Homemade pizza – getting the dough crispy

There are a number of factors that can contribute to a watery pizza:

• Cheese If you think the cheese is the culprit, you can try using a "low moisture" mozzarella (these are dry to the touch on the outside). If you are using a "fresh" mozzarella (these usually are sold in a brine), e.g., classic mozzarella di bufala or mozzarella fior di latte, I recommend slicing the cheese as opposed to grating the cheese. The idea is that slicing the cheese will produce less surface area, and thereby reduce the amount of water that leeches out. Also, I recommend dabbing the cheese slices with a kitchen towel to remove any surface moisture. If you use this method, it will also help to cut the cheese in very thin slices, since that will release more moisture before it touches the pizza and it will also reduce the amount of cooking time.
• Tomato Sauce I recommend making the sauce yourself. As opposed to simmering the tomatoes/sauce on the stove for a long time, I prefer making a light tomato sauce that actually cooks on the pizza itself. I quickly purée the tomatoes (canned are fine) in a food processor and then let them strain in a fine mesh colander for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. That gets rid of a lot of water (the tomatoes lose about half of their volume). Throw in some minced garlic, chopped basil, and season and it is ready to go on the pizza.
• The Cooking Method Since my home oven doesn't get as hot as a traditional pizza oven, I always "blind" cook my pizza without the cheese. In other words, I throw the dough, add the sauce, and then cook it with just the sauce for 4 or 5 minutes. This allows any extra moisture in the sauce to cook off. I then remove the pizza, add the cheese, and then broil it until the cheese is melted and browned.
• The Dough If the dough ends up becoming soggy, you can always compensate by making it a bit thicker.

If you have to trowel the sauce on the crust it is too thick. There is a "right" consistency that will prevent the pizza from being too watery but will still have enough moisture to allow the cheese and sauce to fuse somewhat.

On the other hand, you could just ignore that the cheese isn't fusing. I've eaten thousands of pizzas in Italy and most of them are more watery that what you'd get in the US and the cheese usually does not fuse with the sauce. Probably because it's only in the 800°F brick oven for about 3 minutes! Enough time to cook the thin crust, barely melt the cheese, and that's it.

If you really want that cheese to fuse, I would suggest a slightly more watery sauce, and more heat from the top. Turn on the broiler for the last minute or so until the cheese starts to bubble. This will also help evaporate some of the extra water in the sauce.