In our house Friday night is Pizza night and my boys look forward to it all week!
My husband and boys always want to celebrate the start of the weekend with a pizza dinner at home. Now to be honest, I don’t always make it, half the time I like to order out and have my husband pick up a couple of pizzas on his way home from work. I do enjoy the break and everyone is happy with our dinner…but I do have a couple of homemade favorite pizza recipes that are a BIG hit with my family and not too much work to throw together on a Friday night. These twists are one those favorites. They are a fun and delicious variation of the typical pizza and I especially like this recipe because it is so quick and easy to make! I like to make the dough earlier in the day, so it is super fast when it is dinner time. I have included a recipe for the dough, but you could also pick some up at your grocery store (can in the refrigerator section) or defrost a log of Rhodes frozen bread dough. We love to dunk these twists in this 5 minute marinara sauce, but any bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce will do!
Here a few pictures of the process:
Once you have the seasonings, cheese and pepperonis on the dough, twist and pinch along the here and there. It is messy and not perfect, just try to keep the toppings in the twists somewhat!
Transfer to your baking dish (I used a stoneware pan lightly sprayed with Pam cooking spray). Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with fresh parmesan before popping into the oven.
Pizza Twists
Description
Pizza twists are a fun variation of the classic pizza. These are like a slice of pizza with your favorite topping rolled into a breadstick!
Ingredients
- 1 batch of your favorite pizza dough (recipe below) or refrigerated Pizza Dough from the store
- 1/2 Italian Seasonings
- 1/2 garlic powder
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup pepperoni, cut in fourths
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 1 Tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated
Pizza Dough
- 1 1/2 cups very warm water
- 1 Tb sugar
- 1 scant Tb yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tb olive oil
- 4 cups flour
Instructions
Pizza Dough Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water – let sit for 10 minutes. Foam should form on top. Whisk in salt, olive oil and 1 cup flour. Whisk in 2nd cup of flour. At this point put on dough hook and turn mixer in low as you add the last 2 cups of flour. If your dough is too sticky, add flour a little bit at a time until dough forms a ball. Knead for 5 minutes. (Or 10 minutes by hand) Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for an hour in a warm place until double in size. Punch down dough and divide into 2 parts. Each half will make a 12 inch pizza. (If you only want to make one pizza now, then put other dough ball in an oiled freezer bag and pop in the freezer for another day!) Take the dough ball that you want to use immediately and allow it to rest for 15 minutes then roll out. OR cover and place in fridge until ready to use. Just let it warm up on the counter for 15-30 minutes before rolling it out.
- *to freeze the pizza dough… at the point where you divide the dough into two parts, you can put one half in an oiled plastic bag and put directly in the freezer. When you want to use it, let it thaw in the frig or at room temperature. Once thawed, there is no need to allow it rest/rise again – just roll out and use immediately.
Pizza Twists
- Preheat oven to 375
- Roll out pizza dough (not too thick) and cut into rectangles about 2 inches wide by 8 inches long
- Sprinkle italian seasonings and garlic powder over dough.
- Next sprinkle cheese and pepperoni pieces over all the strips.
- Gently twist each strip, pinching ends and sides here and there to keep toppings in as much as possible.
- Place on oiled baking stone or parchment lined baking pan, brush with melted butter and sprinkle parmesan on top.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.
Recipe Source: Adapted from Spend with Pennies
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