This page has a list of the gear that I use and love to make pizza at home. Having the right tools makes a world of difference. The links below are affiliate links, so purchasing through these links will help to support the site! The links below will allow you to easily jump to a particular section.
Tools
Over the years I’ve collected a variety of tools that help to make my pizza process more efficient and fun.
Scale
Baking by mass will change your life. For making pizza, it's also very valuable to have a 0.1 g resolution scale if possible in order to measure out the small quantities of ingredients like yeast. Most of the cheapest scales you'll see out there are 0.5 g, but 0.1 g resolution won't cost you too much more. I have had this Escali Versi scale for the last few years and really like it, both for pizza and pour over coffee.
Foldable Probe Thermometer
When you're making pizza, a digital kitchen thermometer is helpful for checking the temperature of the water for activating the yeast and also for checking the temperature of the dough when you finish making the dough balls. I have the ThermoPro TP03 which is around $15 and has worked well for me. Thermapen is the top-of-the-line brand for these kind of thermometers, but they're ten times more expensive. I've had the Thermopro for many years now and it works great for me. Physical construction could be a bit nicer, but the reading updates quickly has a bright and easy-to-read LCD display. Seems like there is a newer version available for a few bucks more if you're in the market for one.
Non-contact Infrared Thermometer
I got this ThermoPro TP30 thermometer gun for doing non-contact measurements of the pizza stone. Its helpful to have a sense to know when the oven is preheated enough to start cooking and also to know whether you've given enough time in between pies to allow the stone to recover the heat you need for a nice, crispy crust.
Proofing Boxes
Proofing boxes are not a requirement, but if you make pizza regularly like I do you'll be thankful you got them. These boxes make it so much easier to proof your dough in the fridge. And if you're not proofing your dough in the fridge, you should be.
Box Grater
Making the move from store-bought shredded cheese to shredding your own from a block is a quick and easy way to up your pizza game. What you may not realize is that the shredded cheese you buy in the bag at the store is coated to help prevent mold and keep it from clumping. This KitchenAid Box Grater is great, easy to clean, and even comes with a small container that fits under the grater to easily collect the shredded cheese. One tip: make sure to clean it shortly after using it if you can. It's much easier to clean before the cheese hardens on!
Wood Peel
I really like this wood peel from New Star Foodservice. A wood peel is a must-have for easy launching. It's simple and works great. The 12" wide peel is perfect for an Ooni Koda 12 but if you have a bigger oven like an Ooni Koda 16, I would recommend getting the larger size 16" peel.
Metal Turning Peel
The turning peel is clutch both for turning your pies in the oven and for pulling them out when they're done.
The thin metal makes it easy to slip the peel under the pie to turn it and the small size means that you have some manueverability in the oven to turn without taking the pie out.
I have and love the Ooni-branded turning peel and it's worth the extra money in my opinion, but there are cheaper alternatives if you want to save a few bucks.
This one is a solid cheaper option.
Ooni Pizza Dough Calculator App
The Ooni Dough Calculator app is a great tool to easily calculate the ratio of ingredients you need and to experiment with different ratios. Also great when you want to scale the number of dough balls up or down depending on the size of the crowd you're planning to host for pizza night.
Ooni Koda 12
The Ooni Koda 12 Gas-powered oven is my go to. I love this oven. It's not cheap, but if you make and eat a lot of pizza like I do it can pay for itself quickly. Plus, making pizza is fun!
Ooni Koda 12 Cover
This Ooni Koda 12 Carry Cover is great for protecting your oven when you're not using it. It's a well made cover and even has a handle on top so you can easily transport it.
Pizza Cutter
I got this pizza cutter as a Christmas gift last year and it's been great. Super sharp and the rocker makes it easier to cut the pizzas without messing up the cheese on top which is much harder to do with a rolling cutter.
Ingredients
Great pizza starts with great ingredients. Here you’ll find a list of a few staples that I love to use on my pies!
King Arthur Bread Flour
King Arthur bread flour is high quality and is great for making New York- or New Haven-style doughs.
King Arthur 00 Flour
King Arthur '00' Pizza flour is great for making Neopolitan-style doughs. The flour is ground more finely than standard flour which helps you to get to the crisp and chewy crust that is a hallmark of Neopolitan pizza.
San Marzano Tomatoes
San Marzano canned tomatoes are what I use as the base ingredient for making my pizza sauce. It's not challenging at all to make great sauce at home and these tomatoes make a great base.
Mozzarella Cheese
My favorite here is Trader Joe's Whole Milk Mozzarella cheese. It comes in a 16 oz./453 g log which you can shred on your box grater. One 16 oz. package normally shreds to make enough cheese for about four 12" pies, so keep in mind that you may need more than one!
Resources
Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish
I got The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish shortly after starting to make pizza and learned the basics from Ken's excellent teaching. He walks you through not only the basic tools you need to get started, but gives you a crash course in the basic principles you need to start experimenting with different doughs. I still regularly use his basic sauce recipe.