Talk about a Super Soft Pizza, just Wow! And I’m calling it the Pinaanza! This recipe takes the Naan Dough and portions it out to a regular sized Pizza, Crust and all. I know, it’s a “Naan Pizza“. However, one would think Pizza on Naan bread. But this recipe is not that. Instead, it uses the Naan Dough portioned out and treated the same way as the regular Hand Tossed Pizza Dough.
The results are an incredibly Soft Pizza with very good browning. The additional benefit is that the Dough is ready the same day, even better, in about 2 hours. Now that’s impressive for a Pizza Dough, Flavor, Stretch and all.
Two Hour Pizza Dough
In Pizza Dough terms, having a dough ready in 2 hours is pretty quick and really impressive. Since proper Pizza dough is developed through the activity of Yeast in the dough and needs a long time to achieve this in order to develop a good rise, flavor with good stretch.
In this recipe, a lot of Instant Yeast is added to promote the rising pretty quickly. While any Pizza dough that is not properly aged will be harder on the stomach than one that is. Lacking flavor with poor stretch, either tearing or pulling back in on itself. This recipe does a pretty good job at creating a Pizza Dough that isn’t too hard and still maintains a good Stretch and just as Flavorful as a properly aged Pizza Dough.
Naan Pizza
A Naan Pizza is a personal-sized Pizza built upon previously cooked Naan Bread.
Naan Pizza
Previously cooked Naan sauced with Pizza Sauce. Topped with Mozzarella Cheese & Pepperoni.
Naan Garlic Fingers
Naan Garlic Fingers uses previously cooked Naan Bread with Aioli Garlic Butter or Garlic Finger Sauce and tops it off with Cheese. Optionally with Bacon Bits. Cooked the same as a Naan Pizza and sliced into Fingers for serving. The Naan Garlic Fingers are included with the Naan Pizza recipe in the post.
Naan Garlic Fingers
Previously cooked Naan brushed with Garlic Finger Sauce and topped with Cheese. Served with Donair Sauce on the side.
Pinaanza Dough
A Pinaanza uses the Naan Dough instead of Pizza Dough. Portioned out and treated just the same as a Classic Hand Tossed Pizza. Yet, a Pinaanza creates an unbelievably soft Pizza with a total proofing time of 2 hours. Then it’s ready to be Hand Tossed and your Pizza assembled.
Sliced Pinaanza
Fresh out the oven, Cheese on top and sliced to serve with various Dipping Sauces.
This Pinaanza was made with Pepperoni, Ground Beef, Mushrooms and Onions.
Poly Flour
Before making the Pinaanza dough, the Poly Flour needs to be made up first. Toss all the ingredients for the Poly Flour into a Food Processor and blend until uniform throughout. A 1/2 C of Poly Flour is used to make a batch of Pinaanza dough. The remaining Poly Flour can be placed into a Tupperware container to store and use for other recipes.
Poly Flour
- 3 C Flour
- 1/2 C Lard
- 2 Tbl Baking Powder & Sugar
- 1 Tbl Kosher Salt
How to Make Pinaanza Dough
The Pinaanza Dough takes about 2 hours to proof in 3 stages. Which are
- Slurry (30 minutes)
- Pinaanza Dough (1 hour)
- Portion and Proof (30 minutes)
- A Dough slurry is first created by combining just the Water, Sugar, Yeast and 2 Cups of Flour. Whisk until smooth and let proof 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes add in the remaining Flour, Poly Flour and Salt. Mix well and knead a few minutes, adding more flour if necessary to create a tacky dough. Let this proof while covered for 1 hour.
- Portion the Dough out for a Large & Medium Pinaanza. Place on a baking sheet or dough tray and brush Oil over the dough balls. Cover and let proof a final 30 minutes before shaping and Hand Tossing into a Pizza.
Naan Dough
- 4 C All Purpose Flour
- 2 C Water – Lukewarm
- 3 Tbl White Sugar
- 1 Tbl Instant Yeast
- 1/2 C Poly Flour
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
Seasoned Pinaanza Dough
Just as there are different flavors of Naan Bread, you can have different flavors of Pinaanza dough. A very good one is just a bit of Garam Masala added to the Dough to give some additional Flavor in the Dough itself.
You can also brush the Crust with Aioli Garlic Butter and season with Everything Bagel Seasoning.
