The key to a great pizza is a fantastic crust, and this quick pizza dough recipe from Red Star yeast provides the perfect crust for an All-American pizza loaded with gooey cheese, pepperoni, and a spicy homemade pizza sauce.
Red Star Yeast, one of my favorite companies, and I have collaborated once more. Red Star encouraged me to bake and blog about three dishes from their website on Barbara Bakes. They’ll include my images alongside their recipes on their website, along with a link to my post. My initial choice was their All-American Pizza.
My family prefers a standard All-American pizza topped with a spicy sauce, pepperoni, and cheese, which we prepare frequently at home. I’ve included my homemade pizza sauce recipe, but feel free to substitute your favorite pizza sauce.
One of the best things about this recipe is that it utilizes instant yeast, so it comes together quickly and only requires a 15-minute rest before making the pizza. I also enjoyed how you sprinkled a small piece of your favorite cheese on the crust before baking it to protect it from getting mushy.
One of mine and my daughter’s favorite pizzas is Margherita. Not quite as authentically American, but still a classic pizza. Instead of sauce, the crust is coated with olive oil and topped with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. I didn’t have fresh mozzarella, so I used shredded mozzarella instead. Vegetables grilled on the grill are also a great complement to a vegetarian pizza.
I doubled the recipe and created four 12-inch pizzas for eight people, one margherita and three pepperoni. The recipe has been doubled and is listed below. Visit Red Star Yeast for the original recipe. Red Star Yeast can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
This pizza was a hit with my family. The dough was simple to work with, and the crust crisped well on the bottom and edges while remaining soft and supple in the center. This is a recipe I will definitely make again.
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 ½ – 5 cups bread flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons 1 package Red Star Quick Rise yeast*
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 2 cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
Homemade Pizza Sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes in rich puree
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Homemade Pizza Sauce
- In a small saucepan, sauté garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. Sauce may be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- Dough
- In medium mixer bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and salt; mix well. Combine water and oil; heat to 120° to 130°F; add to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed.
- By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. (I used my KitchenAid dough hook attachment.) Knead on floured surface 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, cover, and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
- Divide dough into 4 parts (2 parts if you want larger pizzas). With well-floured or greased fingers, press each half into greased 12- or 14-inch pizza pan.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup of your favorite shredded cheese over dough to prevent a soggy crust. Spread prepared pizza sauce on each pizza (approximately ¾ cup of sauce per pizza). Add your favorite toppings—mushrooms, onions, olives, green peppers, pepperoni, cooked Italian sausage, anchovies, etc. Cover with shredded cheese of your choice- Mozzarella, Parmesan and Asiago.
- Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes until edge is crisp and light golden brown and cheeses are melted. Serve immediately
