Sloppy Joe Pizza

I don't remember my mom ever having a pizza pan. She made pizza on cookie sheets, so I had square slices before I ever had triangular pieces. They taste the same. Anyways, using sloppy joe sauce on pizza is something I did when the kids were teen-agers and for some reason I often made it on a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Recently I made it for just the two of us. It was great! And there was plenty left for lunches!

For the crust I used my trusted French Bread recipe. It's on this blog, but I will post it again so it's on the same page.

Ingredients for Crust:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups hot tap water
• 2 cups multigrain flour
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups unbleached flour
• 2 tablespoons instant (quick rise) yeast

Ingredients for topping:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 package sloppy joe seasoning
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• thin slices of pepper, any color (optional)
• 4 cups cheese (mix of favorites or mozzarella)
• 1 tablespoon freeze dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• sprinkle of crushed chilies (for those who like a bit of heat)

Method for Crust:

1. Put sugar, oil and salt in mixing bowl. Add hot water and stir in two cups flour.
2. Stir in the yeast and add 1/2 cup of flour at a time stirring until all the flour is mixed in well.
3. Knead for a few minutes until smooth.
4. Cover with towel and plastic bag and let rise for 20 - 30 minutes.
5. With greased or floured hands, scoop around the edge of the risen dough to deflate.
6. Pinch off about 2/3 of the dough to spread out on a greased 11x17 inch pan. If your pan is smaller, use half the recipe for one pizza or if using medium sized pizza pans, divide the dough into three. (Use any leftover dough to form a loaf, cut shallow lines into it, cover, let rise and bake 20 minutes.)
7. Once you have spread the dough on the pan, let it rise for 30 minutes
8. Bake at 400 F for about 10 minutes... only until just done.

Method for Pizza:

1. While dough is rising . . . brown the meat.
2. Add seasoning, tomato paste and 1/2 cup water.
3. Cook 5 - 10 minutes.
4. Spread on baked pizza crust (hot or cold)
5. Cover with sliced pepper if desired, or just cheese.
6. Sprinkle with basil and oregano. Hot pepper flakes if desired.
7. Bake about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
8. Large cookie sheet serves 6-8