Not only is it time to upgrade and experiment with new equipment but add zip to your toppings as well. Instead of using pre-shredded cheese and pepperoni, try a variety of authentic Italian cheeses, including fresh mozzarella, fontina and Taleggio, and use flavorful meats, including sausage, pancetta and prosciutto.

If you don't feel like investing in a new baking pan, use a pizza stone or other large cast-iron skillet.

Arugula, Goat Cheese and Walnut Pizza

6 servings
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

1/2 cup shelled walnuts
1/2 recipe pizza dough
1 tablespoon roasted walnut oil, divided
2 cups arugula
4 ounces goat cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic vinegar for finishing

Place a cast-iron pizza pan on the middle rack of the oven and heat to 450 degrees. Scatter the walnuts over the hot pan and toast until browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure they don't burn. Carefully take the hot pan from the oven, remove the toasted nuts and return the pan to the oven. Break apart the walnuts if they're large.

Brush the prepared pizza dough with 1 teaspoon walnut oil. Spread the arugula over the dough, then crumble the goat cheese over the top. Sprinkle the walnuts over the pizza, drizzle with the remaining walnut oil and grind black pepper over the top.

Slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto an inverted cookie sheet or peel, then transfer both parchment and pizza onto the hot pan in the oven. Cook until golden and crisp, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating once during baking. Remove the pizza from the oven by pulling out the parchment paper and sliding it back onto the cookie sheet, or remove the hot pizza pan and place on a trivet. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar, slice and serve immediately.

— Los Angeles Times

Per serving: 223 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 8 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 12 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 9 milligrams cholesterol, 212 milligrams sodium.

Leek and Pancetta Pizza

6 servings
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

There is no more flavorful combination than sautéed leeks and pancetta, salty Italian bacon. Garlic paste is found in tubes in many supermarkets or specialty markets like Whole Foods. Pureed roasted garlic or garlic oil can be substituted.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, diced
1 leek, white and light green part only, sliced
1/2 recipe pizza dough
2 tablespoons garlic paste
Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces Italian fontina cheese, grated

Place a cast-iron pizza pan on the middle rack of the oven and heat to 450 degrees.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add oil. Sauté pancetta and leeks for 8 to 10 minutes, or until leeks soften and pancetta renders much of its fat.

Brush the prepared pizza dough with the garlic paste. Spread the pancetta/leek mixture evenly over the pizza. Grind a little black pepper over the top. Top with fontina cheese.

Slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto an inverted cookie sheet or peel, then transfer both

parchment and pizza to the hot pizza pan. Cook until golden and crispy, about 12 to 16 minutes, rotating once halfway through (use the parchment to do so).

Remove the pizza from the oven either by pulling out the parchment paper and sliding the pizza back onto the cookie sheet or by taking out the hot pizza pan and placing it on a trivet. Slice and serve hot.

— Jeanne Besser

Per serving: 225 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 14 grams protein, 24 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 35 milligrams cholesterol, 901 milligrams sodium.

Wild Mushroom and Taleggio Pizza

6 servings
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Taleggio is a soft cheese that melts into yummy gooeyness. You can use pizza sauce or layer the cheese directly on the crust after brushing it with olive oil.

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups assorted mushrooms, including shiitake and baby bellas
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 recipe pizza dough
1/3 cup pizza sauce
4 ounces Taleggio cheese, sliced

Place a cast-iron pizza pan on the middle rack of the oven and heat to 450 degrees.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms until they begin to soften. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Spread the prepared pizza dough with the pizza sauce. Top with cheese and the mushroom mixture.

Slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto an inverted cookie sheet or peel, then transfer both parchment and pizza to the hot pizza pan. Cook until golden and crispy, about 12 to 16 minutes, rotating once halfway through (use the parchment to do so). Remove the pizza from the oven either by pulling out the parchment paper and sliding the pizza back onto the cookie sheet or by taking out the hot pizza pan and placing it on a trivet. Slice and serve hot.

— Jeanne Besser

Per serving: 209 calories (percent of calories from fat, 38), 8 grams protein, 24 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 9 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 17 milligrams cholesterol, 404 milligrams sodium.

