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Friday night is Pizza Night at the Frugal Upstate house! For the last 2 1/2 years more or less every week I have made homemade pizza on Friday nights.
The kids love it and look forward to it, feeling like they are getting “junk” food. Yankee Bill and I aren’t exactly complaining about it either-we both enjoy pizza.
One of the great things about homemade pizza, besides it’s very frugal cost, is that you can control what goes into it and on it. I tend to make mine a bit lighter on the cheese, which cuts the calories and fat. We typically make pepperoni and cheese, although frequently we’ll break out to broccoli (if we have fresh on hand) or tomato (with slices of fresh). I’ve even tried my hand at a version of chicken BBQ.
And let’s face it, although pizza toppings would make even a piece of cardboard palatable, there is something about a great crust that really improves the total quality of your pizza.
For the longest time I just used the pizza crust recipe that came in my breadmaker cookbook. It was a decent recipe-tasted fine and all-but wasn’t anything special. I always had the feeling that although I was saving money and being much, much healthier than ordering out pizza (or even buying frozen pizza) I was somehow sacrificing on taste.
So last year when Amy from MomAdvice started experimenting with different pizza crust recipes I watched with great interest. I’m the kind of gal that likes to learn from other peoples experiences, and Amy gave me some great ones to learn from!
She started out in her initial “Homemade Pizza” post by detailing the way her family makes pizza, along with two crust recipes and a sauce recipe. She even gave directions for freezing the dough! I have been known to make an extra crust and parbake it for 8 min or so before freezing it, but I had never thought of freezing the raw dough.
Four months later in “Pizza Dough Revisited” she tried a new pizza dough & sauce recipe from a slow cooker cookbook. That was a success – despite her aversion to dough rolling.
Fast forward another two months and in “Dinner’s in the Bag” she not only shared another new crust recipe, but a way to speed up the entire pizza making process and tips for how to turn one batch of crust into breadsticks.
You’ve got to admire that kind of perseverance. Finally she hit the jackpot, at least as far as I am concerned, with her Pizza Hut Clone recipe.
Yes, it has more ingredients than the other recipes, so it’s a tiny bit more of a hassle to put together. The taste however makes it worth it. I was in a head cold induced stupor the other day and mistakenly made my old recipe on pizza night-everyone noticed the difference and was disappointed.
So without further ado, here is the king of all pizza crust recipes.
At least as far as I’m concerned.
Pizza Hut Style Pizza Dough*
1 1/3 cups water
2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp cornmeal
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp yeast
Add ingredients to bread machine, according to manufacturer’s settings, and run dough setting. After the machine beeps, roll out the dough.
You can roll the dough into two 9×13″ pizzas (great for kid’s lunches!) or into two medium pizzas or a large pizza and an order of breadsticks (as instructed above).
Parbake the crust with a drizzle of olive oil on it at 450 degrees for ten minutes. Remove the crust and add sauce and toppings.
If making breadsticks, add your breadsticks at this time. Place into the oven for another ten to fifteen minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Enjoy!
*Note: Reprinted with permission.
**Note: Photos by Jeff Kubina, Adam Kuban, and Javier Psilocybin respectively.
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FAQs
DOUGH: ENRICHED FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, YEAST. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, SOYBEAN OIL, VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN, SUGAR, ENZYMES, ASCORBIC ACID, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE.
What is the secret of pizza dough? ›
The pizza bosses of the world know the secret to an incredible dough is to let it rest and give it time. This process makes the dough much easier to work with and forms the coveted texture, rise, and bubbles at the edges.
How to make pizza for crisp crust? ›
I put the pizza stone on the middle rack of my oven.
- Preheat your oven with the pizza stone inside the oven to the highest temperature it goes up to (mine reaches 525F). ...
- Roll the dough out as thin as possible. ...
- Before putting anything on the crust (sauce, cheese, toppings), cook the crust in the oven for 3-4 minutes.
The dough is proofed (allowed to rise) in its deep pan with vegetable oil so it rises - and sucks up that oil as to not stick, and also gets extra crispy edge crust. Once its risen to the edge - you refrigerate at least 1hr - until needed for use. What's the best Pizza Hut crust?
Does Pizza Hut use eggs in their dough? ›
Does Pizza Hut's pizza dough have eggs in it? The only pizza dough that contains eggs at Pizza Hut is Udi's Gluten-Free Pizza Dough.
What does adding milk to pizza dough do? ›
Adding milk to a homemade pizza dough recipe can change the texture and taste of the dough. Milk contains fat and protein, which can make the dough more flavorful and tender. The fat in milk can also help to create a softer and more pliable dough, which can make it easier to stretch and shape.
What's the difference between pizza crust and bread dough? ›
While both pizza dough and bread dough contain similar ingredients, their proportions and preparation methods vary greatly to set them apart. Pizza dough is typically made to be thinner and softer than bread dough, which is often thicker and chewier.
What is the best flour for pizza dough? ›
The best flour for making Deep-Dish Pizza Dough is all-purpose flour. In bakeries and pizzerias, Pizza Flour is often used because it is a high-protein flour that produces a light and airy crust. However, all-purpose flour will also work well for Deep-Dish Pizza Dough.
How do I make my pizza crust more airy? ›
For best results, knead your dough for at least 4 minutes, preferably 6! If you over-knead the dough, it will become too fine and crumb-like, making for a dense and heavy pizza crust rather than a crisp and airy one. Pizza dough benefits from being kneaded to increase gluten content.
Why is my pizza dough springing back? ›
If not processed enough when stretched, your dough will try to bounce back to its original ball shape. If your dough is resisting when stretched, then it will need to proof for longer before being baked. To allow the gluten to develop more, simply let your dough sit at room temperature for a while longer.
Under-proofed pizza dough is hard to stretch and dense. An over-proofed dough will stretch too thin and won't spring up when you put it in the oven. Warm-up your dough: Cold dough is hard to stretch and more prone to tearing. Let your dough warm up to at least room temperature before stretching for best results.
Why is my homemade pizza crust not crispy? ›
The steam from the base can't escape, so it condenses on your crispy surface and turns it wet and soggy. Use a pizza stone or a pan with holes to get a crispy pizza crust. A pizza stone will keep your pizza hot and its porousness will absorb some condensation.
Does olive oil make pizza dough crispy? ›
Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil onto the edge of the dough to give it a crispier crust. Carefully place the peel in the oven and slide the pizza onto the stone or baking sheet. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and the cheese is bubbly with some browned spots.
What is New York thin pizza crust? ›
New York–style pizza is a pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be folded in half to eat.
Does Pizza Hut use artificial ingredients? ›
In 2015, Pizza Hut became the first national pizza restaurant to remove artificial flavors and colors from its core pizzas. On top of that, Pizza Hut has already eliminated partially hydrogenated oils (also known as artificial trans fats) and MSG.
What does pizza dough contain? ›
Making pizza dough is all about the ratios. All you need is flour, water, salt, sugar, oil and yeast. The ratio you'll need depends on the crust you want to serve.
Does Pizza Hut use animal rennet? ›
Parmesan Romano cheese blend that is added to P'Zones, Breadsticks and Ultimate Cheese Pizza as well as some dine-in products contains both microbial enzymes and animal-based rennet. Customers can request that 'breadstick seasoning' or 'Parmesan parsley blend' NOT be added to their products, if desired.
Where does Pizza Hut get its ingredients? ›
Pizza Hut has partnered with some of the same family farms in Kansas to grow the wheat for its dough since the late 1950s. Pizza Hut still harvests tomatoes to make its sauce from some of the same fields in California's Central Valley that their founders did more than 50 years ago.
