Grandma style pizza isn't named because “it is pizza like your grandma used to make”- it's just the name given to those large rectangular pizzas you see at old-school pizza places- with the thick crust that's crispy on the bottom yet soft to bite into. I equate it to a pan-pizza kind of crust, and it is oh-so-good! I modified a recipe that Bon Appetite had published to fit my family's preferences, and now I make these for dinner almost once a week! Seriously- we never order delivery pizza anymore!
Now, you do have to think about it ahead of time. Because the dough tastes best when you make it the night before and store it in the fridge.
And you'll gasp when I tell you that you have to put so much olive oil onto the baking sheet before spreading the pizza dough- But it's the oil on the bottom and the high oven temperature that work together to create such an amazing crust!
I swear- if you try making this homemade pizza just once- you'll be hooked!
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Gramma Style Pizza Recipe
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- ½ cup of olive oil
- 1 28-oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- ¼ cup of basil leaves
- Combine the active yeast with 1½ cups of warm water in a large bowl and allow to stand for about 10 minutes until the yeast becomes frothy.
- Add in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 cups of the all-purpose flour and kosher salt. Mix well.
- Add in the remaining 2 cups of all-purpose flour mixing until the dough begins to come together. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes until the dough becomes soft smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat all over, and cover with plastic wrap.
- Put in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
- Coat an 18 x 13" rimmed baking sheet with a ½ cup of olive oil, using a pastry brush to get the olive oil into the corners of the sheet.
- Gently roll out your dough and place it over the olive oil in the baking sheet. You may need to allow the dough to rest a few times and warm-up before it will fully stretch to cover the bottom of the baking sheet. Don't be alarmed if some of the olive oil seeps onto the top of the dough.
- Cover the dough on the baking sheet with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a warm place for about an hour until it puffs up a bit.
- In a food processor dump in the can of whole peeled tomatoes (drained), the garlic, the 6 Tablespoons of olive oil and the bunch of basil leaves, and process until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. (In our family we like it to be very smooth.)
- Top your pizza dough with the prepared sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and whatever toppings you desire. Preheat your oven to 525° and bake your pizza for 20 to 30 minutes.
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Rebecca says
When I’m on my phone I don’t see a way to pin straight to Linterest, which I would love to do! Just a thought, maybe you could add one 😊
Rebecca says
Just an FYI: There is no mozzarella cheese on the ingredient list. I always use a recipe’s ingredient list to add necessary items to my shopping list, so for me this could’ve resulted in a cheeseless pizza. But luckily I caught it.
June says
Hi! Do you bake your pizza on the lower oven rack or in the middle? I tried it one time and the cheese burned after 10 minutes. Help! 🙂
Kris C. says
Oooh…I definately want to try this pizza. Sounds delish! A question tho: The recipe lists all-purpose flour twice – 2 cups and 4 cups. In the instructions it sounds like only 4 cups are needed in for the dough. Is the other 2 cups for spreading on a surface to roll out the dough? Thanks!
Sharon says
Oh my gosh Kris- thanks so much for catching that! It is only 4 cups of flour in total- you add the 2 cups and mix, and then the remaining 2 cups and then mix and knead. So sorry about the mistake- I fixed it now! (And I swear, I proof-read these posts and especially the recipes before publishing!)