We occasionally link to goods offered by vendors to help the reader find relevant products. Some of these may be affiliate based, meaning we earn small commissions (at no additional cost to you) if items are purchased. Here is more about what we do.
An Alternative to Take Out or Frozen Varieties
You know how I used to make bread or buns? I’d get the frozen stuff from the grocery store. For bread, I just shoved it into a loaf pan. For buns, I let it defrost to where I could cut through it with a sharp knife then bunch them together like buns!
Cuisinart CBK-200 2-Pound Convection Automatic Breadmaker
Both outcomes were great and yummy but not exactly the healthiest. Even in that version there are still some additives and stuff I don’t put in my homemade recipes.
So for Christmas a couple of years ago, I used my Christmas money to purchase what turned out to be the BEST small appliance in my kitchen – a bread machine (my Crock Pot runs a very a close second).
My newest machine is a Cuisinart with Convection that I absolute love. I don’t know how many of you have tried one of these babies out but the idea of the machine is to mix, knead, rise and bake your loaf all in the same machine!
Yeah, yeah…I know there are some foodies out there who think if you aren’t interacting with the ingredients and the dough that it isn’t really baking. I can do it both ways this just saves me time, mess (which takes time to clean) and lets me do a bunch of other things while it’s doing all the work for me!
Plus all the kiddos around here–from Soph all the way to Jaimie–can help put the ingredients in there!
The machine has a digital display that shows you the number of your bread setting, crust color, loaf size and minute-by-minute countdown! And there’s a button for each of those displays too (loaf size, crust color and menu) so you can customize your bread. We use the ‘Dough’ setting most often. And our favorite dough to make is pizza dough!
Every Friday around here is pizza night. Up until we started our new ‘addititive-free’ way of eating, we bought one of those Quick-Rise frozen pizzas. I don’t think I have to tell you how shocked I was to see all the crap that goes into those!
So began my quest of making the perfect pizza dough and sauce that our kiddos would eat that was ‘as good as’ the frozen stuff. After many, many trial versions, I finally created ‘Mama’s Perfect Pizza’ for the breadmaker. I’ll share my recipe with you but…shhhhh….don’t tell anyone.
Okay, I actually stole…er…borrowed…the recipe from Jamie Oliver’s “Jamie at Home ” cookbook and tweaked it to make it my own. I don’t think he’d mind.
- 2 1/2 cups warm water not hot
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 big sprinkle sea salt
- 7 cups flour we use 5whole wheat and 2 all-purpose and sometimes add in flaxseed flour but you could use any flour like rice, corn or your fav. Make it your own!
- 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast they have brands specifically for bread makers
- Combine all of the ingredients listed above in order in the bread mixer.
- After you get everything in there, close the lid, find your 'Dough' setting and let it go to work. Once the cycle is over, dump the dough out on a floured surface and squish it a few times to beat it down, getting out all those air bubbles.
- Then let it rise again for about 10 minutes--just cover it up with a big mixing bowl. Once it's risen back up again your only limited by your own imagination! We've made regular pizzas (this recipe can probably make about 5 or 6 medium pizzas), calezones, pizza sticks and other yummy things. I like to divide the dough into four blobs, using two fresh then freezing the other two.
- For the sauce, I use fresh tomatoes in the summer and canned crushed tomatoes and tomato paste in the winter (once the tomatoes we've frozen are all gone!) All you do is heat up a pot on medium heat then pour a couple of rounds of EVOO in the bottom. Once your oil is heated up (when you see ripples in the oil) put a couple of cloves of minced garlic in there (I like using my fine grater so the garlic blends in a little better and the kids don't find those little chunkies of garlic).
- After a few minutes dump a large can of crushed tomatoes (796 ml) and a larger can of tomato paste (369 ml) in with the garlic. Stir that up, add in your favorite herbs (I like an Italian blend with TONS of oregano and basil), a bit of sugar, salt and pepper and you're laughing.
For a crispier crust, you can try a pizza stone or a cast iron or carbon steel pizza pan.
For the fussy eaters in my house, this is a favorite…they don’t even like the fast-food stuff anymore!!
So give it a try and see what you can come up with. (BTW: Chef Oliver would probably tell you that making it with your hands is much better and more fun. I prefer this way because, like my Jaimie, I don’t always like getting my hands dirty.)
This is a match made in heaven for me! Getting dough underneath my nails makes me get the shivers! It’s one of my many irrational irritations.
And despite my love for Jamie, the idea that my human hands would be able to do something better than a machine built specifically for that purpose makes me scratch my head.
If I do end up succumbing to my desires despite my credit card’s loud protest, I will make sure to try out the recipe!
Thank you Lynne!
Ooh, this sounds good! Now, I have a fairly older model of bread maker, can I use that, too? I will definitely give this a try, though. My daughter loves pizza, myself and my youngest son not so much, but I will eat it if there’s nothing else and that’s what we’re having for dinner.
