Making Your Own Pan Pizza (Heart-Shaped)

One of the things that Pizza Hut is known for is their personal pan pizzas. I can remember getting these pizzas when I was a kid. You don’t have to go to “the Hut” to enjoy a pan pizza, you can have one right in your very own home. All you need is the right equipment and a good pizza recipe.

To make my pan pizza, I first used a dough recipe that I got from Paula Deen of Food Network fame. Click here to read that recipe. This recipe makes enough pizza for two batches. I often take one batch, place it into a gallon size plastic bag with a little oil so it doesn’t stick and place in the freezer for later use. Once your dough is ready, you take a round or square cake pan and spray some oil on it so the pizza won’t stick. Place the dough in it. Strength the dough so that it is evenly distributed. I push up the dough put against the sides to form the crust. Let the dough rise again for 20-30 minutes before baking.

Now because a pan pizza has a thicker crust that other pizzas I recommend giving the crust a head start. So place the crust into a 450 degree oven for about 3 minutes. This way you won’t end up with a uncooked center. When your 3 minutes are up, take it out, add your sauce, cheese (I like brick cheese on my pizza), and toppings, and bake until done, 15-20 minutes depending on your oven, just keep on eye on it.

Let the pizza cool for a few minutes before you attempt to de-pan. Since you oiled the pan it should be easy to get it out. You can use a knife to around the edges to help pry it out if necessary. Then cut and enjoy!

You can try other things besides a circle or square pan. This year for Valentine’s Day, I used a heart shaped pan. It came out great. Deciding how to cut it evenly was the only challenge.