The other evening I had a craving for pizza but didn't want to pay the price for take-out and I didn't want the greasy five dollar special alternative. So I thought I'd just buy crust or frozen dough at the grocery store and make my own. I didn't see any frozen dough, but the crust was over five dollars and the pizza sauces were around four dollars! Much to my surprise the cost was going to be about the same as going out for gourmet pizza once I gathered all the rest of the ingredients. I put everything back and picked up the cheapest five pound bag of flour I could find, some active yeast packets, some tomato paste and sauce and some affordable vegetable toppings, along of course with some mozzarella cheese that was on special.
I searched online for an easy pizza dough and thankfully there was one that worked out great. I have copied the recipe just below.
First I mixed the 12 ounce can of tomato sauce with the 10 ounce can of tomato paste with a wire wisk in my crock pot on high. Then because I was in a hurry, I just seasoned it with a couple of tablespoons of oregano and garlic cloves, put the lid on while I made the dough. I'm sure there are better ways to make pizza sauce for little money and fast, but this is what I did just winging it and it worked out pretty good.
This recipe makes enough for two 12-inch pizzas or eight small ones. Again, to double the recipe, remember that the ratio is three parts flour to one part liquid.
1. Dissolve the yeast in water in your processor or mixing bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and salt. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of flour. Add the rest of the flour, processing or stirring until the dough forms a ball. Turn out the dough onto a board dusted with flour or cornmeal, and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Divide it into equal round portions, and roll and gently stretch out. Press onto pans, cover with a dry towel, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes. The crusts are then ready for toppings, or you can freeze them for up to a month.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS: 1 pkg. active dry yeast 1 cup lukewarm water 1 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 3 cups flour, sifted Additional flour or cornmeal for rolling out the dough
My kitchen is very small and I found it easier to spray the cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray and take the ball of dough in my floured hands flattening it as much as possible by pinching the dough in a flat circle and then laying it out on the cookie sheet and pressing down with my knuckles to spread it evenly out across the pan. Then I spread the sauce out with a spatula, sprinkle on the shredded cheese, put on the toppings with a little more cheese on top and baked in a preheated oven of 425 degrees. It took about ten minutes to cook and the crust was perfect. It was a much cheaper alternative than buying the crusts or dough and it wasn't that difficult or time consuming. I am looking forward to making many more homemade pizzas now that I have found this fast, easy pizza dough recipe.
I just made up the pizza for the second time this evening, so here is a photo of the finished result. I used canned mushrooms and chopped up white onions for the toppings. Very inexpensive and a tasty treat. Enjoy!
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November 24th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
ummm, looks delicious, good for you, looks like some of the good old creative juices are flowing into the kitchen experience.
I’m impressed darling, It looks good enough to eat! guess who’s cooking when they come for dinner? ha ha
January 15th, 2008 at 11:34 am
I just wanted to share I came across an informative website all about pizza that may be of interest at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Pizza
September 17th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I know this is an old post, but i came across it while searching for some quick pizza dough recipe. I wanted to add that by far the best store bought pizza sauce is contadina. You won’t find it at wal-mart, they pulled it because they weren’t willing to sacrifice their quality for shelf-space there. And it’s not $4, usually well under half that. Thanks for the post!