I don’t know about you, but I’ve always secretly thought pizza baked in the Sun Oven was impossible. It needs to bake at such a high temperature, I didn’t think it would turn out….but I was WRONG. I’m so excited! I usually stop making homemade pizza in the summer because it’s too hot to run the oven and subsequently too expensive to cool the house after heating up the oven. It was a great first attempt. Here is what I learned.
Lessons Learned from Baking Pizza in the Sun Oven:
- I used my 30 minute pizza dough recipe and halved it. This was a little too much dough for my pan once it cooked. See how puffy it is? Ha ha. Next time, I’m either going to decrease the yeast (because the dough continues to rise as it cooks in the Sun Oven) or decreasing the amount of dough I use.
- Pre-heat the Sun Oven AND your pan. I used a regular 12 inch pizza pan which barely fit and heat it in the Sun Oven along with the butter.
- Don’t try and pre-bake your dough. I know it’s tempting to pre-bake the dough but don’t do it. The dough will rise and bake in the Sun Oven. It’s faster than rising and then baking and then adding on your toppings.
- Bake it for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and brown.
Pizza Cookies in the Sun Oven
Oh yeah, we also tried making pizza cookies in the Sun Oven. I hope you’re familiar with pizza cookies, most delicious pizza restaurants offer it as a dessert. It’s a warm, barely cooked cookie topped with ice cream. It’s our favorite dessert–EVER. Again, I was a little nervous about trying it in the Sun Oven, especially since it was a little late in the day but it worked too. HOORAY! Now my family can continue to eat their favorites even in the Summer!
Tips for making Pizza Cookies in the Sun Oven
- Start with a Skookie pan. I got these a few years ago but these little cast iron pans are awesome for personal pizzas, cookies, brownies, etc. And because they are black they work great in the Sun Oven!
- I used my Grandma’s cookie recipe. It made two pizza cookies and 9 regular cookies that we froze the dough for. You want to press the dough almost to the edge of the pan (it will grow as it bakes and you don’t want it spilling over.)
- We baked it for about 20 minutes but next time I will cook it for just a little less. They are supposed to be ooey and gooey!
