NATALIE CAUDILL/DMN

A build-your-own-pizza party is a terrific opportunity for a low-cost hands-on get-together, where everyone gathers in the kitchen and creates an edible masterpiece.

Got friends who don't cook? Make French bread pizzas with baguettes. Got friends who are closet chefs? Let them prepare crusts of the gods. A pizza party can be as basic or elaborate as you like. "Think about it," says Ed Levine, author of Pizza: A Slice of Heaven (Universe Publishing, $24.95). "The essence of good pizza is melted cheese on warm bread. ... Everyone loves melted cheese on bread."

At the other extreme, don't expect to re-create restaurant pizza at home.

"They're two totally different worlds because of the heat," says self-described "bread doctor" David Brawley, who created the acclaimed crust recipe for Dallas' Fireside Pies. Although most home ovens don't get hot enough to properly cook a pizza, he says, there are ways to optimize what you've got.

And most of the fun is in creation.

Before turning your kitchen into Little Italy for a night, here's what you need to know.

The crust is the foundation of the pizza. But our experts agree that you shouldn't make pizza dough from scratch for a party if you've never done it before. Some other options:

French baguettes – cut into 6- to 8-inch lengths and split horizontally.

Focaccia or ciabatta bread, preferably from a good bakery, such as La Spiga or Eatzi's, or upscale supermarkets.

Hot roll mix

Refrigerated or frozen ready-made crusts. These aren't homemade, but if your crowd won't know the difference, they're a lot easier than the real thing.

Even Bobolis are "totally cool," says Dallas cooking hobbyist David Silva, if your friends won't know the difference. No matter what you use, start by brushing it with olive oil to create a barrier between the crust and the toppings, Mr. Brawley suggests.

The do-it-yourself crust: Still want to do it yourself? Give it a shot and keep some of the others on hand as backups. The keys to making your own crust are time and good flour. Here are some tips from Mr. Brawley for making a good crust:

Use good, unbleached all-purpose flour. (Die-hard health foodies may wish to use whole-wheat pastry flour, but it won't have the same texture.)

Let dough rise and relax. This can be done the day before the party.

Remove dough from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you're ready to form the crusts.

Flatten with a rolling pin or with your fingers. Or, for more fun, Mr. Brawley suggests this method: First, flatten the dough ball into a disc.

"Lay it on the edge of a table, half on, half flapping over," he says. Stretch the part hanging off the table while turning the dough with one hand. Keep turning until it's all stretched and has a nice rim around the edge.

Place dough on a surface that has been dusted with flour or cornmeal and brush the top with a little olive oil.

"If you want to get people involved, have them bring the toppings they want," says Mr. Silva, who, as a 19-year-old college student, knows a good party.

Try these:

Sauce: Avoid tomato paste and "pizza sauce" and make it from scratch, suggests Mr. Levine, author and New York City food critic. Use San Marzano, a type of Italian tomatoes for the best flavor. They're available at Italian specialty stores and many supermarkets that have a gourmet section. Spread sauce thinly.

Cheese: For the very best pizza, Mr. Levine recommends using fresh mozzarella from Dallas' own Mozzarella Company, sliced thinly and used sparingly.

"Don't create a space blanket of cheese," he says. "The whole idea is that there should be discrete areas of sauce and cheese."

Veggies: Choose bell peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms and tomato slices – whatever you want. Guests can prep at the party if there are enough space, knives and cutting boards; otherwise, ask them to chop at home.

Meat: This may include pepperoni, ham, hamburger or quality Italian sausage.

Be sure to precook and drain your hamburger and sausage; otherwise your crust might get soggy.

Finishing touches: Add to the pizza as it emerges from the oven. These include fresh herbs such as basil or arugula. Prosciutto should also be added once the pizza's done.

You can also dust the hot pizza with grated Parmesan or Grano Padano cheese.

If you've got artistes on your hands, suggest that they cut veggies into rectangles, strips, circles and other shapes. Colored bell peppers work especially well for this. Then guests can decorate their pizzas à la Mondrian or Picasso. (See Pizza Art by Karin Niedermeier, Globe Pequot, $10.36)

Preheat the oven at its highest baking setting if you're using homemade crust. Otherwise follow package directions or lower the heat to 400 F to 450 F when it's time to cook.

