Old Fashioned School Cafeteria Pizza

I remember the school cafeteria serving up super cheesy pizza rectangles with a delicious crunchy crust and I needed to get in line quickly because this pizza was the first thing that they ran out of and my favorite on their menu.

Even though this is truly Americanized in taste compared to a Classic Italian Pizza, everyone looked forward to this style on pizza day every Friday for our high school lunch.

After graduation in the 1970s, I still craved that pizza day taste and all the fond memories from those childhood days with friends, this pizza brings me back in time to those good ole days.

While I'm sure every school cafeteria had its recipe in each town, this is a very close replica of how I remember our lunchroom pizza back then and a close copycat to my childhood memory of it.

This is a flashback on cafeteria pizza from the 1970s recipe via @Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine.comPhoto byClaudia Lamascolo

Ingredients for Making School Cafeteria Pizza

• 1 package of fast-rising yeast
• 2 - 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of powdered milk (I used non-dairy coffee -mate powdered creamer)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil
• 1-2/3 cups of warm water (this must be at 110 degrees using an instant-read thermometer)
• Topping:
• Pizza Sauce jarred, canned, or homemade of your choice (16 ounces or 2 cups)
• 1- 15 inch baking sheet
• a few teaspoons of vegetable shortening to grease the sheet
• Cheese: we recommend a combination of extra sharp cheddar cheese slices with provolone or mozzarella slices around 8 to 12 slices
• Optional: Parmesan grated cheese, red pepper flakes, oregano

Step By Step How To Make School Cafeteria Pizza

1. Mix in a bowl of all-purpose flour powdered dry milk(I used coffee mate dry nondairy creamer powder), warm water that should read 110 degrees with an instant-read thermometer(very important) fast-rising yeast, and granulated white sugar
2. Pour this batter (using vegetable shortening) onto a greased baking sheet and spread it to the edges
3. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes
4. Remove from the oven and spread with pizza sauce and cheese
5. Place back into the oven and bake until the cheese starts to brown
6. Enjoy this trip down memory lane and a blast from the past with the full recipe for School Cafeteria Pizza Recipe on my website

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