Copycat Pizza Hut Pan Pizza recipe – DIY ORIGINAL pan pizza ala Pizza Hut. Step-by-step guide to creating your own pan pizza masterpiece. In 2019, Pizza Hut announced a “newly engineered” Pizza Hut Pan Pizza (complete with newly designed pans) last year, but this recipe is closer to the original.
This is also a great recipe to teach children of any age because you can make it more complicated by making your own pizza sauce, or… use your favorite jarred pizza sauce to make it easier/less time consuming.
My husband worked several years in the Pizza Hut kitchen at the now closed 23 & Van Dyke location in Shelby Twp & the Lakeside Mall location. He would tell me stories about the number of pan pizzas he’d cook on a weekend night. And again, the Italian in me decided to find a way to cook something similar at home in my own kitchen.
The Copycat Pizza Hut pan pizza recipe is based on something I found online years ago at https://www.food.com/recipe/pizza-hut-original-pan-pizza-91827 but I do a few things differently. First, I use my own sauce. Some people have their own favorite pizza sauce recipes. Some like jarred sauce. I say just go with what you like. I’m mainly focusing on the dough here because that is what makes the Pizza Hut pan pizza famous.
Copycat Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Recipe
For cookware, I purchased two 14 inch cast iron round pizza pans. The recipe in the link above calls for three 9 inch cake pans. I wasn’t in the mood to make three personal pan pizzas, so I instead cut the dough in half, freeze one half and use the other to make one 14 inch sized pan pizza (a Pizza Hut large pizza”. Also, I make the dough in a bread maker*. It is so easy and cuts out a lot of the work.
Here’s a link to a pan that more closely resembles the “real”, original Pizza Hut pan pizza pans.
Copycat Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄3 cups warm water (105 F)
- 1⁄4 cup non-fat powdered milk
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for dough)
- Vegetable oil for pan – OR – butter-flavored Pam cooking spray (optional, I omit this because I don’t care for the ingredients in the cooking spray)
Copycat Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Directions / The Dough / Bread Maker
Mix the non-fat powdered milk, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Add the water and stir thoroughly to activate the yeast. Let sit for two minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and stir again. Pour liquid mixture into bread machine. Add four cups of flour on top. Set it to go.
When dough is complete, removed from bread maker. Cut in half. Freeze one half if not using it. Using a rolling pin, roll other half into a circle large enough to fit the pizza pan. Oil the pan just enough to give it an even thin coating, then place the dough into the pan and allow it to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours.
Non-Breadmaker Dough
If you don’t have a bread maker, combine the dry ingredients except for flour, add water, then add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Put the dough on a flat floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed, until elastic and no longer sticky.
After the dough has risen to a pan pizza thickness, top the dough with your favorite sauce. For the cheese, I grate 12 oz of mozzarella cheese (I never use the pre-shredded bag stuff since it contains anti caking agents). Spread 3/4 of the cheese on the sauce, add your favorite toppings, and top with the remaining cheese.
Baking Instructions
To cook, place pizza on the very bottom rack to get the crust browned and crispy. Cook at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
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Enjoy the original with this Copycat Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Recipe.
