Pizza for the Apocalypse

I'd like to go on record for being known as a person who firmly believes in diversity.  I think those who believe that MREs are going to be a great long-term solution for their food needs should not be belittled for their beliefs.  Nor should those who purchase expensive x number of months' survival food packages be criticized for their choices.  The same goes for those who confine themselves to the long-term basics of beans, grains, oils, milk, etc.  I think they'll all eventually be pretty dissatisfied with their choices, but you know what?  That's their choice to make.  And in the name of tolerance, I should not be criticized for allowing them to experience the consequences of their choices.

None of those options sound all that great to me.  Where are the hamburgers?  What about French fries?  And, most importantly, WHERE'S THE PIZZA???  This is America, after all, and we're Americans.  How will we survive without great American cuisine?

Today's focus is pizza, just in case Domino's and Papa Murphy's don't make it to the other side.  Come heck or high water (or EMP, zombies, Grand Solar Minimum, famine, plague, etc.), this family's having pizza.

All you need for baking your pizza is a large Dutch oven and the charcoal.  A sun oven or tealight candle oven will also work, but without being able to reach a temperature of 400-425 degrees, the crust probably won't get crispy.

PIZZA

Pizza Crust
Begin with the recipe for French bread or bucket bread (links below).   To make things easy for an emergency meal, pre-measure all the dry ingredients and put them in a freezer bag.  If you have single serving sizes of coconut oil or olive oil, you can also add those to the bag and open them when it's time to prepare the crust.  On the bag itself, write "pizza dough" and the amount of water to add.  Do the mixing and kneading in the bag, and magically, there won't be any bowls (or hands) to wash, either. 

Pizza Sauce
15 ounce can tomato sauce
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder


The herbs and spices can also be pre-measured for ease and placed in snack-size Ziploc bag.  Write "pizza sauce" on the bag and the amount of tomato sauce and tomato paste to add.

Pizza Toppings
One of my goals this year is to learn how to make mozzarella cheese from dry milk.  That hasn't happened yet.  So at this point, we need to use freeze-dried cheese for our pizza in a long-term collapse.  We also have some freeze-dried sausage, courtesy of a dear friend.  Dehydrated mushrooms and bell peppers will be on my pizza.  My husband will omit the peppers (stomach issues) and add in mushrooms and olives.  Most of the kids will stick with sausage and a few will also add olives.  Make sure you've got the toppings you want for your pizza.


If you've got it, line your Dutch oven with parchment paper.  This makes it really easy to check the bottom of the crust for doneness.  If not, you can also sprinkle with cornmeal to help prevent sticking.  Place the rolled out pizza dough in the bottom of the Dutch oven, and bake it alone, without toppings yet, for a few minutes (optional, but does help the crust bake more evenly).  Remove Dutch oven from heat, and spread on pizza sauce, cheese, and other toppings.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, or until done. 

Yeah, actually, food storage can be really, really good.  But don't take my word for it.  Give this recipe a try this week.  You won't regret it.  And it's a great way to turn the hearts of family members who are a bit more hesitant about preparing.  When they realize the future can indeed be good, they're more likely to happily prepare for it.

Links to related posts:
French Bread recipe

Bucket Bread 
Dutch Oven Cooking Temperature Chart
Hamburgers
Hamburger Buns
French Fries