Iconic Grandma-style cheesy pan pizza topped with HORMEL® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp. The PERFECT RONI CUP pizza at home!
This post is being sponsored by my friends at HORMEL® Pepperoni featuring their Cup ‘n Crisp Pepperoni. As always, all opinions my own. Thank you for supporting partnerships with brands I trust and believe in.
If you’ve ever had a pan pizza at your Grandma’s or even your school cafeteria growing up, it’s a pretty safe bet that it was this style of pizza.
So what’s a Grandma Pizza?
Originating in Long Island, this pillowy soft pizza dough that was made typically without a mixer and baked in a rimmed cooking/baking sheet. It has a slightly crisp bottom almost exclusively made in a home oven. That is, until, pizzerias saw that it was such a popular recipe that it was adapted for their commercial ovens.
This style of dough is something I grew up on as Mom and Grandma made it weekly if not more. It was/is very inexpensive and can feed a crowd. Mom always let us customize it and well, know I always, ALWAYS went for pepperoni!
Perfect Pepperoni Cups at Home!
I’ve been using HORMEL® products personally and professionally for decades. It’s the only brand of pepperoni we used at our pizzeria.And the number one question I get, even to this day is “How can I get those roni cups like how pizzeria pizzas create but at home?”
For the longest time, you couldn’t as those cuts of pepperoni were almost exclusively for pizzerias. I exclusively use their commercial ROSA GRANDE® Cup and Char pepperoni. If you’ve followed along on my Instagram accounts @thekitchenwhisperer.pizza and @thekitchenwhisperer you’ll see those roni cups in action! I felt bad telling folks you couldn’t get that product or those types of glorious roni cups.
UNTIL NOW!!!
I am stupid, crazy excited to showcase the new HORMEL® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp ronis that you can now buy in your local markets!!!
You can now make restaurant-grade pizzas with chef-used ingredients at home! #ronicupsforthewin
Get your ingredients & Let’s Make Pizza!
This dough is so easy I don’t use a stand mixer. There’s no need to. You can just use a wooden spoon or, like I use, your hand.
Ingredients
- 00 Pizza flour or High-gluten bread flour
- water
- yeast
- Oil – olive and canola
- Herbs & Seasonings – fresh basil, sea salt, kosher salt, and pepper
- Pizza sauce
- Dairy – mozzarella, mascarpone, ricotta
- 1-2 packages of HORMEL® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp
Make The Dough
- In a large bowl or wooden pizza box, add the flour. Make a well. To that add in the water but only to the well. You want to keep the sides intact.
- Next, sprinkle the yeast overtop the water and, forming your fingers like a claw, stir the water and yeast mixture gently slowly bringing in flour to make a thick paste. It should be the consistency of thick pancake batter.
- Keep mixing with your claw fingers until you have a shaggy/sticky dough and almost all of the flour is incorporated. Next drizzle in the olive oil and stir, knead gently until all of the oil is incorporated.
- Add the sea salt and gently knead to bring the dough together.
- Dump the ingredients out onto a lightly floured board and continue to knead until you get a dough ball shape and all of the shaggy bits are incorporated. This should be semi-smooth.
- Take your mixing bowl and turn it upside down and place it over top of the dough ball. Let it rest for 20 minutes. By doing this, you’re allowing the gluten to relax.
- After 20 minutes, remove the bowl and place it in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. *Or see Same Day Dough method below
Chef’s Tip about Fermenting Dough
- Cold Ferment – By allowing the dough to relax and ferment in the fridge, you’re allowing the flavors to develop and slows down the yeast. You’ll not only get a better flavor but also a better texture.
- Same Day Dough – There is nothing wrong by using the same day dough method. You would just place the dough in the oiled bowl, cover and set in a warm, dry area in your kitchen until doubled in size.
Pan The Dough
- Oil up your Pizza Pan, punch down your dough in the bowl and place your dough (cold or same day) into the oiled pan.
- Using your fingertips, dimple the dough out towards the edges as far as you can get it. DO NOT FORCE IT. Cold dough will not stretch.
