Make Your Own Mini Pizzas
Yield: Makes 18-20 mini pizzas / 2 balls pizza dough
Ingredients:
Mini Pizzas
1 ball refrigerated pizza dough, store bought or homemade (see recipe below)
1 cup pizza sauce or jarred pizza/pasta sauce
Your desired toppings (see below for ideas)
Topping Ideas
· Cheese: Mozzarella, Mexican cheese, Asiago, Parmesan, Romano, bleu cheese, feta, provolone
· Meat: Chicken, Italian sausage, bacon, ham, beef, chorizo, pepperoni, prosciutto, shrimp
· Vegetables: Tomatoes, artichokes, roasted red peppers, onions, green peppers, jalapenos, spinach, cherry tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, banana peppers, squash, sweet corn, peas, avocado
· Other: Pineapple chunks, black beans, fresh basil, garlic, sprouts, capers
Pizza Dough
1 (1/4 oz.) envelope yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Chopped dried herbs, such as basil, oregano or rosemary, optional
Directions:
To assemble pizzas:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Place pizza dough on a well-floured surface, press dough firmly with your fingers to shape, and stretch gently into a 12” x 8” rectangle.
With a round cutter, cut dough into 18-20 rounds; place rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Top each with pizza sauce, cheese, and your desired toppings.
Bake mini pizzas for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Pizza Dough
Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl; set aside for 5 minutes.
Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and olive oil in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Optionally, add dried herbs like basil, oregano or rosemary. Stir in the yeast water. Knead with the dough hook or by hand on a well floured surface for about 5 minutes. If using the stand mixer, once finished kneading, remove dough from bowl and shape into a large ball by hand.
Oil two bowls lightly with olive oil and set aside. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll into balls. Place each ball into the oiled bowls, seam side down, and coat the tops with a little olive oil. Top each bowl with plastic wrap or a clean, dry towel and place the dough in a warm place (I use an oven preheated to 250 degrees F, then turned off). Let rise 2 hours.
Once risen, either use immediately by turning dough out onto a floured surface and shaping. Or, wrap dough in plastic wrap, then a plastic bag, and freeze or refrigerate to use later.
