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Make your own pizza bar for a fun and easy at-home pizza party! With a quick 30 Minute Pizza Crust recipe, you’ll be able to impress your guests with almost no effort on your part.
This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s® Yeast as part of the Bake It Yourself Blogger Program. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make My Baking Addiction possible.
Well, the holiday induced anxiety has officially set in over here.
Every morning when Elle breaks open a new cardboard door on her Advent calendar and pops a piece of chocolate into her mouth while exclaiming, “There’s only 19 days until Christmas!” I find myself happily smiling because hello, Christmas magic.
But I also find myself taking a deep breath as we enter the home stretch. I’ve been making lists and checking them twice and I even have a couple of things wrapped, which is a huge accomplishment for me.
This year, I’ve decided to simplify things a bit and not overly focus on perfection, because let’s be real, Elle isn’t going to really remember all the little things, or even the presents Santa puts under the tree.
She’s going to remember the overall feeling of the most magical time of year celebrating with her family
So instead of stressing over a slightly crooked Christmas tree, or imperfectly placed ornaments, I’m choosing to focus on spending quality time with her making memories!
MAKE YOUR OWN PIZZA PARTY AT HOME
Look, here’s the thing. This time of year, I know that everyone gets a little burnt out on cooking and baking all the things.
Between making treats for school holiday parties, office holiday parties, cookie exchanges, and actual holiday meals, sometimes we are out of energy to think of menus for our own holiday parties.
So this year, I decided on a DIY pizza bar to make things really fun and easy – both for myself and for my guests!
I started with a quick and easy homemade pizza crust that I divided into individual portions, set out a variety of sauces, toppings, and cheeses, and let all of my friends and family make their own personal pizzas.
Everyone was able to make the exact pizza they wanted and it all came together with almost no effort on my part.
MY FAVORITE QUICK AND EASY PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE
Using a homemade pizza dough is a great way to impress your pizza party guests, but a lot of recipes require you to really plan ahead due to the necessary rising time.
For my DIY pizza bar, I used a recipe for 30 Minute Pizza Crust recipe from my friends at Fleischmann’s® Yeast.
This 30 Minute Pizza Crust uses Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast to completely eliminate the rising time.
You read that right. There’s NO rising time needed to make this pizza dough! All you have to do is mix the dough together and let it rest for 10 minutes before rolling it out, topping, and baking.
For our mini pizzas, I divided a batch of the 30 Minute Pizza Crust into 4 portions, making for the perfect individual pizzas. I even picked up some small baking pans so each person could have their own pan!
As you can see, I didn’t worry too much about making the pizzas round. I think the freeform shapes are more fun, and it let my guests feel like they could pat out their own crusts if they wanted without worrying about being “perfect.”
PIZZA PARTY TOPPINGS BAR IDEAS
Once each person had their pizza crust, it was time to start topping the pizzas!
You can set out any assortment of sauces, cheeses, or toppings you like. I recommend having a variety of ingredients ready for friends and family with different preferences.
If you want to help your guests with some combination suggestions, you could write out some ideas on cards or small chalkboards. Here are a few of my family’s favorite combos:
Olive & Banana Pepper Pizza
- Tomato sauce
- Black olives
- Feta cheese
- Sliced banana peppers
Meat Lover’s Pizza
- Tomato sauce
- Pepperoni
- Sausage
- Bacon
Barbecue Chicken Pizza
- Barbecue sauce
- Shredded chicken
- Red bell pepper
- Sliced red onion
Serve up the baked pizzas with some snack mix, salads with homemade blue cheese dressing, chips and French onion dip, or puppy chow and kick back and relax as you enjoy time with your loved ones this holiday season.
After all, that is really what holiday parties should be about.
30 Minute Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 envelope Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup very warm water 120° to 130°F
- 3 tablespoons Canola oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Pat dough with floured hands to fill greased pizza pan or baking sheet. OR roll dough on a floured counter to 12-inch circle; place in greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Form a rim by pinching the edge of the dough.
- Spread with pizza sauce. Top with desired toppings and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake on lowest oven rack for 12 to 15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.
Video
Notes
- If you don't have a thermometer, water should feel very warm to the touch.
- To knead the dough, add just enough flour to the dough and your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Flatten dough and fold it toward you.Using the heels of your hands, push the dough away with a rolling motion. Rotate dough a quarter turn and repeat the "fold, push and turn" steps. Keep kneading dough until it is smooth and elastic. Use a little more flour if dough becomes too sticky, always working the flour into the ball of dough.
- To make one thick crust 9-inch pizza, increase baking time to 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to Make a DIY Pizza Bar
Equipment
- 4 small baking sheets
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 batch 30 Minute Pizza Crust dough
- Assorted pizza sauces tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, etc
- Assorted meat toppings pepperoni, bacon, sausage
- Assorted veggie toppings diced red peppers, sliced onions, banana peppers, etc
- Shredded and crumbled cheeses
Instructions
- Place sauces, toppings and cheeses in individual bowls.
- Grease each baking sheet with canola oil or line with a sheet of parchment paper for easier cleanup.
- Divide dough into 4 portions.
- Pat out each portion of dough onto a baking sheet, or allow guests to do so themselves.
- Allow guests to top each pizza as desired.
- Bake topped pizzas at 425°F for 12 to 15 minutes.
We have used this recipe many times when my teen daughters have friends over. The diy pizza bar is so easy and the kids love it. The recipe for the dough is so fast, easy, and delicious, and comes out great every time! Thank you!
So glad you love this recipe! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
Great idea!! Can almond flour be used to cut down on the carbs?
Can’t wait to try this with friends. And thank you for the reminder that Christmas is about the magical feelings. The excited anticipation is what I remember most about Christmases in the past and I have a lot of them to remember!
Thanks so much, Shelley! I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to comment.
-Jamie