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For the Crust
- 2-1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dry yeast
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup oil
For the Sauce
- 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning OR 1/2
teaspoon basil & 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon EACH sugar & onion
powder
- 1 tablespoon oil for flavoring
(optional)
Toppings of Choice
- Cheese, Meat, TVP, Veggies, Fruit
etc.
First prepare the crust. In a medium
sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder,
salt and yeast. Stir it up to distribute the
salt and yeast evenly. Add the water and
oil. You may need a spoonful or two more of
water if the day is dry. Mix the dough with
a wooden spoon until it forms a big ball in
the middle of the bowl. It will be a little
stiffer than biscuit dough. Knead the dough
about 10 or 12 times and then form it into a
ball. Place the ball in the center of
16-inch pizza pan, or a 9 by 13-inch
rectangular pan. Use your hands and a
rolling pin, to press the dough into the
pan. I find a rolling pin most effective in
this effort. The dough will be a medium
thickness. Allow it to rest while you
prepare the Sauce.
In a large cereal bowl combine the tomato
sauce, Italian Seasoning (or basil and
oregano), garlic powder, sugar, onion powder
and oil. Mix it well and spread it on the
pizza crust. If desired, you may substitute
canned or prepared
Spaghetti Sauce for this sauce.
After spreading the sauce onto the pizza
crust, top it with about 2 cups of shredded
mozzarella and a good sprinkling of Parmesan
Cheese. If desired, add other toppings of
your choice. I usually make plain cheese
pizzas because they are the most popular at
my house, and also the least expensive. Bake
the prepared pizza at 400° for about 15 to
20 minutes. Eat and enjoy. This amount will
feed 4 children under 10 years of age, or 2
starving people over 10 years of age.
I developed this recipe as a substitute for
Frozen Pizza. I tried making it with regular
biscuit dough for the crust, but it never
tasted quite as good as I wanted it to. So
then I added the yeast, and used a little
less baking powder which improved the crust
considerably. Finally I figured out that
water was better in it than milk, and that
oil was faster to mix into the flour than
solid shortening was. Viola! Success! This
crust is easy to work with, cooperates with
the rolling pin, rises just enough as it
bakes, and requires no pre-baking. It also
mixes up very quickly, and tastes enough
like real pizza crust to satisfy the kids,
especially when they just want a quick pizza
for lunch. Assuming you use pre-shredded
cheese, the whole thing takes less than 15
minutes to put together once you get the
hang of it. Total cost is about $1.75. This
homemade version is comparable to the $6
frozen Gourmet Pizzas with "Self-Rising
Crusts". The texture isn't exactly the same,
but it is similar, and very good.
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