There are times I want pizza perfection: a chewy crust, crispy on the bottom. Probably from a wood-fired oven, a bit smoky, maybe little brown/black bits here or there.
Then there are the times I just want pizza, pronto. This is for those times: a crust so easy it’s cheating. Everyday toppings from the pantry or even leftovers. Ready in about 30 minutes tops, most of that baking in the oven.
Easiest Pizza Ever
- 1 c self-rising flour **
- 1 c Greek yogurt
- 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted are really nice here)
- 1 clove garlic
- herbs, fresh or dried, to your taste
- various toppings, to your taste (shown above: mozzarella and asiago cheese, chopped olives, roasted red peppers, pepperoni)
Preheat your oven to 450˚F.
Make the pizza sauce: Open a can of tomatoes – I used fire-roasted diced, but you could use whole or crushed. Put them in a small food chopper with a clove of garlic and herbs of your choice, and blitz briefly. I left my sauce on the chunky side. NOTE this makes more than one pizza’s worth of sauce. Leftovers keep in fridge or freezer.
Then make the crust: Mix the self-rising flour (if you don’t have this, make your own, see note at bottom) and the Greek yogurt. It will make a stiff dough. Take out of the bowl, knead briefly on a floured board. Ta-da, done.
Oil a pan: The one shown above was baked in a metal 9″ pie pan, but I’ve used a larger flat pizza pan, a quarter-sheet pan, even a Pyrex 8×8 square. You get a browner crust on a metal pan. Pat the crust out on your oiled pan.
Assemble the pizza: Top your pizza as you prefer. In this case, I sprinkled the top all the way to the edge with a light layer of Mozzarella cheese, and circled the very outer bits with grated Asiago. I dabbed sauce here and there, added roasted red peppers (from a jar, sliced), and some olives and pepperoni (cleaning out the fridge.) Then finished it off with a second light dusting of mozzarella, and put the pan in the oven to bake.
Bake: The timing will vary, depending on the size and thickness of your dough and toppings. You want the crust to be cooked through, the cheese to be melted and browning but not burnt, and the rest of the toppings to be hot. I figure 20 minutes was about what this one took, on a rack near the top of my oven, where it’s hottest.
Serve: When the pie is cooked through, a toothpick won’t reveal any unbaked dough bits. You’ll need to loosen the pizza from the pan with a spatula, though. It will try to stick, even though you oiled the pan. Turn it out onto a board, let it rest 3-4 minutes to firm up just a bit, and enjoy!
NOTE: this scales up well. I’ve made the dough with 4 c flour and 4 c Greek yogurt, and it makes 4 nice little crusts. If you have hungry people, figure 1 c per person, dainty appetites, 1/2 c per person, and you’ll have just about the perfect amount of dough. This dough does NOT keep unbaked.
** to make self-rising flour: measure 1 c all-purpose flour, and remove 2 tsp from it. Add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt, mix well.
adam said:
Thanks for the recipe, Maurita. I’m going to have to try this dough finally. I’m betting the yogurt gives it some flavor.
mlplouff said:
Yes, it does. The tang of the yogurt is a nice addition. Once it’s baked it’s very subtle, and if you used strong toppings you might not notice it much.
elisebakes said:
I’ve been wondering how the greek yogurt-self rising flour pizza crust would be, but it looks absolutely wonderful here – so thick and fluffy! Yum!
mlplouff said:
When I saw the idea, I just *had* to try it. I was surprised and pleased by how good it is! This is not just ‘acceptable’ but it’s darned good pan pizza at home.
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