Do you remember that rectangular school cafeteria pizza? This is it! In a corner of the internet, I found the 1988 edition of “Quantity Recipes for School Food Service” published by the USDA. You can download a PDF of the entire 317-page cookbook for free through Google Books. I reduced it down to one-tenth of the original recipe to fit into a half sheet pan.
The only major adjustment that I made was in the amount of onion powder, which I think is more common to our kitchens now than the dehydrated onions that this recipe calls for. Everything else, including the workflow, remains the same. If you don’t have milk powder on your shelf, go out and get some! This is not an ingredient to skip. You can add it to your cookies, pancakes, and breads, plus it’s especially good to have on hand if you’re planning to make more cafeteria recipes in the future. When you get done using milk powder to make this pizza, I’d highly recommend these Cafeteria Hot Rolls!
You can find the original recipes here: Quantity Recipes for School Food Service
P. 72-73 “Pourable Pizza Crust, B-15”
P. 188-189 “Pizza with Cheese Topping, D-30”
P. 190-191 “Pizza with Ground Beef Topping, D-31”
Yield: 10 Slices
Crust Ingredients
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g) or one packet active dry yeast
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon warm water (110F)
2 cups + 1 tablespoon (318g) all purpose flour
¾ cup (52g) nonfat instant dry milk powder
1 tablespoon (25g) sugar
¼ teaspoon (1.5g) salt
1 teaspoon (5g) vegetable oil
1 heaping tablespoon (14g) cornmeal
Sauce Ingredients
1 6oz (170g) can tomato paste
1 ⅓ cups water
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning*
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
*In place of Italian seasoning, substitute 2 teaspoons dried basil, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 ½ teaspoons dried marjoram, and ¼ teaspoon dried thyme.
Topping Ingredients
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
14oz ground beef or sausage
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Method
For best results, have all ingredients and utensils at room temperature.
Dissolve the yeast in warm water (110F). Let stand for 4-5 minutes.
Combine flour, milk powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
Add dissolved yeast and vegetable oil to the flour mixture. Blend on medium speed for 10 minutes. You will end up with a slightly lumpy and very runny batter.
While the dough is mixing, prepare the pan. Oil a half sheet pan (18” x 13”) with vegetable oil and sprinkle the cornmeal evenly over the surface.
Preheat the oven to 475F.
Pour or spread the dough-batter evenly into the pan. Make sure it reaches the edge of the pan. Let stand for 20 minutes.
While the dough-batter is resting, prepare the sauce and toppings. For the sauce, add tomato paste, water, and seasonings to a saucepan. Simmer for 15 minutes. If using, brown the ground beef or sausage. Drain. Add onion and garlic powder. Cook for 5 minutes. Set sauce and meat toppings aside until you are ready to top the pizza.
When the dough is done resting, pre-bake for 10 minutes until the crust is set. If the crust bubbles up, dock it or lightly press to flatten.
Sprinkle 1 ½ cups of shredded cheese on top of the crust. Next, spread the sauce evenly over the top of the pizza. Add the remaining 3 ½ cups of cheese, followed by any additional toppings.
Bake until the crust is lightly browned and cheese begins to bubble, about 10-15 minutes.
Cut each pan into 2 x 5 rectangles (10 pieces per pan).
Serve on a cafeteria tray alongside a salad with ranch dressing, canned corn, apple crisp, and a carton of milk.
THE FOOD ÉTUDE 