Hot Honey Pepperoni Pizza

Pepperoni is undoubtedly the number one pizza choice and it’s no wonder why. With a perfect combination of cheese, tomato, and round slices of slightly smoky, bright red pepperoni, it’s a match made in heaven that hits all the flavor notes. The only thing better than classic pepperoni pizza is pepperoni pizza drizzled with Bachan’s Hot Honey Japanese Barbecue Sauce. The extra hit of honey sweetness and pop of flavor from the soy umami takes your traditional pepperoni pizza from regular delicious to over the top extra delicious.

A short history of pepperoni pizza

Pepperoni pizza is often mistaken for a purely Italian dish, but pepperoni pizza is actually an Italian-American invention via New York City and Italian immigrants in the early 1900s. It came about after the invention of pepperoni.

Pepperoni is a dry-cured sausage made with pork and beef seasoned with chili peppers and paprika. Italian-Americans invented it in New York City as a taste of home. Pepperoni shares many similarities to the spicy cured sausages you’ll find in southern Italy like salsiccia and soppressata. The main differences between the sausages from Italy and pepperoni are the grain - pepperoni has a finer grain as well as a milder flavor. Pepperoni became a natural topping for pizza because of its long shelf life and intense flavoring.

Bachan’s Hot Honey Pepperoni Pizza

Pepperoni pizza is a classic combination of pizza dough, pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. We’re going to elevate it a bit with the addition of Bachan’s Hot Honey Japanese Barbecue Sauce. With it’s sweet, Bachan’s Hot Honey Japanese Barbecue Sauce is the perfect compliment not only drizzled on top, but in the sauce too.

A spicy homemade pizza sauce

Pizza sauce is a simple combination of crushed tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Here, we’re going to give it some extra oomph by adding Bachan’s Hot Honey Japanese Barbecue Sauce for a layer of heat, umami, and sweetness. 

Storebought vs scratch-made pizza dough

To make pizza, you’ll of course need pizza dough. If this is your first time making homemade pizza, the best thing you can do is buy the dough. You can find already made pizza dough at most grocery stores, in the fridge near the deli. If your local grocery store doesn’t sell pizza dough, you can also go to your favorite pizzeria - most will sell you balls of dough to take home. 

If you want to go all out and make your own pizza dough from scratch, the easiest pizza dough to start with is a no-knead pizza dough. There are plenty of recipes online, the only thing you need to keep in mind is that pizza dough takes time (a few hours) to proof before you can start making your pizza..

How to shape a pizza 

While we all have dreams of being a talented pizzaiolo who can toss pizza several feet in the air to shape our pizza, for most of us, using a pan will make it easier to make a perfectly round and even pizza. 

Start with a ball of pizza dough that is room temp and fully proofed. If you bought your pizza dough from a grocery store or pizza place, you’ll have a refrigerated ball of dough. Let it relax at room temp for about 1 hour so it’s pliable and ready for shaping.

Take the relaxed ball of dough and place it on a clean well-floured work surface, seam side up. Sprinkle the top of the ball of dough with flour and lightly dust your hands with flour as well. Use your hands to press the dough, starting from the centre, out towards the edges of the ball, gently pressing and shaping the ball into a flat circle.

Gently pick up the dough with one hand and make the other hand into a fist, laying the dough over your knuckles. Fist the other hand and use your fisted hands to shape the dough by pulling and stretching into a pizza with thicker edges for the crust. Gently lay the dough onto your pizza pan and then top.

How to assemble

Once your pizza dough is stretched out, it’s time to top it with our secret ingredient homemade pizza sauce. You’ll need a scant 1/2 cup of sauce for a 12 inch pizza. You’ll want a thin even layer - too much sauce and your pizza will end up with a soggy bottom. After the secret ingredient pizza sauce, evenly sprinkle on shredded mozzarella and top with pepperoni slices.

How to bake pizza at home

The key to good homemade pizza is heat. If you have one of those new at-home gas- or wood-fired pizza ovens, you already know how important it is to have your oven as hot as possible before baking. If you’re baking in a conventional oven, heat up the oven to 500°F and hold it there while you’re preparing your pizza. 

The intense heat is what is going to give the pizza crust a crisp, airy crust with a chewy inside by instantly causing the moisture in the pizza dough to expand and evaporate. The heat will also melt the cheese quickly and give the pepperoni a nice sear, bringing out the flavors.

For maximum enjoyment of your pizza, remember to let it rest for a minute after it comes out of the oven and drizzle Bachan’s Hot Honey Japanese Barbecue Sauce on top before slicing into it.