- Cover and repeat every 30 minutes or until the dough stretches to the edges of the pan.
- Once at the edges of the pan, cover with sprayed plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes – 2 hours or until the dough puffs up
Make the Whipped Ricotta Topping
This is completely optional but it’s something I grew up on and absolutely LOVE with Grandma-style pizzas.
- To a food processor add ricotta, mascarpone, Parmesan, kosher salt, and black pepper. Process until smooth and creamy.
- Put into a piping bag and place in the fridge for at least an hour so it can firm up.
Dress The Pizza
- To the dough, add the pizza sauce, followed by the shredded mozzarella and your HORMEL® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp ronis.
I used about 1 1/2 bags on my pizza as I LOVE pepperoni.
Cooking your Grandma Pan Pizza
Conventional Home Oven
- I HIGHLY recommend you use the 2 pizza stone method listed in the instructions.
- Bake in a preheated 450F oven for 15-20 minutes rotating halfway through. The crust should be golden brown and puffed. The cheese melted and the pepperoni perfectly cupped and crisp.
Pizzaiola Tip about Pizza Stones
- 2 pizza stones create a controlled heated area within the oven allowing the pizza to cook evenly. This means no more burnt cheese and puffy crust while the bottom of the crust is white and soft.
- By using 2 stones you’re enabling your oven to mimic how stone/brick oven works at your favorite pizzeria.
Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
- If you have a wood-fired oven you want to aim for an oven temp of 725-800C with a constant flame in the back/side.
- Place the pan in opposite of the embers. After 30 seconds to a minute, carefully rotate the pan so all sides cooked.
- The crust will be golden brown, puffed with some leoparding, the cheese melted and the pepperoni perfectly cupped and crisp.
Pepperoni Cup Perfection!
Seriously, this pizza is a thing of beauty!
Every single HORMEL® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp is perfectly cupped and crisp!
Just LOOK at those little pools of pepperoni deliciousness!
You literally now can make the best pizzeria-style perfectly pepperoni cupping pizza at home thanks to this amazing new product by HORMEL®!
Just head to theire site and check out their Product Locator to find it near you. If your local store doesn’t carry it, speak with the manager and ask them to order it in! This is a MUST-HAVE if you want to make pizzeria-style pepperoni pizza at home!
Finishing the Pizza
Once the pizza is out of the pan and placed on a cutting board, add some chopped fresh basil.
You can put it on prior to baking (under the cheese) as some pizzerias do. For me, it’s just a taste preference.
I love the taste of fresh basil with my pepperoni.
Add the Ricotta Mascarpone Dollops
- Remove the piping bag from the fridge and snip the tip, off.
- Pipe on little dollops of the mixture – use as little or as much as you like.
- If some folks don’t want it, leave it on the side and folks can add it if they choose (FYI, I’m a HUGE fan!)
How to Cut Grandma Pan Pizza
For pan pizzas I never recommend using a pizza wheel or scissors (fyi.. scissors with pizza bothers me). Pizza wheels tend to tear a pizza instead of cut straight through as the dough is thicker.
I highly recommend using a Pizza Rocker Knife. It’s WAY easier to use on pan pizzas.
Additional Pepperoni Pizza Toppings
We can all agree you need to use the cheese and HORMEL® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp products. That’s a given.
Here are a few of my favorite flavor combinations:
- Spicy – Pepperoni and Banana Peppers or Jalapenos
- Meat Lovers – Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Crispy Bacon, Capicola
- Shrooms – Pepperoni with fresh mushrooms
- Veggies – Pepperoni, black olives, red onions, and bell peppers
- BBQ – Pepperoni, Cooked Ground Beef, Crispy Bacon, BBQ Sauce and finished with red onions
Looking for more Pizza & Pepperoni Recipes?
