First thing you need to make pizza is the crust. My favorite pizza crust recipe can be found here.
One of the secrets to making a good pizza dough is to let the dough rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight. This time of slow yeast activation allows the dough to develop a much better flavor than it would if you just used the dough directly after mixing.
Sometimes, in order to save money by using what I have on hand, I use other items for the pizza crust. These items include...
English Muffins
Bagels
French or Italian Bread
Flour or CornTortillas
Flat Out Wraps
Again, using what I have on hand or have bought on sale saves me more money over buying a ready made pizza crust or takeout pizza.
The next thing you will need for your pizza is the sauce. I have used many different things for the sauce on our pizzas.
I have used tomato paste, tomato sauce, ketchup, crushed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, canned and jarred pizza sauce, Amy Dacyczyn's homemade pizza sauce (which I found to be very bitter), etc. Again, using whatever I have on hand to save money.
Another thing I sometimes do for pizza sauce, is to buy the number ten can of crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, or pizza sauce from Sam's Club, although I did not see any pizza sauce on my last trip to Sam's this past week.
One way to save money with the number ten can is to figure out how much sauce you like on your pizzas and freeze portions in that quantity. I like my pizza with very little sauce, so I use a mini muffin pan to freeze correct pizza size portions and then store these in my freezer.
Homemade Taco Pizza
Here are some other posts from me about pizza you may enjoy reading:
Pizza! Pizza!
Saturday
Saturday Night Pizza
And of course, last week I shared how I make pizza kits for the freezer.
What is your favorite way to save money on pizza?
Belinda
I buy my cheese at Costco, my dh has a food allergy so I buy ragu sauce for the pizza. The best pizza I make is using budgetbytes.com no-knead pizza crust recipe and using a caste iron pan for the most crunchy pizza. We love it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to check out the Budget Bytes pizza crust, Cheryl. I love the idea of cooking pizza in a caste iron skillet, although I've not tried it. I went to high school with a dear friend whose Mother was Italian and made hers in a skillet in the oven. They were so good. :)
DeleteBelinda, I usually double that recipe and make three pizzas. I only have two caste iron pans so use a regular glass pie pan for the third crust. I will bake that one on the bottom rack a little longer to make sure it is brown and cooked through. I have also froze leftover for another time. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteSounds great, Cheryl. I went and looked at the recipe. Looks like a keeper. I'm definitely going to try it out. I have read about resting the dough overnight, so I am going to try it. I'd say the taste/flavor of the crust is great.
DeleteOne of the things I do to prepare ahead for homemade pizza is to make a quadruple batch of dough, divide into 4 portions, drizzle with a little oil, then freeze in ziplocs. I can take one ball of dough out of the freezer, sometime during the day, and let it thaw. At room temp, a ball of pizza dough (enough for one large pizza), takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to thaw. If I'm going to be out all day, then I put the dough in the fridge to thaw in the early morning, or evening before. My pizza sauce recipe is just tomato paste, water, onion powder, garlic powder, oil, salt and dried herbs, to taste. I just mix it up and spread on the crust.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a pizza pan or baking stone, so I bake pizza on a large, greased baking sheet. Then in the last 5 minutes of baking, I slide the pizza off the baking sheet onto the oven rack, to crisp up the bottom of the crust. It works for us, and means I don't have to own anything extra, or use something disposable, like parchment paper.
One tool I do really appreciate for pizza, though, is a pizza wheel cutter. My son was given one from a friend a few years ago, and he is graciously allowing us to use it, for the time being. That thing cuts pizza so much better than my kitchen knives.
We had pizza last night. For toppings, we did black olives, green pepper and sliced onions, on the cheese and sauce.
Have a great week, Belinda!
Such a great way to save on making pizza, Lili. I like your tip on how to freeze the dough in batches and take it out as you need it.
DeleteI love my pizza wheel too. My mom always used a knife and fork to cut her homemade pizzas. Hers were so good, she just always used the Pillsbury hot roll mix in the box for her pizza crust. She was frugal in the kitchen when it came to tools, she never had much other than the basic things one needs.
I hope you have a great week too, Lili. :)
A pizza cutter is a must. Never thought of scissors. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of scissors either. Great idea. :)
DeleteMy mom always used the kitchen scissors to cut the pizza, and it really did work well. It just sounds so funny to cut food with a tool we use for paper, fabric, and other non-edibles!
ReplyDeleteIt does, Lili. My Mom didn't have scissors in her kitchen, but I have a dedicated pair for the kitchen. They come in handy for so many things. I use them to cut my salads into smaller pieces every time I make a salad.
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