purée should not be completely smooth, but should have no chunks larger than 1/16th of an inch. Set tomatoes aside.
2. Combine oil and butter in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, onion halves, basil sprigs, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 1 hour. Discard onions and basil stems. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Here's the recipes!
From Serious Eats / J. Kenji. This is a very special, unique and specific type of pizza. Among other requirements, it is square or rectangular, with a rather thick crust and more than anything else a crispy crunchy edge around the pizza that is slightly blackened. See picture below the recipe. I strongly recommend reading J. Kenji's writeup. Some of the things that make this pizza unique which he had to figure out:
Here's the recipe
Detroit Style Pan Pizza
Ingredients
For the Dough:
300g bread flour (10.5 ounces
5g instant yeast (0.15 ounce; about 1 teaspoon), such as SAF Instant Yeast
9g salt (0.3 ounce; about 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt or 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
220g water (7.75 ounces; about 1 cup minus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
For the Sauce
2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons (about 5g) dried oregano
Dash red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce; 800g) can high-quality crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon (about 6g) granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon (about 6g) granulated onion powder
1 tablespoon (about 15g) sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
To finish:
12 ounces (340g) brick cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (see note)
12 ounces (340g) high-quality natural-casing pepperoni, such as Boar's Head or Vermont Smoke & Cure, cut into 1/8-inch slices (optional)
Instructions
1. To Make the Dough in a Food Processor: J. Kenji says this recipe works great in a food processor. Combine flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add water, then turn on processor and process until dough forms a ball that rides around the bowl of the processor, about 30 seconds. Continue processing for 30 seconds longer. Transfer dough to a bowl, form a tight ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
2. To Make the Dough in a Stand Mixer: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Stir to combine, then add water. Mix on low speed until dough comes together into a rough ball, then shut off mixer and let rest for 10 minutes. Continue mixing at medium-low speed until dough forms a smooth, silky ball, about 10 minutes longer. (It should stick to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads rather than riding around the edges.) Remove dough hook, form dough into a tight ball, set in the bottom of the mixer bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
3. To Make the Dough by Hand: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine, then add water and stir with a wooden spoon until a rough ball of dough has formed. Set aside for 10 minutes. Turn dough out onto a countertop and knead until a smooth, silky ball has formed, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a bowl, form a tight ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has roughly doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
4. Pour a couple tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a Detroit-style anodized aluminum pan or two 8- by 8-inch cake pans. (Split dough in half if using cake pans.) Transfer dough to pan(s) and turn to coat in oil. Press down on dough and spread it toward the edges. You won't be able to get it all the way to the edges; this is okay. Spread it as much as you can without tearing, then cover tightly in plastic and set aside for 30 minutes to allow dough to relax. Return to dough and stretch it out again. It should be able to reach the edges this time. If not, let it rest a little more and try again. To get the dough to stay in the corners, stretch it up beyond the corners so that it pulls back into place. Once dough is stretched, cover again and set aside while you make the sauce.
5. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 550°F (290°C), or as close to it as your oven gets. Depending on your confidence for the oven temp, you may want to also preheat a pizza steel.
6: For the sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add minced garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
7. To Form the Pizza: Press down on dough with your fingertips to remove any large air bubbles. Lay half of pepperoni (if using) evenly over face of dough. Top with cheese, spreading it evenly all the way to the very edges of the pan, then add remaining pepperoni. Spoon sauce over surface in 3 even rows. (You will need only about half the sauce—save the rest for another pizza.)
8. Transfer to oven and bake until edges are black and bubbly and exposed cheese on top is starting to lightly brown, 12 to 15 minutes. (If your oven doesn't cook well from the bottom, consider placing the pizza directly on the oven floor.) Transfer to a trivet or folded kitchen towel on countertop.
9. Run a thin metal spatula all the way around the edges of the pan to loosen the pizza. Carefully lift it out and slide it onto a cutting board. Cut pizza and serve.
Notes
Brick cheese is a high-fat aged cheese from Wisconsin. It has a buttery flavor and browns very well, giving Detroit pizza its distinct flavor. You can order it online from Amazon. If it's unavailable, you can use a combination of Jack or young cheddar and low-moisture mozzarella.