A bread machine is on my wish list, and this looks like a great option. I really like how there is the option to make a complete loaf or just the dough. This really gives endless ways to make any type of bread in any way. One of my favorite meals from my childhood is my mom’s homemade pizza and I plan to make it with my kids in the future.
Wow, I really need to put this recipe in my archives until I can afford a bread machine. My husband is addicted to pizza! If he had his way we’ll probably have pizza night 3 times a week. This is such a money saver. Ordering pizza cost a fortune.
A former co-worker made the best homemade bread from scratch I’ve eaten. He confessed homemade bread took a long time to make. That always has kept me away from baking homemade bread though I’ve certainly wanted to give it a try. Your crust reminds me of some restaurant-quality pizzas in Chicago. Although having one appliance that can mix, knead and bake a loaf seems like a Godsend, I’m not sure the breadmaker is in my budget right now. Does the machine also save time?
This looks like a great new alternative way to make a good fluffy pizza dough. Thumbs up
The toppings in that picture look delicious! I have that same breadmaker and have never actually tried to make just dough in it. I like the idea of being able to make my own dough with no additives. I have used the cast iron pan method to bake a pizza with store bought dough and it works quite well if you don’t have a pizza stone.
I have tried this once and it turned out really well! I was pleasantly surprised. I was kind of expecting the worst. It was tasty and everybody in my house liked it. Will have to try this recipe. Thanks!
Well, interacting with the dough is pretty fun and feels authentic… I especially like it when I’m angry and can then put all my frustrations and tensions into it!
I’ll have to try your recipe. We have an old bread maker, so maybe it does not have the same settings… Truth to be told, we did not try it yet. It just looks so old!
Bread makers are so versatile so I’m not surprised you can make a great quality pizza dough in them. It’s also a great idea to make twice the amount you need and freezer the rest – such a time saver!
So I actually tried this out last weekend! The base was perfect, probably the best I’ve ever made, so thanks very much for the recipe!
I don’t own a bread maker at the moment. I can see why now I would want one. We eat a lot of pizza and this sounds easy and much better tasting than getting a delivery. Better on the budget also.
I really like the idea of making your own pizza dough in the bread maker. I have a really old bread maker that was my grandmother’s. I’ll have to look at it and see what all settings it has on it. I’m not sure if it has a “dough” setting or not. I’d like to start making my own breads and pizza dough. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. It sounds so good. I’m definitely going to have to try it out.
This looks so tasty! My family loves pizza. It’s one of their absolute favorites. A healthier alternative to the grease soaked take out pizza? Perfect! Thank you for this!
Homemade pizza is fantastic. So much better than most take out (unless you’re in Chicago). I miss Chicago pizza.
We make our own sometimes, and make a big party out of it. I confess, I don’t have a bread maker, but now I’m really re-thinking it.
For now, I cheat and use frozen bread dough. It works really well, but of course, homemade is always better.
So true. Regardless of what Jon Stewart & the like feel I have never loved New York pizza with the passion I have loved Chicago pizza. Whether it’s thin, deep, or stuffed. However stuffed will give you a heart attack much faster than any other option.
This looks amazing! I’ll definitely have to try this method and create the fluffiest pizza crust ever! It will also enhance the overall taste of the pizza, at least in my opinion. Nothing ruins a great pizza better than a soggy, nasty crust!
Bread makers are fantastic! I have made pizza crust before using a bread maker, and the crust is so much thicker. Another great thing about using a bread maker is that the dough is completely homemade, and from scratch. When eating food that is completely from scratch, it gives you a feeling of accomplishment. When making your dough, another great quality is that, you know exactly what you are putting in you crust. Maybe you like yours thicker; you can modify the recipe and make adjustments as necessary. Over all, bread makers are a great tool that all chefs should try out.
I never considered using a breadmaker to make pizza but it’s more convenient that way. I need to try this the next time I’m too lazy to cook!
We have one of these machines that make everything for you! It’s awesome! But I never thought I could make a pizza in it!!! I’ll definitely give it a shot! 🙂
We had a bread machine growing up that we used all the time. It finally broke but only in the sense that the bread wouldn’t ride. My mom found that it was great for making pizza dough. I have to say she makes some of the best dough I’ve had all because of a broken bread machine.
Thank you for sharing this. As a bachelor with very minimal cooking skills (lol), these articles are incredibly helpful in diversifying my menu. Using common ingredients is one thing, but this takes it to a whole new level. The creativity that must have been used to come up with these tricks, well, let’s just say I am very impressed. I’m so glad I discovered this website, but I have a few questions though. Do you need to have at least a background on cooking for the other things in this site? If so, where can I learn them? Thank you for answering!
What a great idea! I’m going to try this tomorrow. It isn’t very often that I read about something that I’m actually excited to try. Time to dig the bread-maker out of the deep dark corner it’s stashed in and dust it off.
I tried making pizza using my bread maker once, it didn’t go too smooth since I didn’t know what I was doing and the ingredients were over the place. Wish I’d seen this back then!
I have to say that the pizza dough made in the bread maker tastes so much better than the one you can find in the stores.