Pizza with Self-Rising Crust

 

For the Crust:

• 2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
  

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
  
• 3/4 cup water
  
• 3 tablespoons canola oil

For the Sauce:

• 8 ounce can of "no salt added" tomato sauce
  

• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning OR 1/2 teaspoon basil & 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil for flavoring (optional)

Toppings:

• 2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese
  

• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
  
• 1/2 lb ground turkey or ground beef
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

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 meat and 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.   

Cook the ground turkey or beef in a medium-sized skillet.  Break the meat up into small bit with a fork as you cook it.  Cook the meat until it is evenly brown without a speck of pink remaining.  Drain off the fat.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder to the cooked meat.  Stir briefly and remove from heat.  Now scatter the meat overtop of the pizza crust and the sauce.  Arrange it evenly.

Top the sauce and the meat with 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and a light sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese.  If desired, you may add other toppings of your choice. 

Bake the prepared pizza at 400° for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Carefully remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes.  Its hard to wait, but if you let it cool a tiny bit it won't burn the kids and it's easier to cut.  Use a pizza cutter to make 12 slices.  Each serving is 2 slices. Eat and enjoy. 

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 is a close copy of the self-rising crusts available commercially.  Assuming you use pre-shredded cheese and that your meat is already thawed the whole thing takes less than 20 minutes to put together once you get the hang of it.  Total cost is about $2.00 to $2.50 depending the price of ground meat and cheese.  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 tastes very good.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 417 Calories; 17g Fat (37.6% calories from fat); 22g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 955mg Sodium. 

Exchanges: 2-1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.

Other Topping Ideas:  4 turkey or chicken hotdogs, sliced into thin rounds can be used instead of the ground meat called for above.  4 to 6 oz of finely chopped turkey-ham lunchmeat is good with 1 cup of well drained pineapple.  Vegetarians could omit any meat and add black olives and green peppers.