Stuffed Crust Pizza

Pizza Night is one of my family’s favorite dinner events. We have one most weeks, and not just on Friday. Once I learned how easy it could be to make pizza dough from scratch, I never turned back. Homemade pizza is one of my “always on hand” dishes because all you really need is flour, yeast, tomato puree, and cheese. The seasonings are all things that should be in your pantry all the time. Every so often, I like to add that something extra and make a Stuffed Crust pizza as a special meal, and it’s easier than you think.

While some might disagree with me… string cheese is the perfect cheese for stuffed crust. But honestly, it’s already the shape you need it to be, and when you cut it into chunks, you can make it perfectly round out a pizza pie. Most String Cheese is just mozzarella cheese anyway, so trust me when I say it works. That said, you can use the swirl cheese or the Colby jack style too for a little different twist.

I sprinkled the crust with just some Italian seasoning, but you could add some grated parmesan, too. I have included my recipe for Italian seasoning at the bottom of this post, but you can also use your favorite pre-made blend. It is important that you either brush or spray your crust with oil before you sprinkle so that it sticks better.

This specific recipe is for a classic pepperoni pizza. A simple red sauce that is so easy to just stir up. You can change up the toppings as you see fit and still use the stuffed crust dough. You can also use this same dough to just make regular pizza crust. You just need to leave it a little bit thicker.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Stuffed Crust Pizza

A delicious stuffed crust pizza, with your favorite classic pizza toppings. (Makes 2 12inch by 17inch rectangle pizza crusts or 2 14inch round pizza crusts)

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword homemade pizza, pepperoni pizza, pizza, pizza dough, red sauce, stuffed crust pizza

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Rising Time 1 hour hour

Equipment

• 2 14inch Pizza Pans

Ingredients

• 4 sticks String Cheese mozzarella, cut into thirds
• 4 oz Pepperoni
• 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 cup Cheddar Cheese
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning

For the Dough

• 2 tbsp Yeast instant
• 1½ cup Warm Water
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tsp Salt
• ⅓ cup Oil
• 4½ cups Flour

For the Sauce

• 1 15oz can Tomato Puree
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 tbsp Oil

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine warm water, and sugar until fully dissolved. Add yeast and let sit to activate for about 10 minutes. Yeast should become slightly foamy.
• Add flour, salt and oil to activated yeast mixture. Stir together until a sticky dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof for about an hour (until dough has doubled in size)
• Preheat oven to 425degF.
• Once risen, split into two equal halves. Add one half of dough to floured surface and use a rolling pin to press out into ¼-in thick in the shape of the baking sheet, and over lapping by about one and half inches. Place dough on the baking pan. Place piece of string cheese around the edge of the pan, against the raised edge. Fold the excess dough over the top of the cheese and press slightly against.
• Spray with cooking oil and bake for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, add sauce ingredients and stir to combine.
• Remove par-baked crust from oven and add half of sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, half of pepperoni, half of cheddar cheese. Brush cooking oil around crust and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Repeat with second pizza crust.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes longer. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.