Grandpa Joe's
Quick Pan Pizza

Perfect for that (almost) last-minute decision to enjoy homemade pizza tonight!

About this recipe

Homemade pizza was common fare in my childhood home, but we didn't have pizza stones, or pizza peels, kitchen scales, or even semolina flour.  We did have flour (any kind will work), yeast packets, and all the other common ingredients used here.

Although I will continue to maintain (somewhat stubbornly) that my Thin-Crust Pizza is better, this alternative produces very acceptable results, particularly for newcomers to the homemade pizza scene, and for everyone making pizzas on short notice – including me!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 package instant dry yeast
  • 1½  teaspoons salt
  • 1½  teaspoons sugar
  • 1¾ cups water
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Pizza Sauce or Fresh Pizza Sauce
  • your favorite toppings
  • your favorite cheeses

Directions

  1. Place the first six ingredients in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer. 
  2. If available, use the paddle attachment to combine the ingredients and knead on low speed for about 5 minutes.  Otherwise, combine the ingredients with a fork (or your hands) and then knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. 
  3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, or about two hours.
  4. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and divide it into four equal portions.  Each portion will make one 11-inch pizza.  Two portions will be required for a pizza made in a cookie sheet (typically about 17 by 12 inches).
  5. Using your fingertips, or a rolling pin, work the dough into an 11-inch circle.  Place the dough on a well-floured wooden pizza peel or on a lightly-oiled pizza pan.  If you are using a cookie sheet, generously oil the pan and work the dough from the center of the pan out using your hands and fingers.  Follow the work and rest technique described in the Notes section below.
  6. Add a light layer of sauce (or pesto, or just olive oil).  The sauce should be cold, or no warmer than room temperature, to keep the dough from becoming soggy.  Then add one layer of toppings (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, olives, etc.), and a layer of your favorite cheeses. 
  7. Bake the 11-inch pizzas in a preheated oven at 525° F for seven minutes on a pizza stone, or just until the crust begins to char slightly.  Eleven-inch pizzas in a pan will require additional time.  The double pizzas (in cookie sheets) should be baked at 475° F for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is clearly golden brown and delicious.
A Pan Pizza picture is a work in progress!

Notes

  • After rising, this dough is very elastic and may seem difficult to work at first.  When forming the pizza, either with your fingers or with a rolling pin, work from the center of the dough to the edges – rotating the dough as you work it.  When the dough contracts almost as fast as you work it, let it rest for 1 to 2 minutes.  Work it again, and then let it rest again.  I usually move from one dough ball to the next every minute or so.  By the time I have reached the fourth one, the first one is ready to be worked again.
  • As presented, this recipe will produce a thin, chewy crust.  To get a slightly thicker crust, let the dough rest on the peel or in the pan for about 15 minutes before adding the sauce and toppings.  Dividing the dough into 3 portions (rather than 4) also will produce thicker pizzas, but they will require additional baking time.
  • Pizza toppings should be added in moderation.  I always recommend, "No toppings on top of toppings!"  This applies to the cheeses, too.  For the very best result, you should be able to see at least parts of the sauce and all the toppings before and after the pizza is cooked.  If you can't see the sauce, you have used too much cheese.  This will require some discipline, but you will be rewarded.  
Posted: January 2014.