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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.
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 is the difference between pizza dough and bread recipe? ›
The amount of flour used in the types of bread remains the same for both pizza and bread. But, the amount of salt in pizza dough is slightly higher than bread dough. For example, if you used a pinch of salt in your bread, you'd have to use half a teaspoon for your pizza dough. Most types of bread are enriched doughs.
Does thin crust pizza use less dough? ›
Healthier - Less dough is used for thin crusts than deep dish varieties. As a result, each slice of the thin crust will usually have fewer calories and carbs than an equivalent slice of deep-dish pizza, making it an excellent option for health-conscious individuals.
What makes Pizza Hut crust so good? ›
The high heat and the yeast in the dough cause the crust to puff up and become crispy on the outside while remaining soft and chewy on the inside. The thickness of the crust can also contribute to the taste, as it allows for more toppings and cheese to be added, creating a more flavorful pizza overall.
Does Pizza Hut put sugar in their crust? ›
CONTAINS WHEAT
Hand-Tossed Style Crust ENRICHED FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, YEAST, SOYBEAN OIL. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN, DATEM, SUGAR, ENZYMES, ASCORBIC ACID, SUCRALOSE.
Can you substitute water for milk in pizza dough? ›
If that's something you want to try, you can swap some of the water in your recipe for milk, but you will end up with a very different style of crust. I make an artisan pizza dough regularly - basically make a pizza dough as normal but use about 1/4 of the normal amount of yeast.
Does Pizza Hut use frozen dough? ›
What many people don't know is that Pizza Hut has two models when it comes to making dough – one whereby the dough is made fresh in store and one where it is supplied frozen as a raw dough piece. “Both work and deliver the same great quality of pizza, but the equipment and training is totally different.”
Can I use bread dough instead of pizza dough? ›
Speaking of homemade pizza, it's not a stretch to turn no-knead bread dough into pizza crust. Though actually, that's exactly what it is: take a handful of your favorite no-knead bread dough, s-t-r-e-t-c-h it into a circle, and there you have it: no-knead pizza crust.
Can I substitute bread flour for all-purpose in pizza dough? ›
This makes bread flour higher in gluten, giving pizza dough a chewy texture. However, all-purpose flour will still work fine for pizza dough; you may just need to add a little more water to make the dough come together. The choice of which type of flour to use is really up to personal preference.
For my Perfect all-purpose pizza dough recipe, I combine bread flour and all-purpose flour and find that the combination works very well for texture, cooking time, and handling.
What is the healthiest pizza you can eat? ›
There are plenty of pizza choices that can be considered healthy. Some options that can easily fit into a nutritious and balanced diet include a thin-crust pizza and a cauliflower-crust pizza. Topping choices on the more nutritious side are vegetables, chicken, shrimp and cheese.
What is the healthiest pizza crust? ›
Both the cauliflower crust and the whole-wheat crust offer fiber and protein, which play a key role in weight loss by helping to keep you feeling full and satisfied after a meal. But if you're not trying to cut carbs and are looking for that traditional pizza pie flavor, the whole-wheat crust is what you want.
What is the secret to thin crust pizza? ›
For the best thin-crust pizza, skip the dough's first rise
So for thin crust, you'll want to dial down the yeast's activity. You might choose to reduce the yeast in your recipe. But I like to use the called-for amount of yeast but take the dough directly from kneading to shaping, with no rise in between.
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.
What is the stuff on pizza crust? ›
That's cornmeal, hands down. The main reason you sprinkle cornmeal or flour onto the bottom of your pizza tray or pizza stone is so that it will stick to the bottom of the pizza dough. This way when it cooks it won't stick to the pan.