Pinaanza Dough Weight
The below dough weights are just a guideline. You can make them into any size you want. The Naan Dough recipe makes enough for 1 Large & 1 Medium Pizza or 1 Large Pizza & 1 Medium Garlic Fingers or Bread Sticks/Twisty Bread. With a Total dough weight of about 1000 – 1100 total grams.
Once the Dough is portioned, brush them with Oil and cover for a final proofing of 30 minutes before shaping and Hand Tossing the Dough.
Naan Pizza Dough Weights
- 610 g – 625 g for Large
- 377 g – 454 g for Medium
Hand Tossed Pizza
Prepare the Pinaanza the exact same way as a regular Hand Tossed Pizza.
The objective of a Hand Tossed Pizza is to form a Crust that maintains the air pockets created in the dough. This will take you sometime to master. But once you do, hand tossing a Pizza will take you just a few seconds. You don’t want to touch the Crust at all, or use a rolling pin. This would squeeze out all the air.
- With a Dough Scraper, scoop out the Dough from the baking Sheet or Dough Tray and place on the counter with Flour or Cornmeal.
- With a closed fist, palm facing down, press the dough in the center to flatten it out a bit.
- With your fingertips, press around the edge to create the crust.
- Use the edge of your palms to stretch the dough out to a size where you can easily start hand tossing.
- Keep your thumbs tucked in and toss from hand to hand with a bit of force. The Dough should land with the Crust above your thumbs and the palm of the hand on the outside perimeter of the dough, away from the center.
If there are any tears in the Dough, just fold the dough over and pinch to seal. If you slapped the Dough out too large, While on the Pizza Screen, pick up the screen and drop it on the counter. It should shrink a bit.
Pizza Sauce
Use your Favorite Pizza Sauce or try one of ours. We got a few of them here too.
Passata Pizza Sauce
- 1×680 ml Mutti Passata
- 4 Large Basil Leaves – Finely chopped or torn
- 3 Tbl EVOO
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 3 Sprigs Oregano – about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp dried
- 1 Clove Garlic – Finely grated
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper – or more to taste
Figaro’s Pizza Sauce
Since I make Aioli Garlic Butter for the Garlic Fingers. There is another Pizza Sauce that I make that uses a bit of that same Aioli. Along with certain Herbs & Spices usually included for Pizza Sauce.
This Pizza Sauce is modeled after Figaro’s Pizza Sauce offered by one of my favorite pizza shops that has now been sold. This was a Sweet & Tangy Pizza Sauce with Garlic. A bit of Sugar can be added in to make it sweeter. I find the natural sweetness of the Passata sufficient.
This can also be made with Crushed Tomatoes too. Figaro used a specific kind from California that was naturally Sweet & Tangy. I couldn’t find out what kind though, and for this reason I use Passata and a bit of Red Wine Vinegar.
Figaro’s Pizza Sauce
- 1×680 ml Mutti Passata
- 2 Tbl of Aioli Garlic Butter
- 1 tsp Basil & Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp of the following
- Oregano
- Marjoram
- Thyme
- Black Pepper
- Red Wine Vinegar or a bit more for zestier
Pizza Cheese
Use a blend of High moisture Mozzarella & Provolone Cheese. This just has awesome flavor and beautiful melting action. Shred the both Cheese in a food processor and combine 3 parts Mozzarella & 1 part Provolone Cheese.
Saputo’s Mozzarella Cheese
Use a High Moisture Mozzarella Cheese like Saputo’s Pizzeria Cheese.
Even if you don’t use the Provolone Cheese. The Saputo brand of Mozzarella Cheese alone will make better Pizzas.
Provolone Cheese
Provolone Cheese just adds Flavor and beautiful melting.
Pizzeria Cheese
3:1 Ratio of Mozzarella & Provolone. Use it on your Pinaanzas and the remaining Cheese can go directly to the freezer.
CHEDDAR CHEESE
The addition of a small amount of Cheddar Cheese on Pizza offers up some sharpness. Which is sometimes desirable depending on the type of Pizza being made.
CHEDDAR CHEESE
Use a small amount to sprinkle over the Mozzarella Cheese blend on the Pinaanzas.
SPECIALTY CHEESE
Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano is very nice on top. Others can include Asiago & Romano. These are also very good on for Garlic Fingers.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Finely grated on top of the Naan Pizzas as they come out of the Oven.
