Meat Lovers Pizza

Ingredients

For the Crust

• 1 ¾-2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 envelope Fleischmann’s® Pizza Crust Yeast – OR Fleischmann’s® RapidRise Yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• ⅔ cup very warm water – (120° to 130°F)
• 3 tablespoons oil

Topping

• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ pound ground Italian sausage
• 3 strips bacon – cooked and crumbled
• ¼ cup pepperoni slices – or Canadian ham
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Instructions

• Brown Italian sausage in a skillet for 6-8 minutes over medium-high heat, sauteeing until sausage is browned and broken up into small chunks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Prepare the crust

• Preheat oven to 425°F.Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.  (If using RapidRise Yeast, let dough rest at this point for 10 minutes.)
• Pat dough with floured hands to fill greased pizza pan or baking sheet.  OR roll dough on a floured counter to 12-inch circle; place in greased pizza pan or baking sheet.  Form a rim by pinching the edge of the dough.

Assemble the pizza

• Spread pizza sauce over the crust leaving 1/2 inch around the edge. Sprinkle cheese over sauce. Add sausage, bacon, and pepperoni. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the top.
• Bake in preheated oven on the lowest oven rack for 12-15 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. Slice into pieces and serve.