Pizza Shop Pizzas

Once my family settled down in our small town in Idaho we quickly realized that there was not a pizza shop around that would deliver to our door.  Once this no-fail plan for dinner in a hurry was taken off the table as an option I began searching for a pizza recipe that could replace a pizza from our favorite pizza shop.  I think that it nigh impossible to recreate the greasy, gooey, melty goodness with a crunchy  sinfully delicious crust that you get from say Pizza Hut.  But it's not good for you anyway so who wants that.  I only crave a delivery pizza every so often, and some of that is for the novelty of having someone deliver dinner to my doorstep.  So anyway, I found this recipe a few months ago and Greg and I agree that this is so far the best homemade pizza I've made.  The recipe says it make two 14” round pizzas, but I only have one round pizza pan, so I started putting them in large cookie sheets and I get two big pizzas.  I bake one for the full amount of time for dinner and then bake the crust of the other for the first 5 minutes, put the sauce and toppings on and then put it in the freezer for later.  I put it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400° or until the cheese is melted and crust is brown.  Two dinners in one, you can't beat that.  I am going to list the toppings as the original recipe states, but we aren't that fancy around, we usually just stick with pepperoni, olives and peppers.  You can put on whatever your family likes.
 

Pizza Shop Pizzas

Prep Time: 40 minutes + rising
Bake Time: 15 minutes, each pizza
Yield: 2 – 14” pizzas
Family Friendliness:  You're kidding, right?  To tell you how much my kids like this pizza my son will no longer eat the pizza at school because it's not as good as mine. 
 

Ingredients:

2 pkg. (¼ oz. Each) active dry yeast
2-2/3 cups warm water divided (110° to 115°)
4 T. olive oil, divided
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
½ t. dried oregano
¼ t. garlic salt
6-1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
1 T. cornmeal
SAUCE:
1 can (14½ oz.) diced tomatoes (I mash mine a bit so it's less chunky, but do what you like)
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 T. olive oil
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
½ t. each dried basil, oregano, marjoram and thyme
¼ t. garlic powder
¼ t. pepper
TOPPINGS:
4 c. (16 oz.) shredded pizza cheese blend (I just used mozzarella)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) sliced turkey pepperoni
2 cans sliced ripe olives, drained
1 c. pickled pepper rings
1 small onion, halved and sliced
1 can (4 oz.) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
Directions: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 2/3 c. warm water.  Add 3 T. oil, sugar, salt, oregano, garlic salt, remaining 2 c. of water and 5 c. flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.  Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.  Punch dough down; divide into two portions.  Roll each into a 15-inch circle.  Brush two 14-in. Pizza pans with remaining oil; sprinkle with cornmeal.  Transfer dough to prepared pans; build up edges slightly.  Bake at 425° for 5 minutes.  In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.  Spread over crusts.  Sprinkle with toppings.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crusts and cheese are lightly browned. 
 

This recipe came from Taste of Home magazine