Mini Cheese Pizzas with Homemade Crust
These mini pizzas are so handy to have around. I like making a bunch of them and grabbing them out as needed for lunches. You can put them in frozen and by lunch time they are all thawed out. (These are similar to our pizza bites, that are little pull apart pizzas you make in muffin tins, but the dough is a little bit different and less clean up. ) If you’re at home, the best way to reheat them is in the oven or toaster oven. They come out tasting like they were made fresh that day. I love the whole wheat added to this recipe because it makes for a softer crust and gives a bit of nutrition as well.
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This little guy was sure unhappy with me when I took dinner out to the porch to take pictures. He made a little raid on my photo shoot. ;)
Mini Cheese Pizzas with Homemade Crust
DOUGH RECIPE:
3 3/4 cup white flour (if it's super humid outside, you may want to add a tablespoon or two)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups water
1 egg (optional)
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
*1 TBSP yeast
*just a little side note on the yeast. Red Star is my favorite. I buy it in bulk and keep it in the freezer. I've never had a problem with it getting old.
MINI PIZZA TOPPINGS:
spaghetti sauce, (not pizza sauce- I like the Classico garlic one the best)
mozzarella cheese, shredded
whatever other toppings you like such as pepperoni, ham, sausage, chicken, veggies, etc.
Directions:
For the dough, there's a couple ways you can do this. My favorite is using the bread maker on the dough cycle. I like doing this because I just dump everything in and come back to it after an hour and a half. It's also fine using a Bosch Mixer or a Kitchen Aid. I love my Kitchen Aid, but it really works better for me when I'm making cookies, quick breads, frostings, etc. My sister in law and my mom both love their Bosch mixers.
If you're using a bread maker- toss it all in and put it on the dough cycle. If you're using a mixer, put everything in the mixer and let it work for 30 minutes. Then let it rise for one hour.
When the dough is done rising, it's time to roll it out. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Grab a handful of dough, roll it in a ball and then flatten it out, this as a pancake. Line them up on a greased cooking sheet or glass pan. I use cooking spray to make it easy. If I have extra time, I'll let the rolls rise for another 30 minutes at this point and then flatten them down again. If not, when your oven is done preheating, put of a dollop of sauce on each circle of dough and spread over the top. Grab a hand full of cheese and sprinkle on top.
Pop the mini pizzas in the oven. In my oven they cook perfectly in 17 minutes. Every oven is different, so it could be between 15-20 minutes depending on if your oven runs a bit hot or cool.
When they are done, pull them out to cool. I slide a butter knife or spatula under the rolls, just to loosen them up and prevent them from sticking to the baking sheet/pan.
Enjoy!!
