Monday, January 3, 2011

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Copy Cat Recipe




Pizza is an easy dinner to make. Lots of places in India have delivery, for sure. But it's much cheaper (and healthier!) to make it at home!

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Pizza Crust
3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1-1/4 tsp. yeast (Solar brand works great, but keep it in the freezer between uses)
1 Tbs. sugar
2-1/4 cups bread flour (I always just use Maida)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil

Preparation for the Crust:

First prepare the dough for the crust. You might want to prepare the crust one day prior to baking the pizza. To get the best dough, you need to allow it to rise in the refrigerator overnight. This procedure will produce a great commercial-style crust.

Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup, and stir until the yeast and sugar have dissolved. Let the mixture set for approximately 5 minutes. Foam should begin building up on the surface. If it doesn't, either the water was too hot or the yeast was dead. Throw it out, and start again.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and the salt. Make a depression in the center of the flour, and pour in the yeast mixture. Add the olive oil. Use a fork to stir the liquid in the center of the flour. Slowly draw in more flour, a little at a time, until you have to use your hands to completely combine all the ingredients into a ball.

Dust a clean, flat surface with flour, and with the heel of your hands, knead the dough on this surface until it seems to have a smooth, consistent texture. This should take approximately 10 minutes.

Rub a light coating of oil on the dough, then put it into a tightly covered container and in a warm place to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size. When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down, put it back into the covered container and into the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have time for that, you can use the crust at this point. Without the long rest, however, it won't have the same texture as the original.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

One box tomato puree
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf (called Tej Patta here)
dash onion powder
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 ball Amul pizza cheese or 2/3 package of Flanders Mozzarella

Preparation for the Sauce:

You can prepare the pizza sauce ahead of time as well, storing it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pizza. Simply combine the tomato sauce with the spices and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for 30 to 60 minutes until it reaches the thickness you like. When the sauce has cooled, store it in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

When ready to assemble, spread the dough out in the rectangle pan that came with your oven. You can grease the pan with butter, and if desired, throw a handful of sooji (which is semolina in the states) on the pan, which will make it taste a little bit like Uno Chicago Pizzeria pizza. Fork the dough after it's spread out a few times to prevent air bubbles. Spread sauce on top. Spread one ball of shredded Amul PIzza cheese on top. Top the pizza with whatever toppings you want!

Bake at 225 for 15-20 minutes, till crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.

(If you want a thicker crust, make the recipe using 1.5 times the ingredients, or double the recipe, and freeze half, wrapping it in plastic wrap and sealing in a Zip Pouch to use next time for a really quick and easy dinner!)
Recipe taken from Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur

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