At Home Idea: Homemade Pizzas!

Easy homemade pizza & the recipe to do it! It's cold out there, so heat up the oven for a warm and delicious treat that's not take-out!

Mini pizzas mean everyone gets toppings they want!

I have always enjoyed pizza probably more than I actually should. When having pizza made from scratch at home it never was as good as getting it from a pizza place which was frustrating. While looking for baking yeast at the commissary I came across this special pizza crust yeast made by Fleischmann’s. It claimed to have a pizza fully cooked and ready to eat in only 30 minutes. I thought why not try it out. I got the rest of my ingredients and was ready to see if it would actually work. When I made it the first time I used a baking stone which I heated up and made just one 12 inch pizza. The crust was gooey and the toppings were overdone just like any other pizza I had made from scratch. What a disappointment!

I tried again but baked the crust for a few minutes before putting the toppings on. That didn’t go so well either since the crust puffed up and was super crispy with a big bubble which made it difficult to top and tasted almost like pizza toppings on a cracker. Well that just stopped me from trying for a while and I instead just made mini pizzas with flour tortillas. Those by the way turned out great!

I still had a packet left of the yeast so I tried again and decided to make mini pizzas since I thought maybe then the crust would actually cook all the way through. Well I made the big ball of dough which was super simple and not intimidating at all (do try it even if you don’t normally do stuff like this). I then pulled off small pieces of the dough and just rolled out a thin crust. I put about three of these on a cookie sheet, topped with whatever I wanted and baked for about 12 min at first, checked them then added a few more minutes to make sure the crust was fully done. Well they turned out amazing and I was able to have a variety of pizzas. The crust was fully done in the center and the toppings were not overdone.

With the ability to quickly make this crust I got the idea of having a mini pizza party. Either pull the kids up to the counter or bring some friends over and everyone gets to make a pizza of their very own from rolling, topping to eating. I have done something similar before for a new year’s eve weekend and this dough would have been way easier than the dough I had used. Everyone had a great time making a pizza they knew didn’t have all those yucky toppings and just the right amount of the good toppings.

With the short cooking time everyone can be snacking about the same time too.

If you decide to go with the mini pizzas then you will get about 6 pizzas from one packet of yeast. Check out the recipe below and if you have questions please let me know. Can’t wait to hear what delicious pizzas everyone makes!

~Sarah Roberts
(Writer of the blog Where My Love Takes Me)

Basic Regular Pizza Crust

Description: Use this easy pizza crust recipe with no need for rising time.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 12 to 15 minutes

Number Of Servings: 1 (12-inch) pizza

Ingredients:

Crust:
1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope Fleischmann's® Pizza Crust Yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup very warm water (120 to 130°F)*
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 to 1 cup pizza sauce

Other toppings as desired
1 to 2 cups (4 to 8 ounces or 125 to 250g) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute.

Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Dough should form a ball and will be

Pat dough with floured hands to fill greased pizza pan or baking sheet.  OR roll dough on a floured counter to 12-inch circle; place in greased pizza pan or baking sheet.  Form a rim by pinching the edge of the dough.

Spread with pizza sauce.  Top with desired toppings and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake on lowest oven rack for 12 to 15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.

*If you don't have a thermometer, water should feel very warm to the touch.

**To knead the dough, add just enough flour to the dough and your hands to keep the dough from sticking.  Flatten dough and fold it toward you. Using the heels of your hands, push the dough away with a rolling motion.  Rotate dough a quarter turn and repeat the "fold, push and turn" steps.  Keep kneading dough until it is smooth and elastic.  Use a little more flour if dough becomes too sticky, always working the flour into the ball of dough.

Recipe Note:   Use crust to make one thick crust 9-inch pizza.  Increase baking time to 20 minutes.

slightly sticky. Knead** on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.