POWDERED PARMESAN & ROMANO
These are pretty good to sprinkle over your Pizzas too and are pretty cheap.
PIZZA SHAKE
A Pizza Shake is additional items that can go on top of a Pizza to add flavor. It’s a unique way of creating different flavors or accenting certain flavors from the same Pizza.
Some Pizzerias included a shaker of Chili Flakes, while others like Little Caesars Pizza had a shake on for their Garlic Fingers if I remember correctly. Others like to Salt their Pizzas or drizzle Hot Sauce. Some ideas are below for a Pizza Shake to top off your Pizza as soon as they come out of the Oven.
- Peppers
- Chili Flakes, Aleppo, Isot Peppers, Chili Powder, Black or White Pepper, Cayenne Pepper
- Cheese
- Parmesan, Parmigiano Reggiano, Romano, Asiago and other varieties
- Herbs
- Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Marjoram
- Spices
- Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Aniseed Powder, Fennel Powder, Dry Mustard, and Onions Seeds or Black Seeds.
One of my Favorite combinations is Parmesan & Romano with Parsley, Aleppo and Onion Seeds. Onion Seeds works exceptionally well at adding flavor on top of melted Cheese just by itself or with other Cheeses.
Pizza Toppings
Use good quality ingredients, they really do make a big difference. While the Vegetables are pretty standard, there are a few meats that we can use or process the same as a Pizzeria to get the best tasting Pinaanzas or Pizzas.
Pepperoni
Fantino & Mondello is one of the best brands out there for Homemade Pizzas.
Italian Sausage
To get tiny nuggets of Italian Sausages, just like the Pizzerias. Remove the skin from your favorite Italian Sausage or make Homemade Italian Sausage and shape into tiny elongated nuggets using 1/2 a tsp portions.
Bake or Pan fry until just cooked and then top your Pinaanzas
Ground Beef
My go to is the Burger Mixin. Either cooked up ground or shaped into tiny meatballs using 1/2 tsp portions, just the same as the Italian Sausage.
For every 1 lbs. of Ground Beef, add the below Burger Mixin to add Flavor, Umami and Texture.
- 1 tsp Beef Powder
- 1/2 tsp MSG
- 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
Old School Pizzeria Ground Beef cooked Ground Beef with a bit of Worcestershire or Soy Sauce.
Bacon
Pizzeria bacon isn’t really Crisp. It’s more like steamed Bacon.
To achieve this at home. Mince the Bacon and cook in a pan over medium heat with a splash of water while covered for about 10 minutes. Stir at 5 minutes and cook uncovered during the last 2 minutes for a bit of crisp. This in effect steams the Bacon and renders the fat out.
Garlic Fingers
The Naan Dough will yield 1 Large and 1 Medium. These can be made into 2 Pizzas or, for a Pizza Night Combo, a Large Pizza & Medium Garlic Finger.
Garlic Fingers
Made the same way as Garlic Fingers using Naan Dough instead of the Classic Hand Tossed Pizza Dough.
How to Slice Garlic Fingers
Slice right down the middle and then across to create about 1 inch fingers.
AIOLI GARLIC BUTTER
For the best Garlic Spread, use a mixture of Aioli & Butter. This offers up so much more flavor than just combining Garlic & Butter. I use this in various amounts for Garlic Fingers and for Garlic Butter.
The cool thing about this recipe is that it is all made up in a jar with an immersion blender, easy to make and store. Use it for Garlic Fingers or to brush Pizza dough before saucing with Pizza Sauce to add extra flavor. It’s also used in a few other places to bring out that Garlic Flavor.
Spread a generous amount on. Garlic Fingers are supposed to be Greasy Good. Additional Herbs & Spices can be sprinkled on top of the Garlic Fingers. Such as Parsley, Dill Weed, Chives or Green Onions.
Aioli Garlic Butter
- 1 Head of Garlic Cloves – peeled
- 1/4 tsp of Sea Salt
- or 1/2 tsp Butter Popcorn seasoning for a more Buttery taste
- 1 Cup Neutral Oil
- 1/2 C Butter – added last after pureeing
HOW TO MAKE AIOLI GARLIC BUTTER
The Aioli Garlic Butter is made up in a Jar and refrigerated in that same jar for storage. Just Quick & Easy.
