“Homemade” Pizza!
April 26th, 2021
I say “homemade” because even though I stretch the dough by hand and layer ingredients like pro, I feel like a cheater because the ingredients aren’t all homemade. In fact, the sauce and the dough are just from the refrigerator section of Trader Joes…Shhh! The important part is that this pizza is THE BEST!
I made this for the first time for Chris and not only did he request it again multiple times in the days following, but he said it beats his favorite pizzeria!
Now apparently, we can never order delivery again. So I screwed that one up…because now even on pizza night I have to cook! Haha
Ingredients
- 1 package of Trader Joe’s garlic and herb fresh pizza dough *in the refrigerator section
- 1/2 tub of Trader Joe’s pizza sauce *also in the refrigerator section, near the dough usually. NOT the sauce in the jar! This is the one that is in the plastic tub.
- 1/2 bag of Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio shredded cheese
- 1/3 cup of whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 sliced beefsteak tomato
- a pinch of salt & fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp EVOO
- pepperoni *optional
Directions
- Sprinkle a clean, smooth countertop or large cutting board with flour. Remove dough from packaging and let sit out on the flour dusted surface for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a large baking sheet.
- With your hands, toss and stretch dough until you have a free-formed rectangle that is about the size of the baking sheet or 12 inch diameter. Using a little extra bit of flour will help prevent it from sticking to your hands. It doesn’t have to be a perfect shape, focus on getting the dough to be about the same thickness throughout so that the crust cooks evenly.
- Transfer the pizza dough carefully to the greased baking sheet. Tip: use flour to lightly coat the dough before folding it into quarters, then move it to the baking sheet and unfold it.
- With a large spoon, spread pizza sauce across the entirety of the dough. Next, sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly across the pizza. Then, drop small, quarter-sized dollops of ricotta across the pizza somewhat evenly. Now, place the tomatoes and pepperoni (if you are using it) in alternating spots until the surface of cheese is almost covered. Finish the toppings by sprinkling the basil, a light dusting of EVOO, a pinch of salt, and a few cracks of black pepper, in that order. *if you wish, sprinkle a spoonful of extra shredded cheese on top!
- Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the pizza from the baking sheet and transfer directly onto the oven rack. If your crust is not hard/sturdy enough yet, let it bake for a few more minutes before removing from the baking sheet. Tip: when transferring the pizza onto the oven rack, pull the rack out and tilt the pan forward, nudging the pizza with a large spatula so that the pizza slides onto the rack. Bake for 8-9 more minutes until the cheese is bubbly and browning and the crust is crisp.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving! YUM!
Please let me know if you make this pizza recipe and if you thought it was good in the comments below!
With love,
Ashley Jo
