When did pizzas start costing over $30? 😱 A local pizzeria here in town offered 40% off their large pizzas every Tuesday for years. I often picked up a hot pizza on my way home from work, tossed together a salad and had dinner on the table for under $20. I have to confess, we had quite a few Tuesday pizza nights, but no one ever complained! Recently I called to order a pizza and the bill was over $30, yikes! Our weekly pizza nights came to a screeching halt and we’ve been experiencing a pizza drought! What’s a girl to do when the family is clamoring for pizza? Either get a second job to afford pizza again or figure out how to make it at home? Guess what I opted to do? Yep, make it at home!
I scoured the internet for pizza recipes. It all starts with the crust. A soggy, mushy crust can ruin even the best pizza. No amount of yummy toppings can make up for a limp, soggy crust. I found recipes that made enough dough for two pizzas; just need one thank you. I found recipes that called for bread flour, pass; I want to use APF which I always have on hand. Some recipes required extensive preplanning to allow the dough to rise. I want something I can make in short order, on those nights when I need to get dinner on the table quickly with the least amount of fuss. Cue my bestie Cindy. She shared her favorite easy pizza crust technique and recipe with me (no special flour needed either) and now we can afford to have pizza nights again. WOO-HOO!!!!!
My guys are pretty picky about their pizzas. No soggy, limp crust allowed. It’s got to be loaded with cheese and don’t even think about skimping on the toppings! This recipe checks ALL those boxes! It’s a quick and easy method for making pizza at home, using convenient shortcuts like refrigerated pizza dough and jarred pizza sauce. The technique she uses to make her pizza was something I really wanted to learn. Cindy swears that she is able to get a thin, crispy, crust using a kitchen oven. Plus its so much more affordable to make pizza at home than it is buying it from a local pizzeria.
Start by preheating oven to 400°F. Place a pizza stone or pizza steel in the oven to heat up while the oven preheats.
We used a pound of bulk Italian sausage and cut it into 1/2 inch chunks.
Place Italian sausage in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until browned. Drain off excess fat. Set aside.
In another skillet, sauté mushrooms in a little butter or olive oil, over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes until they release their moisture and any excess liquid has cooked off. Set aside.
Spread out a little flour on a smooth work surface.
Stretch out the dough by holding it in both your hands and turning it to stretch it out. Hold it like you would a steering wheel, turning it, letting the weight of the dough start to stretch it out as you turn it.
Check the refrigerated section at your favorite supermarket for pizza dough.
Place the dough onto the floured work surface and gently start to spread the dough out using your fingers.
Sprinkle a little flour onto the dough and use a rolling pin to roll it out to an even thickness.
Remove the hot pizza stone from the oven and place it on a flat surface.
Transfer the dough onto the pizza stone and roll out dough to the edges of the stone, leaving the edges of the dough a bit thicker. Use caution, the stone will be hot!
Cover the dough with a dish cloth and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes.
Bake the crust in preheated oven for 7 minutes.
Keep a watchful eye on the dough as it pre-bakes. Use the tip of a sharp knife to “pop” any large bubbles that may start to form.
Remove crust when it is just lightly browned on the edges.
At this point, Cindy transferred the crust onto a pizza pan like the one below. If you don’t have a pizza pan like this in your arsenal, just leave the crust on the baking stone and proceed with the sauce and the toppings.
Note: If using a stone only, your crust will be softer. For the crispiest crust, use a steel pan or slide the pizza directly onto your oven rack for the last few minutes of cooking.
Top the prebaked crust with an even layer of sauce, shredded cheese and your preferred toppings. We used the cooked Italian sausage, sautéed sliced mushrooms, green bell pepper slices, and diced red onions.
Sprinkle with Italian seasoning over the top.
Return the pizza to the oven and bake it for up to an additional 10 minutes. Start checking the bottom of the crust after about 8 minutes for doneness. Bake until the crust is a rich golden brown on the bottom. Check the under side of the crust frequently for desired doneness by slightly lifting the edge.
Allow pizza to cool for a few minutes before cutting into it. Also, if there is excess moisture on the top, carefully tilt the pan to allow any excess liquid to run off onto a napkin. This will sometimes occur based on the toppings used.
Oh my goodness I could hardly wait to slice into this! It turned out oh so very, very good! The crust was perfectly crispy, the edges perfectly crunchy, and all that cheesy goodness with all my favorite toppings made this the best homemade pizza I’ve ever enjoyed.
Thank you Cindy for teaching me your pizza baking method. I had such a good time hanging out in your kitchen with you learning your recipe. And I left with one of the best pizza’s I’ve had in a really long time! I can’t wait to cook more stuff with you! I’m thinking you need to teach me your cookie recipe, you know the one. They would be the perfect dessert after enjoying this delicious pizza. Hint, hint, hint…love you girlfriend!
Cindy’s Crispy Crust Homemade Pizza
Equipment
- large round pizza stone or pizza steel
- pizza pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb refrigerated pizza dough
- ¾ cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 lb italian sausage, cut into ½ inch chunks, or slices
- 8 oz white button mushrooms, sliced
- ½ red onion, diced
- ½ green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- Ranch dressing, for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place pizza stone/steel in the oven to heat up while oven preheats.
- Place Italian sausage in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until browned. Drain off excess fat. Set aside.
- Sauté mushrooms over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until they release their moisture and excess liquid has cooked off. Set aside.
- Spread out a little flour on a smooth work surface.
- Stretch out the dough by holding it in both your hands and turning it to stretch it out. Hold it like you would a steering wheel, turning it, letting the weight of the dough start to stretch it out as you turn it.
- Place the dough onto the floured work surface and gently start to spread the dough out using your fingers.
- Sprinkle a little flour onto the dough and use a rolling pin to roll it out to an even thickness.
- Remove pizza stone from the oven and place it on a flat surface. Transfer dough onto the stone. Use a rolling pin to spread it out in an even thickness, leaving the edges of the dough a bit thicker.
- Cover the dough with a dish cloth and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes.
- Bake in preheated oven for 7 minutes. Watch dough as it pre-bakes. Use the tip of a sharp knife to "pop" any large bubbles that form.
- Remove crust when it is lightly browned.
- At this point, transfer the crust onto a pizza pan. If you don't have a pizza pan in your arsenal, just leave the crust on the baking stone and proceed with the sauce and the toppings.
- Top with sauce, cheese and preferred toppings.
- Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
- Return pizza to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown on the bottom.
Did You Make This?
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This pizza is both easy to make and my whole family loves it. It’s a regular on the weekends for us.
I’m so glad you like it! We have it often at our house too!
I made this pizza yet again and it turned out DELICIOUS!