Tuscany Individual Pizzas Recipes

MINI DEEP-DISH PIZZAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray the cavities of a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
• Remove the pizza dough from the packaging and allow it to come to room temperature on a floured surface.
• Using a rolling pin or your hands, roll it out into a VERY thin layer. Using either a small round cookie cutter (about 2 inches) or an empty 4.5-ounce can, cut it into rounds.
• Using your fingers, stretch the dough without tearing and press into the prepared muffin cups.
• Next, assemble the pizzas. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the crushed tomatoes into each cup. Sprinkle with a little Italian seasoning and top with about 1 tablespoon of mozzarella. Top with the mushrooms, sausage and pepperoni or whatever toppings you prefer.
• Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melty and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

MINI PIZZAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large skillet, brown ground beef and sausage.
• Mix onion into the sausage and beef mixture, and saute it until tender. Drain grease out of skillet. Stir processed cheese food into the mixture. Continue cooking until cheese melts. Arrange slices of bread on a cookie sheet, place heaping spoonfuls of the mixture onto each slice of bread.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes.

PIZZETTE - MINI PIZZA BITES WITH ASSORTED TOPPINGS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water with sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
• In a mixer bowl add flour and yeast water, give a quick stir.
• Using a dough hook attachment start to knead slowly increasing the speed.
• Add salt and extra virgin olive oil.
• NOTE: Don't add salt immediately as it'll weaken yeast quality!
• Knead for about 5 minutes.You should get a smoth and pretty soft dough. It'll be slightly sticky but manageable to handle it with your hands.
• Transfer the dough in large oiled bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap and let rise for 2-3 hours in a warm (not hot!) place.
• Past 2-3 hours the dough should double in size.
• Transfer it to a slightly floured work surface.
• Roll with a rolling pin to about 3-5 mm thick.
• Using a round cookie cutter about 3 inches in diameter cut out pizzette circles.
• Place pizzette on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving some space in between.
• Cover with a linen towel and let rise for 30-60 minutes in a warm place.
• While pizzette are rising it's a good idea to prepare the sauce and the toppings.
• In a skillet pan add tomato puree/passata di pomodoro, let simmer on low heat until slightly reduced. The thickness of the sauce should be good enough to stay on pizzetta, not too liquid-y but also not paste-like.
• Add fresh basil leaved roughly torn with your hands.
• Cook for another few minutes and let cool.
• Cut, slice and pit all other ingredients that you've chosen as your pizza toppings.Here you can mix, match and be creative!
• Preheat oven to 375F / 190C
• Using your point finger press around and in the center of each pizzetta (see photo) to form a slight cavity to hold in the topping.
• Top with your favorite toppings.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until cheese is well melted and pizzette have a light golden edge. Be careful and don't overcook as the dough might become hard.

MAKE YOUR OWN MINI PIZZAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Place pizza dough on a well-floured surface, press dough firmly with your fingers to shape, and stretch gently into a 12" x 8" rectangle.
• With a round cutter, cut dough into 18-20 rounds; place rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Top each with pizza sauce, cheese, and your desired toppings.
• Bake mini pizzas for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
• Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl; set aside for 5 minutes.
• Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and olive oil in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Optionally, add dried herbs like basil, oregano or rosemary. Stir in the yeast water. Knead with the dough hook or by hand on a well floured surface for about 5 minutes. If using the stand mixer, once finished kneading, remove dough from bowl and shape into a large ball by hand.
• Oil two bowls lightly with olive oil and set aside. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll into balls. Place each ball into the oiled bowls, seam side down, and coat the tops with a little olive oil. Top each bowl with plastic wrap or a clean, dry towel and place the dough in a warm place (I use an oven preheated to 250 degrees F, then turned off). Let rise 2 hours.
• Once risen, either use immediately by turning dough out onto a floured surface and shaping. Or, wrap dough in plastic wrap, then a plastic bag, and freeze or refrigerate to use later.

MINI PIZZAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and coat a muffin tin with nonstick spray and set aside.
• Cut each of the biscuits in half and gently press each half into a cavity of the tin, pinching the dough together to make a circle.
• Add 1 teaspoon of pizza sauce to each of the doughs and gently spread around.
• Add a pinch of pizza seasoning or dried oregano to each pizza.
• Top the sauce with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese on each pizza.
• Add 3 (quartered) pepperoni pieces to each pizza.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
• Run a paring knife around the edge of the pizzas to loosen them from the pan.

TUSCAN CHICKEN PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Roll out pizza dough on a well floured surface. Place onto pizza pan that is dusted with cornmeal, or drizzled with olive oil.
• Spread tomato sauce over dough in a thin, even layer.Top with fresh basil.
• Evenly sprinkle cheese onto pizza. Top with chicken, especially places not covered with cheese.
• Sprinkle parsley over the cheese. Finish of with a little freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes, or nutil crust is golden.
• Let pizza cool about 5 minutes before slicing.

