Frugal Momma's Test Kitchen: Pizza Dough- Take Six

Is anyone else annoyed with my constant changing of the recipes in my house? I am never quite satisfied with a recipe until I have tried several variations on it. Don't believe me? In April, I shared two variations on pizza dough. I revisited my recipe when I found a new cookbook and I really liked that variation too. Then more recently, I shared my discovery for another great recipe and shared how to simplify the dinner process by storing your ingredients in a bag.

I really believed that the last one was *the* star in all of my recipes. I had planned to never revisit this recipe again. Unfortunately, I ran across a copy-cat recipe for a Pizza Hut dough that I just had to try. The results...worth the reevaluation!

Let me preface by saying that I do not like Pizza Hut. It is way too greasy for my taste and has never agreed with my stomach too well. I didn't try this recipe because I love Pizza Hut so much, but I was simply intrigued by the ingredient list.

Although this recipe has a few more ingredients than my past variations, it is by far THE BEST pizza dough. I promise not to lead you astray and hope that you might get a chance to give this recipe a shot. It is worth the effort.

This dough is light and airy and does not rest heavy in your stomach. I think this is attributed to the addition of the baking powder.

This dough also has a great texture to it, which comes from the addition of cornmeal. It is not enough to give it a grainy texture, but simply adds to the bite and makes it more pleasing to the mouth than the flat flour, oil, yeast, water combination.

I hope that you can try this one. Don't forget to throw a few extra of these into a bag to enjoy in the weeks ahead. This recipe yielded a large crust and an order of cheesy bread for our family. The cheesy bread was prepared by rolling out the dough, drizzling it with olive oil, sprinkling with cheese & garlic salt and throwing it in with the pizza dough after it has been prebaked. You can cut these (before baking) with a pizza roller.

I topped the pizza with a can of crushed tomatoes, which had been simmering on the stove for about fifteen-twenty minutes. I added a little salt, a pinch of sugar, and a little dried oregano to the sauce. It turned out perfect! I topped the pizza with part of it and then used the rest as our dipping sauce.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as you have enjoyed the past variations!

Pizza Hut Style Pizza Dough

1 1/3 cups water
2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp cornmeal
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine, according to manufacturer's settings, and run dough setting. After the machine beeps, roll out the dough. You can roll the dough into two 9x13" pizzas (great for kid's lunches!) or into two medium pizzas or a large pizza and an order of breadsticks (as instructed above). Parbake the crust with a drizzle of olive oil on it at 450 degrees for ten minutes. Remove the crust and add sauce and toppings. If making breadsticks, add your breadsticks at this time. Place into the oven for another ten to fifteen minutes or until golden and bubbly. Enjoy!