Copycat rectangle school pizza recipe

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Sometimes, it has to be a pizza for dinner and can it get any better than the retro rectangle school pizza you used to get served by the cafeteria ladies, back in the day? Whether it was in your middle school or in high school, pretty much everyone ate the pizza and I suspect that pizza is still the most purchased lunch item.

There is just something about that pizza that hits the spot every time no matter what sort of day you are having.

One thing that also makes me smile is that we are so used to seeing a round pizza from stores when the original recipe from school is a rectangle pizza and no one even notices that it is sliced differently.

This recipe is the easiest one out there pretty much as we go back to the old school pizza, however, we are using a shop-bought pizza dough mix, and pizza sauce and then picking our favourite toppings. If you want to and have the time, you can make your own homemade pizza base using flour, water and a packet of active dry yeast. However, I am not going to lie, after a busy day at home, I wanted the most effortless option I could find.

Our local supermarket also sells a roll-out pizza base, if you can get your hands on it. You will find that down the chilled aisle.

Back to this recipe though, we are going back to the old-school pizza recipes that you used to see lined up at the hatch. The smell of the warm gooey cheese, wafting down the corridor and you knew that if you were not in the queue quickly, it would be gone before you got there.

As well as this recipe being super easy, it is great as you are able to customise this for your favourite toppings. So whether you choose to go for a simple cheese and tomatoes or want to go with some meaty toppings such as pork sausage, ground beef or chicken, you can make the adjustments to suit your tastes.

Let’s jump straight into the recipe.

Rectangle school pizza recipe

Ingredients

• Pizza Mix
• Tomato and basil pizza topper
• Mozzarella Cheese (200g +)
• Toppings of your choice – we went for pizza pepperoni

Instructions

• Make up the pizza mix as per the instructions in a large bowl. This one I used from Asda just needed warm water added to it, however, it may seem a little sticky so you can add a little bread flour to it if you wish.
• Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
• Once the dough is ready to roll out, loosely roll it into a rectangular shape and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. It should cover the entire surface of the tray if you can get it to.
• Top with your pizza sauce, leave a small border around the edges, this will become your pizza crust.
• Add the toppings of your choice and sprinkle cheese all over
• Place in the oven, top shelf and cook for 16-18 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling.
• Cut into equal rectangular pizza slices and enjoy.

For a printable recipe card, please see below.

This is an easy recipe for midweek but the perfect comfort meal or even hot lunch during these cooler days.

The dough mix I used gave the pizza a thin crust but with the amount of toppings I had, it was perfect. It was also enough pizza to feed a family of four. If you were looking for something a little deeper pan, I would use 2 of the mixes for the pizza but you would need to adjust the cooking time to reflect this.

Now as I said earlier, I decided not to go with homemade dough and picked a mix that was similar to premade dough, however, it is not too difficult to make should you pick that method instead. It is just like the pizza sauce, I used a jar mix however you could make you’re own really easily with some passata, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

That is one thing I love about this recipe, it can be adapted to suit everyone’s taste preference, with minimal effort.

Can you use different cheeses on pizza?

Yes, you can!

Back in the school cafeterias of our youth, it would have been cheddar cheese all the way. I just personally prefer using mozzarella as it gives the gooey topping.

Why not try a mix of both cheddar and mozzarella cheese?

What are the best toppings for pizza?

Now this one comes down to personal preference, a bit like the debate around pineapple belonging on pizza (which it does, just to settle that debate!).

One of the best things about pizza is just how easy it is to adapt to your flavour preference but it is also a great way to use up ingredients that you may have leftover such as chicken or sausages to.

If you are looking for some suggestions, here are some of our favourite toppings:

• Chicken – This is great on a pizza, especially with spicy sauce. Just make sure this is cooked chicken before adding to the pizza.
• Tomatoes – Fresh sliced tomatoes are a great addition to cheese pizza as they cut through the richness of the cheese on the toppings.
• Meatballs – Sounds like a strange one but I love them on pizza after trying them on a takeaway pizza.
• Ham and pineapple – This will always going to be a winner in this household.
• Pepperoni – One of our go-to toppings for the kids.
• Hot dogs – Something a little different, you could even top it with a bit of mustard.
• Fajita flavours – Think spicy chicken, peppers and onion.

What is your favourite topping on the pizza?

How to store leftover pizza?

If you have leftover pizza, it is great to enjoy the next day.

Simply allow this to cool and then either wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminium foil and place it in the fridge. This can then be enjoyed the next day at either room temperature or just gently reheated.

The next time you are having a pizza day, I would love for you to give this recipe a try. Let me know how you get on!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, however, if you are looking for some more easy midweek meal inspiration, why not check out these great recipes?