Basic Pizza Dough

Makes 2 pizzas, about 10 inches in diameter; about 12 servings
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes plus overnight
rising time and 1 hour resting time

1 cup warm water
1 packet (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
Generous pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon best-quality olive oil
About 2 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar, and set aside for 5 minutes, until it begins to foam. (If it doesn't, discard and start over with new yeast.) Stir in the olive oil and 1 cup of flour and mix until incorporated. Then add the salt and the second cup of flour, stirring with a spoon or spatula.

Turn out the dough onto a floured board or, if your bowl is large and shallow enough, just knead it in the bowl. Knead the dough, incorporating the rest of the flour as needed, until it's smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Put the dough into a clean, well-oiled bowl, turning to lightly coat the top of the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, about 1 1/2 hours before you want your pizza, take the dough out of the refrigerator, punch it down and divide it into two balls. Lightly coat the dough with olive oil, cover with plastic and let it rest on the counter for an hour.

After an hour, using your fingers, spread each ball of dough into a 10-inch disc on a piece of parchment paper. The edges should be 1/2 inch thick, and the centers should be about 1/4 inch thick. Assemble your pizzas.

— Los Angeles Times

Per serving: 107 calories (percent of calories from fat, 8), 3 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram fat (0 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 141 milligrams sodium.

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Sausage, Radicchio and Burrata Pizza

6 servings
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Burrata is available at Whole Foods stores. You also can substitute fresh mozzarella.

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/3 pound mild Italian sausage, removed from casing
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 heads radicchio
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 recipe pizza dough
Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces fresh burrata, sliced

Place a cast-iron pizza pan on the middle rack of the oven and heat to 350 degrees.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sauté sausage and fennel seeds, breaking apart the sausage as it cooks. Cook until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

Trim the radicchio and cut it into 3/4-inch slices. Toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Mound the radicchio on the pizza pan in the oven and roast, stirring and turning with a spatula, until it just begins to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Take the pan out, remove the radicchio and set it aside and return the pan to the oven. Turn the oven up to 450 degrees.

Brush the prepared pizza dough with the remaining olive oil. Spread the sausage, then the radicchio, evenly over the pizza. Grind a little black pepper over the top.

Slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto an inverted cookie sheet or peel, then transfer both parchment and pizza to the hot pizza pan. Cook until golden and crispy, about 12 to 16 minutes, rotating once halfway through (use the parchment to do so). One minute before the pizza is done, add the burrata slices to the pizza in the oven, so that it gets just melted.

Remove the pizza from the oven either by pulling out the parchment paper and sliding the pizza back onto the cookie sheet or by taking out the hot pizza pan and placing it on a trivet. Slice and serve hot.

— Los Angeles Times

Per serving: 273 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 9 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 16 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 22 milligrams cholesterol, 349 milligrams sodium.

Fresh Mozzarella, Basil and Prosciutto Pizza

6 servings
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

The classic pie gets a face-lift by using fresh mozzarella and basil. Strips of prosciutto and little olives dress it up.

1/2 recipe pizza dough
1/3 cup pizza sauce
1 large ball (3 to 4 ounces) fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
2 ounces prosciutto, trimmed of excess fat and torn into strips
2 tablespoons niçoise olives
2 to 3 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

Place a cast-iron pizza pan on the middle rack of the oven and heat to 450 degrees.

Spread the prepared pizza dough with the pizza sauce. Top with mozzarella, prosciutto and olives.

Slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto an inverted cookie sheet or peel, then transfer both parchment and pizza to the hot pizza pan. Cook until golden and crispy, about 12 to 16 minutes, rotating once halfway through (use the parchment to do so). One minute before the pizza is done, sprinkle the pizza in the oven with basil. Remove the pizza from the oven either by pulling out the parchment paper and sliding the pizza back onto the cookie sheet or by taking out the hot pizza pan and placing it on a trivet. Slice and serve hot.

— Jeanne Besser

Per serving: 188 calories (percent of calories from fat, 31), 10 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 7 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 19 milligrams cholesterol, 662 milligrams sodium.