Sheet Pan Pizza

sheet pan pizza

My kids are crazy about pizza. I could really make it every night of the week, and they would never complain. Most pizza nights I turn to stovetop pizza because it is so fast and easy, but I’m finding the older they get, a thicker crust fills them up and keeps them happy.

I received a copy of Ken Forkish‘s wonderful new book, The Elements of Pizza, and was happy to find a classic ‘Grandmpa Pie’ recipe on it’s pages. This pizza is parbaked in an oil-brushed half sheet pan, which helps keep the crust crispy without over baking the cheese. Toppings are then added, and the pizza is baked again and finished under the broiler. It was an instant hit when I made it.

Because this version of pizza is a little more time consuming, I tried it out with our no-knead pizza dough. Sure enough, it was just as delicious, and my family couldn’t tell the difference.

sheet pan pizza

Sheet Pan Pizza

Inspired and adapted from The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish

Pizza Dough, from Artisan Pizza and Flatbreads in Five Minutes A Day
3 cups lukewarm water
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
1 tablespoon kosher salt
7 cups bread flour

Ingredients for finishing
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cup pizza or tomato sauce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
5 ounces low-moisture mozzarella, grated
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Other toppings of your choice

For the dough
Combine the warm water, olive oil, yeast, sugar, and salt in a 5-quart bowl; preferably, in a lidded (not airtight) plastic container or food-grade bucket. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated using a stand mixer or dough whisk. Cover, and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours. You can use the dough right away, or refrigerate it for up to 14 days.

Remove 2 pounds of dough from your dough bucket, and place it on a generously floured surface (for a thinner crust, use 1 1/2 pounds). Knead the dough a few times, and shape into a ball. Cover with a tea towel and let rest on the counter for 15-20 minutes.

Pizza Dough on a Sheet Pan | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Put your pizza steel or stone on the middle rack in your oven, and preheat the oven to 500, letting the oven preheat for a good 45 minutes. Spread 4 tablespoons of olive oil on a half sheet pan, making sure to oil the inside rim. Gently stretch the dough into a rectangular shape, and lay the dough onto the pan. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on top of the dough, and use your fingers to work the dough evenly so it covers the pan (if the dough begins to resist, let it rest for 10 minutes and try again).

Pizza Dough on a Sheet Pan | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

After the dough has rested, work it again as best you can so it evenly covers the pan. Let it rest for 30 minutes while the oven is preheating.

Assembling Sheet Pan Pizza | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Spread 3/4 cup of tomato sauce evenly over the pizza, leaving a 1/4 inch border around the edges. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the edges of the crust are light golden, and the sauce starts to caramelize around the edges. The bottom of the crust should also be light golden brown and crisp.

Assembling Sheet Pan Pizza | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Remove the pan from the oven. Carefully spread another 1/2 cup of tomato sauce over the pizza, then top with the Parmesan cheese and the grated mozzarella. Top with any other toppings you want (we did half cheese, half pepperoni) and then finish with the sliced, fresh mozzarella.

Assembling Sheet Pan Pizza | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Carefully put the hot sheet pan back on the stone, and bake again for 6-12 minutes, until the cheese is beginning to melt. Turn on the broiler and let the pizza finish baking there; the cheese should be melted and the crust golden, with some brown spots and dark brown spots, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let the pizza cool for 3-4 minutes before cutting. Slice into squares and serve.

Assembling Sheet Pan Pizza | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

28 thoughts to “Sheet Pan Pizza”

  1. This is a great recipe. I have one addition. Usually close to the end of the baking time, it is easy to slip the pizza onto the baking stone. This really helps the bottom of the crust get not just brown but crisp.

  2. I’ve been doing this for a long time with your dough and I love it!
    Thanks for the post always good to see different ways to do things.

  3. This question is more for breads than pizza but I have been reading about the benefits of adding diastatic malt powder (approx. 1 Tbsp per loaf) to bread dough to improve browning and shelf life. Have you tried this? Do you think I could add 4Tbsp to a batch of dough without making other adjustments?

  4. Thank you for this. My wife and I enjoy pan pizza. The pie I would like to duplicate is what I call inside out pizza. It consists of the fresh mozzarella going on the crust first, then being completely covered by the sauce. The cheese comes out very creamy, and the combination is delicious! Should I follow the same method, including the broil, using the crust to determine when it’s finished? Also, since we are empty nesters, I have been using the bagel dough recipe for my pizza, and bagels, and soft pretzels. What else could I use this olive oil dough to make? One final question, what dough is most suitable for torpedo rolls, or sub rolls?

    1. With the sauce on top, you probably won’t benefit from using the broiler–otherwise everything’s the same, and it’s close to the Sicilian-style pizza we have in our pizza book.

      Olive oil dough can be used for anything (assuming you like the taste of the olive oil).

      For sub rolls, you want something with some fat and/or eggs so that you don’t cut your mouth on the crust when you bit in. Olive oil dough, comes to mind, plus challah, brioche, or the various enriched sandwich breads in the books. Could also brush some oil or melted butter on top before baking, and/or when it comes out–that softens too.

      1. Thanks for the feedback, I’m going to experiment with this dough. Will a longer rise time result in a lighter, fluffier consistency? Should I crowd the rolls together to have them rise while baking, rather than spread?

      2. Longer rise will only help to a point, after that, it can sink. Your idea should work, but the sides of the rolls will be different.

  5. I love the bread I make from your bread book.But I never get the crusty crust. What is the secret to it?

      1. Well…

        1. Check temp with a thermometer, something like https://ow.ly/8CVPU . If too cool, won’t crackle.
        2. Does your oven retain steam well? Gas ovens generally don’t.
        3. Using a stone? It helps.

  6. That looks great! Do you think the method would work with the challah recipe from the New ABi5 book, and if so, what would you recommend for a baking temperature? I have some leftover dough from this Shabbos that’s a bit on the salty side.

    1. You should be able to get away with it, but turn down the heat to, let’s say 450 and increase the baking time (?? 20%). The eggs and sugar probably won’t burn because of the quick baking-time. To be really safe, 400, but then it’ll take longer to bake.

  7. You guys. I simply parbake a sheet pan of the artisan bread focaccia for 10 minutes, take it out and add toppings, bake 7 or 8 more minutes. Easiest pizza ever!

  8. I rarely make pizza but my husband loves pizza. I plan to try your pizza dough recipe (since I love your bread recipes). Can I freeze the dough?

      1. OK, this is my embarrassed face… 🙂

        Though if you do another edition, you should add sheet pan pizza to the index. (I did look!) When flipping through, my eyes just skipped over the recipe because I don’t do onions.

        Thanks for the quick reply!

      2. I have a feeling that calling it “sheetbread” might be a regionalism that neither Zoe nor I have ever heard. In New York, this was just called “Sicilian-Style,” and I think other parts of the US use other terms. Where are you writing from?

      3. I’m writing from the Pacific NW… But because I was in the middle of doing seven other things and thinking about ABI5M when I decided to ask here I suspect it’s probably more malaprop than regional.

        Quick question, do you think it needs to be blind baked if you’re using more usual pizza toppings?

      4. Hahahah! blind baking virtually never hurts. That’s especially true if your oven isn’t delivering perfect heat, and you’re making a thick crusted Pizza, where you are using a lot of topings

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.