One of our favorite places to get pizza from is Papa Johns. I really like their sweet crust with its perfect soft and chewy texture. So I scanned through the Internet searching for a good copycat recipe and this is the one most people used. I tried it with a couple others and so far this crust recipe is my favorite. It's a nice dough to work with and has good flavor. Although, I didn't think it was like Papa Johns. The pizza sauce is also supposed to be like Papa Johns sauce. I'm not sure how it compares but it was a good sauce. So this is the recipe I will be using until I come across a closer match.
Crust:
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
2 Tlb sugar
2 1/4 tsp fast rising yeast (or 1 envelope)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup very warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
2 Tlb oil
cornmeal
-In a large bowl, combine 1 c flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt; blend well.
-Gradually add water and oil to mixture. Mix at low speed until moistened, then beat for 2 min at medium speed. By hand, add 2 cups of flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise in a warm place for 15 min.
-Roll out dough on a cornmeal surface and put on one large pizza pan or two small ones. (This was a perfect amount of dough for my 15 inch pizza pan). Prick randomly with a fork. Let rise again in warm place for 10-15 min.
-Brush crust lightly with oil (I sprinkled crust with a little garlic powder by recommendation from a comment left by a chef). Then prebake crust at 450 degrees for about 6 min.
-Top as desired, then bake again at 450 degrees for 5 min or desired doneness.
Sauce:
1 (10 3/4 oz) can tomato puree
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp thyme
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