For best results, use a Detroit-style anodized aluminum pan. If you can't get your hands on that kind of pan, you can split the recipe into two square 8- by 8-inch cake pans.
This is a "total" pizza recipe that includes the dough recipe. It sounded intriguing. In his writeup J Kenji mentions that he topped it with pepperoni that curled up into cups with crispy edges and oil in them, which is absolutely the best way to do it. This recipe was designed for a regular oven (not a high-heat pizza oven) with some unique instructions for using a pizza stone, so it's not be suitable for the Ooni. This recipe links to another recipe for the pizza sauce.
Ingredients
18 ounces all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
0.25 ounce (about 2 teaspoons) salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces lukewarm water
1 tablespoon canola, grapeseed, or vegetable oil
1 recipe New York-style pizza sauce, puréed with a hand blender or standing blender until smooth
2 ounces finely grated parmesan
1 to 1 1/2 pounds grated low-moisture mozzarella cheese
Toppings as desired
Instructions
1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 to 4 times until incorporated. Add olive oil and water. Run food processor until mixture forms a ball that rides around the bowl above the blade, about 15 seconds. Continue processing 15 seconds longer. Alternatively, combine ingredients in a stand mixer and mix on low speed for 10 minutes.
2. Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice by hand until a smooth ball is formed. Transfer to a gallon-sized zipper lock bag, seal, and place in the refrigerator. Allow to ferment for at least 1, and up to 5 days.
3. At least 2 hours before baking, remove dough from refrigerator and divide into 4 even balls. Shape into balls by gathering dough towards the bottom and pinching shut. Flour well and place each one in a separate bowl (cereal bowls or small mixing bowls work well). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at warm room temperature until roughly doubled in volume.
4. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack with pizza stone to top position and place a second rack one position below it. Preheat oven to 550°F (290°C) for at least 1 hour.
5. Turn a single dough ball out onto floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 12-inch circle, lifting and stretching by hand if necessary. Grease an aluminum baking sheet with 1 tablespoon canola oil. Transfer dough to baking sheet. Spread about 1/2 cup of sauce evenly over entire surface of pie. Sprinkle with 1/4 of parmesan. Spread 1/4 of cheese in even layer over surface. Top with additional toppings as desired.
6. Place in oven on rack immediately under the baking stone. Bake until edges are just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven (close oven). Using a thin flexible metal spatula, carefully separate the pizza's edges from the pan (the pizza should slide around freely). Carefully slide pizza off of pan and onto baking stone. Continue baking until bottom is deep golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Transfer pizza to a cutting board with a pizza peel. Cut into 8 slices, and serve. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with remaining pizzas.
Fast Cast Iron Skillet Pizza.
This is from the Washington Post and is an adjunct recipe for their Basic Bread Dough. The writeup said three keys to the recipe are a blazing hot skillet, fairly dry toppings, and layering ingredients in the proper order: tomatoes, cheese, sausage, cheese, sausage. No cheese on top because it will burn. The instructions for pressing the dough out in the extremely hot skillet are a little unnerving.
Ingredients
1 lb of Basic Bread Dough
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, or more as needed
6 ounces (about 2 links) sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
1/4 cup (about 10) pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 cup (about 1 ounce) arugula leaves
1 teaspoon cornmeal or semolina
1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) canned, no-salt-added fire-roasted tomatoes, drained and diced
4 ounces (about 1 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella
Grated Parmesan (optional)
Fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Place a well-seasoned 12-inch cast-iron skillet, or other ovenproof, heavy-bottom skillet, in the oven.
2. In another large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the olives and stir to combine. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir the arugula into meat.
3. Stretch dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Using sturdy oven mitts, carefully remove the very hot skillet from the oven and place it on a heatproof surface. Sprinkle the cornmeal into the skillet. Carefully place the dough on top of the cornmeal and press the dough out toward the edges of the pan, being careful not to touch the very hot skillet. It’s okay if the dough bounces back a bit. Brush the edges of the dough with the olive oil, creating a 1-inch border of oiled dough.
4. Spoon the tomatoes over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with half of the mozzarella, followed by the half of the sausage-arugula mixture. Repeat with the remaining mozzarella and sausage mixture.
5. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the bottom of the pizza is crisp and the cheese is starting to bubble.
6. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 3 minutes before serving. Using oven mitts to hold the hot pan, tilt the pan over a cutting board and use a spatula to gently slide the pizza onto the board.Sprinkle with Parmesan and fresh basil, if desired, then cut and serve.
Thin-Crust Pizza
From Cook's Illustrated. Here's their notes:
Why this recipe works:
Kneading our pizza dough’s ingredients in the food processor was quicker and just as efficient as using a stand mixer. To keep our Thin-Crust Pizza recipe from puffing as it cooked and to infuse it with flavor, we let it proof in the refrigerator for up to three days. Finally, placing our pizza stone as close to the upper heating element as possible crisped our Thin-Crust Pizza and browned it.
NOTE: Our preferred brand of whole-milk mozzarella is Sorrento Galbani. You can shape the second dough ball while the first pizza bakes, but don't top the pizza until right before you bake it. If you don't have a baking stone, bake the pizzas on an overturned and preheated rimmed baking sheet. It is important to use ice water in the dough to prevent overheating the dough while in the food processor. Semolina flour is ideal for dusting the peel; use it in place of bread flour if you have it. The sauce will yield more than needed in the recipe; extra sauce can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to a month.
Makes two 13-inch pizzas
Ingredients
Dough
3 cups (16 1/2 ounces) bread flour, plus more for work surface (see note)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/3 cups ice water (about 10 1/2 ounces) (see note)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for work surface
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
Sauce
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and liquid discarded
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Cheese
1 oz finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
8 ozs whole milk mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
Instructions
1. FOR THE DOUGH: In food processor fitted with metal blade, process flour, sugar, and yeast until combined, about 2 seconds. With machine running, slowly add water through feed tube; process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds. Let dough stand 10 minutes.
2. Add oil and salt to dough and process until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of workbowl, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove dough from bowl and knead briefly on lightly oiled countertop until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape dough into tight ball and place in large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
3. FOR THE SAUCE: Process all ingredients in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer to medium bowl or container and refrigerate until ready to use.
4. TO BAKE THE PIZZA: One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to second highest position (rack should be about 4 to 5 inches below broiler), set pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. Shape each half into smooth, tight ball. Place on lightly oiled baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart; cover loosely with plastic wrap coated with nonstick cooking spray; let stand for 1 hour.
5. Coat 1 ball of dough generously with flour and place on well-floured countertop. Using fingertips, gently flatten into 8-inch disk, leaving 1 inch of outer edge slightly thicker than center. Using hands, gently stretch disk into 12-inch round, working along edges and giving disk quarter turns as you stretch. Transfer dough to well-floured peel and stretch into 13-inch round. Using back of spoon or ladle, spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce in thin layer over surface of dough, leaving 1/4-inch border around edge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan evenly over sauce, followed by 1 cup mozzarella. Slide pizza carefully onto stone and bake until crust is well browned and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating pizza halfway through. Remove pizza and place on wire rack for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Repeat step 5 to shape, top, and bake second pizza.
TOPPING TIPS: We like our Thin-Crust Pizza simply dressed with tomato sauce and handfuls of shredded mozzarella and Parmesan, but additional toppings are always an option--provided they're prepared correctly and added judiciously. (An overloaded pie will bake up soggy.) Here are a few guidelines for how to handle different types of toppings:
HEARTY VEGETABLES Aim for a maximum of 6 ounces per pie, spread out in a single layer. Vegetables such as onions, peppers, and mushrooms should be thinly sliced and lightly sautéed (or microwaved for a minute or two along with a little olive oil) before using.
DELICATE VEGETABLES AND HERBS Leafy greens and herbs like spinach and basil are best placed beneath the cheese to protect them or added raw to the fully cooked pizza.
MEATS Proteins (no more than 4 ounces per pie) should be precooked and drained to remove excess fat. We like to poach meats like sausage (broken up into 1/2-inch chunks), pepperoni, or ground beef for 4 to 5 minutes in a wide skillet along with 1/4 cup of water, which helps to render the fat while keeping the meat moist.