How to Make Pizza in a Cake Pan

Let us show you how to make your very own pan pizzas at home using the pans that you normally use to bake a cake in.

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, especially for when they had the program where you read books and earned a free pizza.

You don’t have to go to “the Hut” to enjoy a pan pizza, you can have one right in your very own home, that will be a lot better.

Deep dish fans are going to want to absorb all this delicious information!

🍕 Pan vs. Hand Tossed

The difference between a pan pizza and a hand tossed pizza is how you form the crust. Hand tossed pizzas the dough is free formed, so it’s free to rise both upward and outward when baked. Pan pizza is formed inside of some type of pan that will limit how the dough spreads.

Is one easier than the other? Not particularly, unless you are trying to throw your pizza up in the air!

🎂 Cake Pan

The best tool to use for making a pan pizza is a good cake pan. One of three shapes can be used. You don’t need or want anything that is non-stick, your pizza won’t get that crispy outside in a non-stick pan. Plus it’s too easy to scrap the non-stick pan causing the coating to come off in your food.

An aluminum cake pan that you coat with oil will be what you want for a crispy outer crust.

Here are some sizing options:

Rectangle

You can get about 6-8 slices out of these the standard 9 x 13 rectangle pan. A pan with corners is going to give you really crispy corners, and I know you want crispy corners!

Tip – Rectangle cake pans are the perfect size for making homemade focaccia.

Square

The square sized pans are smaller at 9 x 9 inches. If you really like corners, filling up a couple square pans can give you more of those delicious corner pieces.

Round

The standard size for a round cake pan is 9 inches. Larger than Pizza Hut’s 6 inch for their personal pan pizzas. You can find 6 inch cake pans.

🍕 The Dough

Here are the ingredients for a basic pizza dough

• Bread flour or 00 pizza flour
• Dry yeast
• Salt
• Sugar
• Olive oil
• Warm water

Ingredients for pizza dough don’t have to be complicated. Head to the bottom of the page for the complete recipe.

♻️ Substitutes

You can change the oil that you use. I live olive oil for the flavor, but feel free to use what oil you have on hand.

Bread flour is preferred for it’s higher gluten content, but you can use all-purpose as well. The best flour to use for pizza is 00 pizza flour. The “00” comes from how the Italian’s rate the grind of their flour. “00” is the finest grind.

😋 Removing the Pizza

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 butter knife (don’t use a good steak knife, you might damage it on the metal pan) around the edges to help pry it out if necessary. \

Then I use two spatulas to remove it from the pan. Then slice and enjoy.

READ ME –> Brick Cheese – The Best Cheese for Pizza

💗 Heart Shaped

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 – but it’s fun!

🐒 Bundt Pan

Could you make a pizza in a bundt pan? A lot of recipes use the bundt pan to make a monkey bread style pizza, where it’s a cheesy bread that you then dip into marinara sauce. Yum!

Doing an actual pizza in a bundt pan would be hard. Normally when you bake in a bundt pan, you turn it over when it’s time to eat the cake. So if you did that the pizza would be upside down. You can’t bake it with the cheese and sauce on the bottom of the pan.

🧲 Cast Iron

Before we close out our pizza discussion I wanted to take a moment to talk about cast iron. You can cast iron to make a pan pizza. In fact it would be a good option to get a nice, crispy crust.

This is good for a round shaped pizza, but if you wanted a square pizza with crispy corners, you may have trouble finding the right kind of cast iron pan.

Make sure your pan is well seasoned before hand and coat with enough coat to make sure the pizza comes out easily.

🍞 More Things to Make with Flour

Potato Dill Bread

Oat Waffles

Maple Blueberry Buckle

Biscuit Donuts

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