Pizza Hut Pan Pizza

The secret to perfect pan pizza is pressing the dough into a well-oiled pan (Pizza Hut uses soybean oil), then the pan is covered and the dough rises in a heated cabinet for 45 to 60 minutes. When the dough is topped, the edge is sprayed with a butter-flavored “food release” and the pie is baked at 500 degrees F until perfectly browned on top. You can use a 9-inch, 12-inch, or 15-inch deep dish pizza pan or cake pan for this recipe, and you’ll want to preheat your oven with a pizza stone in it to simulate the type of oven used at the chain. The hot ceramic surface of the pizza stone will cause the oil in the pan to cook the bottom of the dough so that it’s brown and crispy like an authentic pan pizza crust should be. I tried making the dough with cake flour, all-purpose flour, superfine “00” flour, bread flour and many combinations of these different flours which all contain varying amounts of gluten. I even tried rising the dough slowly in the refrigerator for various lengths of time as long as up to four days. But after a month of testing and about 30 pan pizzas later, I found the best dough to be straight bread flour, and to let the dough rise at room temperature. I did find that if you let the dough rest for at least 4 hours before the final rise in the pizza pan you will get the best texture with the perfect chewy bite to it.

source	Top Secret Recipes
categories	copycat, pizza
yield	1 15" pizza
prep time
total time

INGREDIENTS

[Dough]

Makes 24 oz of dough-(enough for 3 Small, 2 Med, or 1 Lrg)

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp active dry yeast

1 1/3 cup warm water (105 to 115 °F)

3 cup bread flour

1 ¼ tsp salt

[Sauce]

One 6-oz can tomato paste

1 1/3 cup water

½ tsp dried crushed rosemary

½ tsp dried minced onion

¼ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp citric acid (or 1 tsp lemon juice)

1 to 2 Tbsp soybean oil (vegetable oil) or safflower oil

3 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (i used Kraft Shredded Part-Skim Low Moisture Mozzarella)

Pam or Crisco butter-flavored nonstick spray

Your choice of toppings: pepperoni, ham, crumbled Italian Sausage, bacon pieces, diced cooked chicken, mushrooms, green peppers, sliced onion, black olives, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, pineapple, or roasted red peppers.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the dough by dissolving the sugar and yeast in the warm water. Allow the solution to sit for about 5 minutes, or until it gets foamy on top.

2. Combine the flour with the salt in a large bowl. It's best to use a stand mixer with a paddle for this, then switch out the paddle for a dough hook.

3. Pour the foamy yeast solution into the flour and combine on low speed until the dough comes together. Turn up the speed a little and knead the dough for 10 minutes. If you don't have a stand mixer, knead by hand for 10 minutes, or until the dough is very smooth and elastic. Cover the dough in the mixing bowl and let the dough rest for 2 hours.

4. Roll out the proper portion of dough to fit in the deep dish pan or cake pan you are using: if you are making a 9-inch pizza (small), divide the dough into three equal portions; for a 12-inch pizza (medium), divide the dough in half; and for a 15-inch pizza (large), use all the dough. Roll out the portion of dough so that it is slightly bigger than the pan you are using. Rub oil around the bottom of the pan: use 1 tablespoon oil in a 9-inch pan, 1 ½ tablespoons in a 12-inch pan, and 2 tablespoons in a 15-inch pan. Drop the dough into the bottom of the pan and spread it to the edge of the pan, and then use your fingers to form a raised lip around the edge. Cover the pan with foil and place it in a warm spot for 1 hour. If you have two ovens, place the covered dough into one of the ovens with a pan of boiling water, then close the door. If you have only one oven, you can set the pan near that oven, since you will now preheat the oven and it will give off some heat. Place a pizza stone in the oven and set it to 500 °F.

5. Make the sauce by combining the ingredients in a small saucepan and placing it over medium heat. When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Cover the sauce, and let it cool while the dough rises.

6. When the dough has doubled in size, press the air out of the dough and again form a lip around the edge. Spray the top of the dough with butter-flavored non-stick spray, then spoon approximately ¼ cup of sauce on a 9-inch pizza, 1/3 cup sauce on a 12-inch pizza, or ½ cup on a 15-inch pizza. Top the pizza with enough shredded mozzarella cheese to cover the sauce. Add your choice of toppings and place the panned pizza on top of the pizza stone in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust and cheese begin to brown. Remove the pizza from the oven, allow it to cool for a few minutes, then slide it out of the pan, slice and serve. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients if you made the small or medium-size pizzas.

NOTES

Makes 3 small pizzas, 2 medium pizzas or 1 large pizza. Pizza hut uses 9oz of dough in 9" (small pan), 12oz in 13" (medium), and 15.5 oz of dough in 15" (large) pan. 15.5 oz is about 3-1/4 cups flour. The difference between pizza hut pan pizza dough and any other recipe is typically just about the use of 1/4 or so volume of water replaced with milk. I use 1/4 cup in total of 1 cup water as my starting moisture and add water a teaspoon at a time to get soft, moist dough. The rising process (with milk) creates souring of the dough for flavor. For 16", you can use the 'large' 17oz of dough. I did the calculations years ago and make my dough as 3-1/4 cups flour, 1-cup total fluid with 1/4 cup milk, 1 pkg yeast, 1tsp oil, 1Tbs sugar, pinch of salt. Add sugar to water and stir in, add yeast stirring as you add, add oil, and milk and salt. Pour over flour while mixing. Use spatula to stir as you mix. Add small amounts of water, 1tsp at a time to pull the dough together until soft but not sticky. see less By G. R. OneD on March 22, 2020