HOMEMADE INDIVIDUAL PIZZAS

Steps:

• (this dough can also be made in a bread maker):
• Put warm water in a large bowl, add the yeast and let stand for about 7 minutes for the yeast to activate. Don't use hot water or you will ruin the yeast.
• Whisk in honey and olive oil. Add flour, then the salt and knead until well-combined (use a dough hook on speed 2 if using a mixer). The dough should be sticky.
• Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until doubled in volume (45 min to 1 hr at room temp or 25-30 min in a warm 100˚F oven).
• Combine all sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan.
• Simmer over medium/low heat until it is reduced by about a third. It needs to thicken or the pizza will be too juicy. If you need to cool sauce to room temp faster, transfer sauce to a bowl and place in a bath of ice water.
• Generously sprinkle baking pans with cornmeal; this keeps the crust crisper and prevents sticking to the pan. You can also oil pans if you don't have cornmeal.
• Grease a clean work surface and your hands with olive oil. Transfer dough to oiled surface and cut into three even pieces. Form each piece into an 8" round pizza crust using your hands and transfer to baking pans lined with cornmeal.
• Spread 1/3 pizza sauce on each pizza leaving a 1/2" border of dough all the way around. Add plenty of mozzarella cheese and any of your favorite toppings; this is where it gets really fun! (See list of toppings above for supreme pizza or Greek Pizza).
• Bake pizzas at 415 degrees F for 15 minutes or until the crust is crisp and toppings are cooked. Cheese will be melted and turn golden in a few spots.
• (Tip for the Greek Pizza: once the toppings are on, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. After the pizza comes out of the oven, sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese. It's so good!)

MINI PIZZAS RECIPE

Steps:

• Place the warm water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Allow this to set for five minutes. The mixture will start to foam and bubble.
• Add the oil, flour, salt, and herbs. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about five minutes until a smooth dough ball is formed.
• Transfer the dough ball to a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
• Combine the dough ingredients in the bread machine pan, according to the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Set on dough and start the machine, checking after ten minutes to make sure all the ingredients have been incorporated and not stuck to the side of the pan. Scrape down any stray ingredients to insure they are mixed in.
• Place the warm water in the mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Allow this to set for five minutes. The mixture will start to foam and bubble.
• Add the oil, flour, salt, and herbs. Attach the dough hook and run the machine until all the ingredients are incorporated, stopping the machine to scrape the sides as necessary. Knead with the dough hook until a smooth dough ball is formed.
• Transfer the dough ball to a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 500 °. Spray baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with corn meal to prevent sticking or line the pans with parchment paper for easier cleanup.
• Divide the dough into 16 portions. Flatten each portion into a thin round and place on the cooking sheet.
• Spread sauce and sprinkle toppings as desired.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the crust is crisp and the cheese melted and lightly browned.
• Wrap cooled pizzas in foil or plastic wrap and stash in a larger ziptop freezer bag. Thaw and reheat in a 350 oven for about 5 minutes.
• Assemble the pizzas as directed, but instead of baking, place the trays in the freezer. Once the pizzas are frozen solid (this will take several hours), stack them between layers of patty papers or waxed paper and store in a freezer bag or box in the freezer. To serve: bake from frozen at 450 degrees, for 10 to 12 minutes.

TUSCANY INDIVIDUAL PIZZAS

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 10 minutes. Traditional method: Put 1 1/2 cups of the flour, semolina sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. While stirring with a wooden spoon slowly add the yeast mixture until combined. Add the olive oil and continue stirring until the mixture forms a loose ball, adding the remaining 1/4 cup of flour if necessary to form a ball that is not sticky. On a lightly floured board knead the dough for 3 to 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and consistent in texture.
• Food Processor method: With the metal blade inserted, put the flour, semolina, sugar and salt into the work bowl. With the motor running, pour the yeast mixture through the feed tube and process for 30 to 45 seconds or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add the olive oil through the feed tube and continue to process for 1 minute. The dough should have formed a ball. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly with flour until it is not sticky.
• Both methods continue: Form the dough into a ball and put in a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and put it in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a cylinder and cut into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on a lightly floured platter. Cover with a damp towel. Using a rolling pin, roll one ball into a circle. Garnish the pizza as desired. Place directly on pizza stone and bake for approximately 4 minutes (Check after 3 minutes) until ready.
• Continue creating individual pizzas.
• La Margherita Pizza toppings: Top the pizza with a tomato puree made up of peeled tomatoes (use canned tomatoes when good quality fresh are unavailable), olive oil, oregano and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle with grated Mozzarella cheese and lightly drizzle olive oil over the pizza. Add salt and pepper for taste.
• La Napoletana Pizza toppings: Top the pizza with tomato puree and sprinkle with capers, mozzarella cheese and top with anchovies. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the pizza.
• Additional Toppings to add as you wish: Italian Ham, Peccorino Romano Cheese, Red and yellow bell peppers, olives, onions, fresh basil and mozzarella cheese.

PERSONAL PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium bowl, stir in yeast, water, sugar, salt, and oil. Mix in enough flour to make a dough that can be kneaded .
• Turn dough out onto the board and quickly knead for 3 minutes, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky to knead.
• Place dough in a greased bowl and flip dough over in bowl so that dough top is also lightly greased.
• Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, which should take about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Grease the pizza pan or baking sheet. Press 1 dough part into a 9-inch circle on greased pan. Put on the sauce and desired toppings.
• Bake pizza in a heated oven for about 20 minutes or until pizza edges are lightly golden.
• Enjoy.

INDIVIDUAL PIZZAS

Steps:

• Place bread shells on baking sheet. Brush each with 1 tsp olive oil.
• Spread 1/2 c Day-by-Day vegetable medley, thawed, over each crust. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and favorite toppings.
• Bake at 450 for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.