Instead of dishing out dough for a takeout pizza (or getting a lackluster frozen version), try making a fresh pie at home. Not only does this option produce a more delicious pizza, but mixing and matching sauces and toppings can be a fun activity for making dinner with your family. While it's not too complicated to whip up homemade pies, the most difficult part comes when it's time to roll out the dough, whether it's store-bought or made from scratch. To circumvent this step entirely, use pita bread for your base instead.
Pita bread comes ready to go — so there's no mixing, rolling out, or pre-baking necessary.
You'll buy it in perfectly portioned sizes to make personal pizzas, so everyone can easily enjoy making their own. In fact, there's no rule saying you have to make these for dinner only, as they'll also make the perfect lunch or even snack (especially if you use mini pitas).
If you're worried that your pita pies will taste different than regular versions, these two breads are made with very similar ingredients: flour, yeast, olive oil, salt, and sugar. So, you'll get a very similar result.
Just like with a full-size homemade pie, feel free to let your imagination run wild with topping combinations when creating your pita pizza. Even though you're making easy, smaller versions of the dish, you can still whip up a , a , or a . Keep in mind that you'll essentially be making a thin-crust version, so deep dish and Sicilian recipes will be tricky to convert. You'll only need a little bit of sauce on your pita — about 2 tablespoons for each one — and any cheese that melts on top, although mozzarella is typically the go-to. And when you buy your pitas at the grocery store, make sure to get versions without pockets.
You may want to heat your pita in the microwave for about a minute before you get started on your pizza, just to make it warm and pliable. Then if you use the oven to cook your pies, you'll simply want to bake them for about seven minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also broil them for the same amount of time. In the toaster oven, however, try cooking them for up to seven minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit on the center rack. The exact time it takes can vary, depending on the size of your pitas, so keep a close eye on them to make sure that cheese becomes nice and gooey instead of burning.
