Pizza Night: Homemade Pizza with Freezer Bread Dough
Let’s make a delicious homemade pizza! You can put as much or as little cheese and toppings on it as you like!
You will be surprised how easy it is to make a large, delicious, homemade pizza with dough you have prepared ahead in your freezer! You will have your pizza in and out of the oven and on the table quickly – and everyone is going to love you for it! Just remember to keep the toppings thin in the very center so that it cooks through.
Watch the video and see how easy it is!
Step 1: Prep the Bread Dough
We are using my Freezer Bread Dough recipe to save time.
The recipe is available in two forms: one for making the dough by hand and another for using a heavy duty stand mixer. Videos are available for each recipe and are linked at the bottom of this page for your convenience.
Basically, what you are doing in these two recipes is mixing up a big batch of bread dough, portioning it, and freezing it. Once a week you pull out a piece of dough, let it thaw overnight in the fridge, and bake a fresh loaf of bread.
But sometimes you may want a pizza instead of bread – and that’s okay!
The leavening power lasts about four weeks in the freezer, but if you have a piece of dough that has been lingering in the freezer a little longer, it will still make good pizza.
Step 2: Thaw the dough
The night before or in the morning, take a 1- loaf portion of dough from the freezer, place on a plate and thaw overnight or all day in the fridge.
Step 3: Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 450F (230C) with a rack in the center or a baking stone in the center or lower one-third of the oven.
Step 4: Shape the pizza crust
Spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil on a 16-inch (40 cm) pizza pan or a large 14×20-inch (36×50 cm) cookie sheet. Unwrap dough and place in center of pan. Use your hands to pat the dough out 1/3-inch (.8 cm) thick to cover the pan. Or roll the dough out on a clean, oiled work surface and then transfer to the pan, stretching to make it fit. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It will taste good!
Step 5: Add toppings
Spread pizza sauce evenly over the crust, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) margin around the edge. Now, add your toppings! Sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar cheese (if using) over the sauce, a little more around the edges and less in the middle so that it will bake evenly. Add cooked meat and any veggies or other toppings you desire. Top it all with grated Parmesan cheese.
Step 6: Bake
Slide the pan in the preheated oven and bake 12 minutes. Turn the pan in the oven and bake 2-5 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbly and develops gold freckles. Use a pancake turner to lift the pizza and peek underneath to be sure it is well baked on bottom.
Step 7: Time to eat!
Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Cut in pieces with a pizza cutter or a pair of clean kitchen scissors. Enjoy!
Note:
Two recipes for Pizza Sauce are included in the printable recipe: one made simply with a can of tomato sauce and the other with dried tomatoes and boiling water in a blender.
Watch this video if you would like to stock your freezer with bread dough for a whole month – made by hand with a bowl and a wooden spoon.
Choose this video if you would like to use a heavy duty stand mixer to help you stock your freezer with bread dough for a whole month. You can use an Ankarsrum Assistent like me, a Bosch Universal, or a KitchenAid Pro-Line mixer. If you have an Artisan Series KitchenAid, you will need to cut the recipe in half because your mixer bowl is smaller.
Print the recipe below and keep it in your kitchen notebook!
PrintPizza Night: Homemade Pizza with Freezer Bread Dough
Pizza night is easy and stress-free when you start with freezer bread dough! The recipe for Freezer Bread Dough is linked below. You can choose to bake a fresh, hot loaf of bread each week for a month, or make a pizza! Simply thaw a piece of dough the night before or all day on a plate in the fridge and decide on your toppings. When evening comes, you are ready to make a delicious homemade pizza!
Ingredients
1 loaf portion of freezer bread dough made by hand or with a heavy duty mixer
Olive oil for the pan and your hands
Pizza sauce, see recipe(s) below
8 ounces (225 g) mozzarella cheese, grated or thinly sliced
4 ounces (120 g) grated cheddar, optional
1/2 cup (45 g) grated Parmesan cheese
Toppings as desired: cooked and crumbled bacon or sausage, cherry tomatoes or olives, thinly sliced vegetables, etc.
Instructions
- The night before or in the morning, take a 1- loaf portion of dough from the freezer, place on a plate and thaw overnight or all day in the fridge.
- When you are ready to make a pizza, preheat the oven to 450F (230C) with a rack in the center shelf or a baking stone in the center or lower one-third of the oven.
- Spread a tablespoon of olive oil on a 16-inch (40 cm) pizza pan or a large 14×20-inch (36×50 cm) cookie sheet. Unwrap dough and place in center of pan. Use your hands to pat the dough out 1/3-inch (.8 cm) thick to cover the pan. Or roll the dough out on a clean, oiled work surface and then transfer to the pan, stretching to make it fit. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It will taste good!
- Spread pizza sauce evenly over the crust, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) margin around the edge. Now, add your toppings! Sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar cheese (if using) over the sauce, a little more around the edges and less in the middle so that it will bake evenly. Add cooked meat and any veggies or other toppings you desire. Top it all with grated Parmesan cheese.
- Slide the pan in the preheated oven and bake 12 minutes. Turn the pan in the oven and bake 2-5 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbly and develops gold freckles. Use a pancake turner to lift the pizza and peek underneath to be sure it is well baked on bottom.
- Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Cut in pieces with a pizza cutter or a pair of clean kitchen scissors. Enjoy!
Notes
Pizza Sauce – starting with a can
1 8-ounce (225 g) can tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
A few grindings of black pepper, optional
Open the can of tomato sauce and stir the seasonings into the can. Your pizza sauce is ready.
Pizza Sauce – starting with dried tomatoes
½ cup (40 g) plain, no-oil dried tomatoes, heaping and packed
½ cup (120 ml) boiling water
1 clove garlic, peeled
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
Place all ingredients in the blender jar, put lid on, and whiz at low speed for 30 seconds to chop the tomatoes. Increase speed to medium-high and let the blender run until it forms a mostly smooth sauce. You may need to stop the blender once midway and scrape down the sides to make sure all the tomato pieces meet the blades.
*Note: If you do not have a blender, you can use a food processor to make pizza sauce. Pour the boiling water over the dried tomatoes in the bowl of the food processor. Let sit 5 minutes to soften the tomatoes, then add remaining ingredients. Process until mostly smooth.