- Place into a Jar with a mouth opening large enough to fit an immersion blender in, a whole head of peeled Garlic Cloves.
- Add the 1/4 tsp of Salt or 1/2 tsp of Butter Popcorn Seasoning & 1 Cup of Neutral Oil.
- Place the Immersion blender in and purée.
- Add 1/2 C Butter and purée again.
This is the base Aioli Garlic Butter to which additional ingredients can be added for a Garlic Finger Sauce or used as is brushed on with additional Herbs & Spices sprinkled on top.
This is also the Sauce where 2 Tbl of it is used in the Figaro’s Pizza Sauce. After which, additional ingredients can be added into the Aioli Garlic Butter to create the Garlic Finger Sauce.
GARLIC FINGER SAUCE
The Garlic Finger Sauce has additional items that are added to the Aioli Garlic Butter and offers up some really good Flavors for Garlic Fingers. To the Aioli Garlic Butter with Butter Popcorn Seasoning instead of Sea Salt add in the following and mix well.
Garlic Finger Sauce
To the Aioli Garlic Butter add in the following and mix well.
- 1 Tbl of Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp of Dehydrated Onion & Garlic Flakes with 1 tsp of Chives, each
- A chopped Green Onion
- 1/8 tsp Dill Weed & Ground Onion Seeds
Garlic Pinaanza
Add more flavor to the Pizza by brushing the Aioli Garlic Butter or Garlic Finger Sauce on the Dough before saucing with Pizza Sauce for a Garlic Pinaanza! Then top it off with your Toppings & Cheese. Brush all the way out, including the Crust.
For a nice sheen on the Crust, brush the Crust again with Garlic Sauce when coming out of the oven.
Pinaanza Dipping Sauce
Pizza Sauce
Use leftover Pizza Sauce placed into small dipping bowls.
Donair Sauce
An East Coast Sweet White Sauce used to Dip your Garlic Fingers into, Pizza too.
- 1 can Evaporated Milk
- 3/4 C – 1 C of Sugar
- 2 Tbl Vinegar
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
Garlic Sauce
Papa John’s Style Garlic Sauce that can be used for both Pizza & Garlic Fingers.
- 1/4 C Butter
- 1/4 C SunFlower Oil
- 1 1/4 tsp Fine Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Butter Popcorn Seasoning
- Pinch Citric Acid – just a few granules
Equipment
- 1 Dough Mixer or knead by hand
- 1 Dough Tray
- 1 Pizza Stone
- 1 Pizza Screen
Ingredients
- 1 portion Naan Dough - about 1000 – 1100 g
- As Desired Pizza Sauce
- As Desired Toppings of Choice
- As Desired Mozzarella Cheese Blend - 3:1 Mozza & Provolone Cheese blend
Instructions
- Preheat the oven about 1 hour with the rack in middle position and a pizza stone at the highest setting it will go. Usually around 500 F – 550 F. Prepare the Naan Dough. When it comes time to portion and shape, portion out 1 dough ball at 610g – 625g and another at 377g – 454g to place on the baking or dough tray. Brush with Oil, cover and let proof 30 minutes before stretching out to form the Pizza dough.Meanwhile, prepare the Pizza Sauce and Toppings.
- On a well floured surface, coat the entire dough ball with Flour. With a fist, palm facing down, flatten out the center. Never touch the edge where the crust will be. You want to keep as much air in the crust as possible. Form the Crust along the perimeter with your fingertips and stretch the dough out with your palms. Toss from hand to hand with some force to stretch at the same time shaking off any excess flour. Transfer to a Pizza screen or pan.
- Sauce the Pizza and top with your favorite toppings. Sprinkle that Mozzarella & Provolone Cheese blend on top and place into the oven.
- Bake for 4 minutes. Then turn the Pizza around, so the back of the Pizza is now facing the front, and remove the Pizza from the Pizza Screen or tray and place directly on the Pizza Stone. Bake for another 3 minutes. After a total of 7 minutes of Bake time, optionally broil the top if needed for color for about 1 minute or more.
- Remove and transfer to the counter to slice. Optionally garnish with Parsley, Aleppo Flakes, finely grated cheese like Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano. Asiago Cheese is good too. Reuse the Pizza screen and repeat for the second Pizza or Garlic Fingers.