You are not going to believe how easy and mess-free making pan pizza from scratch in your RV can be. But once you try this recipe, I predict it will become one of your favorite RV recipes.
Truly, the only downside is that you do have to plan ahead. Eight to 24 hours ahead. But during that time you can be off doing other things and having fun. The dough just needs time for the yeast to work its magic.
When I first learned to bake as a child, I learned the importance of bread basics, like mixing water and yeast at just the right temperature while using a big standing mixer, and the seemingly endless kneading of the dough even after using the stand mixer.
Absolutely NONE of that matters with this recipe!
Instead of you doing all that work, you just let time and Mother Nature do it for you.
You can quickly and easily mix this dough by hand with just a spoon in under 5 minutes. There is no kneading, rolling, or tricky transferring of dough.
This recipe is so easy even a child can do it.
Intrigued? Read on.
How to bake an RV pan pizza
This recipe makes a thick crust pan pizza with deliciously crisp edges. This is because the pans are coated with a generous layer of olive oil.
I like to bake my pizzas in a cast iron skillet. However, if you lack this staple of camping kitchens, an ordinary round cake pan makes a suitable stand-in.
In fact, as this dough recipe is enough for two pizzas, I often use one of each kind of pan and bake two pizzas in one session. Even if I don’t have guests to help eat it all, who doesn’t love leftover pizza?
Ten-inch pans or skillets work well, but you can get away with a slightly larger or slightly smaller size.
Optional: Pizza stone for RV ovens
You can make this recipe in your RV oven without a pizza stone in it—especially as you will be baking it in a pan, NOT directly in the stone.
However, I find RV ovens to be notorious for hotspots and uneven heat. I likewise keep a pizza stone in my RV oven all the time as it helps maintain more even and consistent heat. Mine even stays in the oven while traveling.
This is a good quality small RV pizza stone that will fit in most ovens.
How to assemble the RV pan pizza
- Prepare dough according to the recipe below and let rise for 8 to 24 hours.
- Divide dough in half and stretch in pans and let rise for about 2 hours.
- Use hands to press out any air bubbles in the dough.
- Spread sauce on dough.
- Cover the top of pizza with grated cheese.
- Add desired toppings.
- Bake according to instructions below.
- Let cool for five minutes before slicing.
Toppings for RV pan pizza
Consider these options:
Sauces
- Start with a base of pizza sauce, either traditional red or Alfredo sauce. You can make these from scratch or pack jars of sauce in your RV pantry.
- Another option is to forgo sauces and simply brush the crust with garlic-infused olive oil before adding cheese and toppings.
Cheeses
- Grated mozzarella is traditional. You can also use sliced fresh mozzarella, but make sure to drain as much liquid off as possible first.
- Other melty-type cheeses can be combined with or substituted for mozzarella: cheddar, Swiss, Jack, etc.
More RV pan pizza toppings
In addition to all of the usual pizzeria topings—pepperoni, onions, sausage, olives, etc. etc.—these easy RV pan pizzas can be a great way to get creative and use up leftovers.
Out-of-the-box topping suggestions
- Leftover grilled chicken, beef, burgers, etc.
- Chopped veggies—whatever is in season or that you picked up at the farm stand. For instance, zucchini, sliced Brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc.
- Pineapple (if you must), with or without ham or Canadian bacon.
- Just before the pizza goes in the oven, crack a raw egg in the center. Bake pizza until the egg white is set and the yolk is runny. Awesome for breakfast!
Toppings to add after baking
Add these toppings just as the pizza comes out of the oven, or a minute or two before.
- Grated hard cheeses such as Parmesan or Asiago
- Fresh basil
- Arugula
- Fresh spinach leaves
Recipe for easy RV pan pizza
A couple of notes before we start. This dough will work in warmer temperatures, but cooler temperatures and a longer rise time produce an overall better-textured finished product. Either way, it’s still mighty good.
There’s no need to heat or warm the water. Directly out of the tap or water jug is all you need.
If I were writing this recipe for home cooks, I would weigh the ingredients for precision. But most RVers don’t carry kitchen scales, so we will measure instead. Just be aware that after mixing we are looking for a soft dough that’s very moist and a bit sticky to the touch. It’s stickier than a traditional kneaded yeast dough would be at this point but still a solid ball of dough. You may need to slightly adjust the liquid and flour accordingly.
Makes two Pizzas 10-12 inches each
Dough ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (less than 1 packet)
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Place all ingredients except olive oil in a large bowl.
Stir until well combined. The dough should be moist but hold together. You may want to use floured hands at the end of mixing just to form it into a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and go do something else for 8 – 24 hours.
You can get away with making a pizza after 8 hours, especially if the weather is warm. Otherwise, allow yourself more time for the yeast to do its job. Expect the dough to double in volume or more.
Coat your skillet(s) and/or pan(s) on the bottom and sides with olive oil. Use at least 1 1/2 tablespoons per pan.
Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and dust your hands with flour as well. Pick up the dough and divide it into two equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball by tucking the ends under itself.
Place one dough ball in each pan, and turn to lightly coat with oil.
Use the palms of your hands to press the dough into the pans up to the edges. Cover pans with plastic wrap and go out and have fun for about two hours.
When you get back, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. (Yes, that is correct. You want a very hot oven.)
Use your fingertips to press the dough in the pan, spreading it out until it fills the entire pan. Press out any big air bubbles as you go, as you want these gone before baking. Use fingertips along the edges of the pan to press the dough down and form a small lip going up the sides. This may be challenging depending on how elastic your dough is. If you can’t get it to stay up on the sides, no worries. Your pizza will still come out looking and tasting delicious.
Top each pizza with about 3/4 cup of sauce, followed by an even sprinkling of grated cheese, or thinly sliced cheese as in the photo below. You will use about 1 cup of grated cheese per pizza. Add any other desired toppings.
Bake the pizza for about 15 minutes. When it’s ready, the cheese on top should be golden brown, melted and bubbly.
The crust should also be golden brown. It is a good idea to take a knife or spatula and lift an edge of the crust and make sure the underneath is properly browned before removing it from the oven.
If you only had room to bake one pizza at a time, repeat with the second pizza.
Let cool for five minutes before slicing. You can cut right in the pan, especially if you used a cast iron skillet. Otherwise use a spatula to help you slide the pizza out of the pan and onto a cutting board.
Enjoy!