-
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
-
Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Potato Skins
-
Pear & Prosciutto Flatbread
-
Hand-tossed Sourdough Pizza with Pepperoni
-
Pittsburgh Pierogi Pizza
-
Grilled Flatbread Am & Cheese Pizza
Iconic Grandma-Style Pan Pizza with Pepperoni Cups
Iconic Grandma-style cheesy pan pizza topped with HORMEL® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp. The PERFECT RONI CUP pizza at home!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 45
- Category: Pizza
- Method: oven, wood-fired
- Cuisine: pizza, appetizers, munchies
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 546 grams 00 Pizza Flour or high gluten bread flour
- 406 grams of cool water
- 5 grams (1 1/2) teaspoon instant yeast (or active dry yeast)
- 12 grams of olive oil
- 10 grams of sea salt
Toppings
- 1 1/2 cups pizza sauce
- 3 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1–2 packages of Hormel® Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp
- 5–6 large basil leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup mascarpone
- 1/4 cup ricotta
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Additional
- Rimmed 12×16” pizza pan (or half sheet pan)
- 2–3 tablespoon of canola oil for the pan
Instructions
To make the pizza dough
- In a large bowl, add the flour and make a big well in the middle. Pour all the water into the well leaving the side intact. Sprinkle the yeast over the water.
- Form a claw with your hand and stir the yeast and water mixture, slowly incorporating the flour into the wet mixture and creating a thicker paste (think thick pancake batter). Slowly start to draw in a little bit of flour from the walls of the well until you have a shaggy dough.
- Next, drizzle in the olive oil and mix until you have a thick dough. once all of the oil is incorporated, add the salt and knead to bring the dough combined.
- Flip the dough out onto a very lightly floured board and knead, using the shagging bits of dough to help make a dough ball. The dough should be all incorporated and semi-smooth. Place your mixing bowl on top of the dough, covering it, and let it rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, your dough will have a shiny, more relaxed look and feel to it.
- Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If using that day, place the dough in a warm, dry place and allow to proof until doubled in size.
Pan the Dough
- At least four hours before baking, spread out 2-3 tablespoon of canola oil in a rimmed 12×16” pizza pan (or half sheet pan). Place your cold dough in the middle of the pan. *If using Same-day dough, 1 hour prior to baking, add the warm dough to the oiled pan.
- Using your fingertips, dimple out the cold dough stretching it gently to the edges of the pan. DO NOT FORCE IT. Cover the pan with lightly sprayed plastic wrap and allow to rest 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, uncover, gently stretch the dough to the ends and cover again. Repeat the dimpling/stretch 3-4 more times. *Same-day dough may not need additional stretching. Once the dough covers the entire pan, cover and allow to rest for 1-2 hours or until it puffs up slightly. *Same-day dough may only need 30 minutes or less.
Whipped Ricotta Topping
- In a food processor, pulse together the ricotta, mascarpone, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Place into a piping bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Dress the Pizza
- Uncover the pizza dough and spread out the pizza sauce within 1/4” of the crust edge. Spread the cheese over evenly and add the Hormel Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp over top the cheese. Bake per the preferred cooking method
Wood-Fired Oven Pizza
- Preheat the oven to 325-350C with a constant fire/flame.
- Place the pan pizza into the oven opposite of the embers. After 30 seconds to 1 minute, carefully rotate the pan. Repeat until the pizza dough is puffed, cooked through, the cheese is melted and the Hormel Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp have formed perfect Ronicups.~3-5 minutes
- Remove from the pizza from the oven and add the optional basil and whipped ricotta topping. Slice and serve.
Conventional Home Oven
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Place one rack on the lower third of your oven. On that place a pizza stone. It’s recommended you use 2 when you bake pizza. Place another rack on the upper ledge and place the 2nd pizza stone there.
- Place the prepared pizza to the bottom pizza stone and bake for 15-20 minutes rotating halfway through, the cheese is melted and the Hormel Pepperoni Cup N’ Crisp have formed perfect Ronicups.
- Remove from the oven and add the optional basil and whipped ricotta topping. Slice and serve.
Notes
*Prep time does not include pizza dough fermentation or proofing times
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