Best Pizza Ever!

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Does your family crave pizza as much as ours does?

Pizza is the number one most requested dinner every single week!

We usually have it on Friday night along with our family movie night.

We started a fun tradition a few years ago that my kids call “Pizza Picnics”.

They were really upset one day when we had planned a picnic and it began raining before we could go.

In an attempt to deter the tears, the thought popped into my head “Why don’t we just spread the picnic blanket on the living room floor and have an indoor picnic?”

It was a HUGE hit and has now become a family tradition that we can do all year long.

They have to keep their drinks on the kitchen table but they love to chill on the picnic blanket in the living room and eat their pizza while we watch our family movie.

This is a recipe that took me years to perfect, but it was SO worth it!

After trying several different pizza dough recipes, my brother introduced me to an recipe imitation of Papa John’s crust recipe years ago and I have never looked back!

Don’t mess with perfection and this recipe IS perfection!

Blend flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together.

Bonus Tip: Make sure to use Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast!

It makes a HUGE difference in how smooth the dough is and how easily it spreads over your pan.

Have you ever made pizza and the dough refused to spread but just kept springing right back into a globulous mass?

I used to have that problem too when I used regular yeast in my pizza dough. 

It was so frustrating and I kept searching until I found a better product. 

Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast makes the difference for delicious pizza EVERY time.

Add warm water and oil and blend, then beat for a few minutes with your Kitchen Aid Mixer.

If you haven’t considered getting a Kichen Aid Mixer, please take a minute to consider it.

I can’t function in my kitchen without it, and now they make one that is even bigger than mine!

Add the remaining flour by hand or with your kneading hook.

I personally have never taken the time to add the rest of the flour by hand because I love my Kitchen Aid mixer, and let it do all the work!

Let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.

Knead and set aside.

Spray pizza pan and spread out dough evenly over pan.

I usually stretch it into a flat disc in my hands for a few minutes before putting it on the pan and then spreading it to the edges of the pan.

Bonus Tip: Sprinkle corn meal onto the pizza pan after you spray it and before you spread out the dough for a specialty crust.

Once the dough is evenly stretched over your pan, poke holes throughout with a fork.

Brush some vegetable oil across the top of the entire crust and bake for five minutes or until the edges just begin to brown lightly.

Spread your pizza sauce evenly over the top.

We absolutely love using Ragu’s Sun-dried Tomato and Sweet Basil sauce for our pizza.

We have tried several recipes for home-made sauces but love the taste and convenience of this sauce and use it every time!

Now it’s time to choose your pizza toppings!

What toppings does your family like?

We have tried dozens of different topping combinations over the years.

After all those efforts to refine the kids’ taste buds, their favorite pizza topping is…..

Cheese.

Just cheese.

They are the most happy when I put my three cheese blend (cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan) on top and call it good.

The only other topping they like is the mini pepperoni slices once in awhile.

My husband loves a variety of meats on his pizza (Italian meatballs, sausage, pepperoni, or bacon bits).

After you have added the rest of your toppings, pop it back into the oven for five or six more minutes until cheese has melted and edges begin to turn brown.

For our large family, I double this recipe and use slightly more than half the dough spread over a large cookie sheet to make a deep dish pizza for my kids, which they love.

Then I spread the rest in a thinner layer on a regular round pizza pan to make a thin crust for my husband, which he loves.

I love how versatile this dough is for all types of pizza!

I have used this recipe so much over the years that the paper I originally wrote it down on has been all but destroyed….

We hope your family likes this pizza as much as we do!

Don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends using the share buttons below!

From our kitchen to yours, Happy Dinnertime!!