Microwave Mug Pizza Mix

One recipe I use to streamline my lunches at home is this one that I found on Bigger Bolder Baking. It's a good recipe and it's pretty simple, however, I have modified it just a tad. First and foremost, I reduce the liquid by just a little. I find that less liquid makes the dough less bready. I love deep-dish but I'm not into bready pizza.

Ingredients (for the mix -- makes abt. 4 mug pizzas)

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Additional Ingredients per mug

2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. milk (The original recipe calls for 3 TBSP but that makes the crust too fluffy for my tastes.)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 TBSP crushed tomatoes plus 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

-- or 1 - 2 TBSP pizza sauce

2 TBSP mozzarella cheese

pizza toppings of choice (mini pepperonis are my favorite!)

Directions

This should go without saying but it's better safe than sorry. For the mix, combine everything in a bowl and mix it together before transferring it to your storage container. To make each mug pizza, follow these steps:

1. Measure 4 TBSP mix into a mug. (The mug I use was designed for microwave use by Corningware and I LOVE it! It's huge and comes with a vented lid to keep splatters confined.)

2. Combine with milk and olive oil. Spread dough roughly across bottom of mug.

3. Spoon tomatoes over dough and sprinkle with herbs (or use pizza sauce).

4. Top with mozzarella cheese and toppings of choice.

5. Microwave between 1 minute 10 seconds and 1 minute 20 seconds. (Not: Cooking time may vary depending on your microwave and mug.)

6. Divertiti! ("Enjoy," in Italian.)

I gave both the original recipe and my modification so that you can try it both ways and see which you prefer.

I don't want to be spending time measuring out baking soda and salt when I'm hungry. Seriously, that's enough to steer me toward another lunch altogether and if I want pizza, I might just order myself a personal pan.

I know. I know. That makes no sense. It takes WAY less time (and less money) to just measure out the powders than to order a personal pan. But it's not about the time, is it? For me, it's about the perception of effort. Order food. Wait. Get food. Eat. That's four steps. It's simple. The effort to pull out and measure four ingredients -- literally just four ingredients [I feel pathetically lazy now that I see that in writing], seems so much more when I am hungry than just ordering something. In reality, making a mug pizza is probably less effort than even just placing my pizza order -- and it sure is faster!

My solution? Reduce the number of perceived steps to make my mug pizza. I make 12 servings of my dough mix ahead of time and keep it on a shelf. Then when I'm hungry, I measure out the mix and my liquids, stir it together, top with (let's face it, unmeasured) sauce, toppings and cheese. Microwave and I'm eating before I could even have either ordered a pizza or gotten out to my car to pick up fast food.

1. Order food. 2. Wait. 3. Get food. 4.Eat.

vs.

1. Measure out mix . 2. Add liquids. 3. Spoon sauce and add toppings. 4. Microwave. 5. Eat.

Could I have made a sandwich in the time it took me to make a mug pizza? Probably, depending on the sandwich. (I do have a really good recipe for a cheese and tomato panini that requires a little more time -- and is totally worth it....) But if I crave pizza, this usually hits the spot. Is it the best pizza in town? No, but it is cheap, fast, low effort and pizza. It works for lunch.

Products Links (affiliate)

People sometimes ask about the mug I use for my mug meals. I actually have quite a mug collection at home, but I went out and bought this one specifically for my mug meals because it is so perfect for what I need. It's HUGE and has a vented lid that I can use to keep splatters out of my microwave.

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