Mr. Brawley suggests using a pizza stone.

"You want to create a surface inside the oven that's as hot as the oven," he says.

"That's the secret to a great crust: It hits the hot surface and starts cooking immediately."

Slide pizzas, one by one, off the cookie sheets right onto your stone or tiles. If you have no stone or tiles, cook directly on baking sheets. But you won't get the same results.

When the crust begins to brown and the cheese bubbles, use spatulas to lift the pizza out of the oven.

Kim Pierce is a Dallas freelance writer.

Equipment for making pizza

To cook a good pizza at home, you need a few essentials:

Flat baking sheets with a single lip so you can slide each pizza into the oven.

Sturdy spatulas to lift pizzas out of the oven. Or a 12-inch pizza peel, a wooden paddle available at restaurant-supply houses and kitchen stores.

Pizza-cutting wheel or a sharp knife.

Pizza stone to help replicate a restaurant pizza oven. Or improvise with unsealed terra-cotta tiles from a home-improvement store. Be sure to wash them first. Then soak the tiles in water before heating in the oven so they don't crack. Arrange a surface of tiles in the oven big enough to hold one or two small pizzas, leaving enough space at the edge for heat to circulate.

Getting started

The guest list: "I'd say the max is probably 10," says Dallas cooking hobbyist David Silva, a freshman at New York University. Remember, he says, you've probably got only one oven. Even if the cooking time is 10 minutes for each pizza, "the 10th person is going to get pretty hungry."

The party plan: Everyone can construct pizzas simultaneously, if you have enough space and baking sheets. If not, stagger guests at a central workstation, preparing one or two pizzas at a time while other guests watch, talk or play games.

Mr. Silva recommends having a stash of spare snacks, drinks and ingredients in case a guest forgets to bring a contribution.

"You can always freeze the dough later, or chuck the vegetables," he says.

But if you run out of food, your party's over.

What guests should bring: It's like a potluck, but with a savvier plan. You provide the pizza basics – crust, sauce and cheese. Let your guests supply the rest:

•Veggie and meat toppings.

•Baking sheets – the flat ones with a single lip on one end.

•Antipasti – Italian meats, olives and pickled vegetables – for the last one in line for pizza, Mr. Silva says.

•Other non-pizza items: salad makings, beverages and "P 'n' P," paper and plastic such as plates, cutlery, napkins and trash bags for cleanup.

•Games to amuse guests while they wait.

Warm 1/8 cup of the water (not to exceed 110 F). Mix in yeast and honey. Let stand 10 minutes. If yeast doubles in size, it has activated.

(If not, throw mixture out and start over. Make sure the water's not hot.)

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, olive oil and remaining water. Beat with a wooden spoon until it makes a shaggy dough, then finish mixing with floured hands.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. To test whether the dough has been sufficiently mixed, do baker Peter Reinhart's "window pane" test: Take a small piece of dough and form it into a ball. Rotate, gently tug and stretch it out to form a paper-thin, translucent membrane near the center. If the dough does not do this, it probably needs working a minute or two longer. Any adjustments to flour or water amounts can be made at this time.

Put dough in a large greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth and place in a warm, draft-free spot. Allow to rise for about 2 hours, or until volume doubles.

Divide the dough into balls about 21/2 inches in diameter. Allow to rest 15 to 20 minutes before forming into crusts. Or wrap balls in plastic wrap and store up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Allow to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before using. Makes about 5 to 6 (6- to 8-inch) crusts.

SOURCE: David Brawley

Heat the olive oil in a 4- to 5-quart saucepan and gently cook the chopped onion until just translucent. Empty the tomatoes into a large strainer set over a 2- to 3-quart bowl. Squish them with your hands until no large pieces remain. This should be quite enjoyable.

Empty the solids in the strainer into the saucepan. Add 1 ½ cups of the tomato drippings and stir in the remaining ingredients except the pepper. Bring to a snappy simmer; cook for about 20 minutes, and remove from heat. Add about 16 turns of ground pepper. When it cools, the sauce should make about 1 quart.

SOURCE: Pizza: A Slice of Heaven