Pan Pizza - Restaurant Style (Made at Home)
Pan pizza from scratch made at home. When I make this for guests they tell me it's better than what they get at restaurants.
Ingredients
- 3 cups lukewarm water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour measure with the scoop-and-sweep method
- 2 pounds good quality sausage
- 15 ounces tomato sauce (one can)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 medium onion diced
- 16 ounces mozzarella shredded
- 1 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
- Make the dough by placing the flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix salt and yeast to lukewarm water (not to exceed 110 degrees) in another container. Don't worry about getting all the yeast to melt into the water. Add yeast mixture to the dough and mix with wooden spoon until there are no dry spots. Use your hands if necessary. Cover and allow to rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- A half hour prior to making the pizza preheat the oven to 500 degrees and start preparing the rest of the ingredients. Brown the ground sausage into bite size chunks.
- If there is a lot of fat left in the pan you can run a paper towel through the cooked sausage to absorb it.
- Add 1 clove of garlic to tomato sauce. Open the jar or can and press 1 clove of garlic into the sauce and stir. (Well, I accidentally took off another small clove from the bulb so I threw that one in too). Dice the onion and set aside. Oil two 14 inch deep dish pizza pans or four 10 inch cake pans with a few glugs of olive oil.
- When the dough is doubled in size divide the dough in half (and in half again if you are making four pizzas).
- Press the dough into a flat disc and use gravity to help stretch the dough. Let the dough hang (like a steering wheel) until it stretches then turn 2 hours on a clock. Let the dough hang and stretch then turn 2 hours on a clock. Repeat this process as necessary until the dough is more than halfway the size you need. Add the dough "wheel" to the oiled pan and let it rest. Repeat the process for the other pan(s).
- Starting with pizza #1, using your fingertips gently press from the center out to create a 12 inch circle in a 14 inch pan. Use your judgement if you are using smaller pans. I don't go all the way to the edge. I like the crust better this way.
- Bake pizza crust #1 at 500 degrees on the second to bottom shelf of oven for 12 minutes. This step is important for the yummy, brown, crunchy crust on the bottom of the pizza. Plus, it par bakes the crust. While this crust is baking finish pressing out pizza crust #2.
- Remove the par baked crust #1 and par bake crust #2 on the second to the bottom shelf for 12 minutes. While crust #2 is baking add the toppings to crust #1.
- Add half garlic sauce to crust #1.
- Pinch and crumble dried oregano with your fingertips while sprinkling over the pizza sauce.
- Top the pizza with 1/2 of the sausage.
- Layer 1/2 of the cheese followed by 1/2 of the onions.
- When crust number #2 is done par baking shift the rack to the second position from the top. Switch the oven to low broil. Bake pizza number #1 for 8 to 12 minutes until the cheese is melted, lightly brown and bubbly.
- Prepare pizza #2
- When pizza #1 is done, remove it from the pan to a cutting board. Sprinkle the pizza with fresh oregano (or basil) if you have it and slice with a pizza cutter into 8 slices.