Ever since I first heard about Grandma pizza I’ve been wondering what it would take to make one at home. Tonight, I gave it my best shot and I was very pleased. The pie is baked in a rectangular tray, similar to my tray pizza. The similarity stops there.

For my first attempt, I used my traditional dough recipe and allowed it to raise in a bowl for several hours. Once it had achieved double volume, I stretched it into the well-oiled tray and allowed it to rise again. Once it filled the tray, I placed it in the refrigerator over night.

The next day, I spread olive oil on the top of the dough, then layered slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese. Next was hand crushed San Marzano tomatoes sprinkled with oregano, salt and pepper. Finally, I spread chopped fresh basil and a whole clove of roasted garlic and rappini.

The pizza went into the oven as soon as it was heated to 480 degrees. At that high temperature, however, the oil was smoking pretty badly. I was afraid that the smoke would spoil the flavor, so I turned the temp down until the crust looked light brown. The bottom looked to be starting to burn, so I turned on the broiler to finish the toppings and brown the cheese.

The result was an amazing mix of flavor. My favorite part was the way that each bite was slightly different because of the way the toppings were placed on the pie. The classic ingredients went perfectly together and the crust had a wonderful light, crisp feel.

I need to find a way to get the cost of this pizza down as the fresh ingredients added up quickly. I may also reduce the amount of oil slightly as it seemed a bit greasy. I am hooked on the taste of this pie and I will be baking another one very soon. It even reheated very well the next day.