Pepperoni Pizza with Garlic Herb Crust
Calling all pizza crust lovers, this Pepperoni Pizza with Garlic Herb Crust recipe is for you. A thick, chewy crust brushed with tasty herb butter and topped with meaty pepperoni and zesty sauce, it’s a pizza crust lovers' dream.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1½cups all-purpose flourdivided
- 2teaspoons salt
- ½teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast
- 1tablespoon quality olive oilplus more to coat the bowl
- ⅔cup lukewarm water
For the Pizza Toppings:
- ¾cup pizza sauce
- 2cups mozzarella cheesefreshly shredded
- 3tablespoons parmesanfreshly shredded
- 8–12 pepperoni slices
- 2tablespoons unsalted buttermelted
- 1teaspoon oregano
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- 1teaspoon Italian seasoning
- pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, and Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast to a medium-sized bowl. Quickly combine the dry ingredients with a whisk.
- Then add the tablespoon of olive oil and water. Mix until well combined. It will be sticky.
- Flour a surface and your hands. Add the dough to the surface and begin kneading flour into the dough. Continue to knead and rotate the dough, adding small amounts of flour until everything is mixed together.
- Do a little kneading and form a ball. At this point, the dough should not be super sticky.
- Take a large bowl and coat it with quality olive oil. Add the dough to the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours (3 hours is better).
- When ready to make the pizza, preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. It should be pretty pliable and easy to work with. Make sure you stretch to about 12 inches in diameter.
- Transfer to a prepared round pizza pan or stone.
For the Pizza Toppings:
- Top the pizza dough with sauce leaving ½ inch around the edge bare for the crust.
- Sprinkle on the cheese then add the pepperoni slices.
- Stir together the melted butter, oregano, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt. Brush the butter over the edges of the crust. If using a pizza pan with holes, place a large baking sheet under it or on the bottom shelf to help catch oil drippings.
- Place on the lower shelf and bake for 18 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.