"It reminded me a bit of pizzas made on rounds of pita bread."

[Photographs: Lucy Baker]

Lately I've been obsessed with making pizza. It began with (I'll admit it) a Boboli renaissance; moved on quickly to Trader Joe's refrigerated dough; and now, finally to pizza crust mixes. Free from worries about yeast, arduous kneading, and second rises, nothing is more fun than hanging out in the kitchen, sipping wine and scouring the fridge for inspired toppings.

Recently, I picked up a box of Ecco La Pasta's Parmesan Pizza Crust Mix (available in select Williams-Sonoma stores for $12, and online if you do some sleuthing). I was enticed by the promise of extra cheese flavor.

Growing up, I was a big fan of Pizza Hut's stuffed crust. I was hopeful that the Ecco mix would deliver the same cheesy taste in a crust but be a bit more, ahem, refined.

Each box contains two packages of mix; each package is enough for three 8-inch individual pies or one large 14-inch pie. To prepare the dough, I added 2/3 cup of lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Since I don't have a stand mixer, I kneaded the dough by hand for about eight minutes. Then I placed the ball in a bowl, covered it with a kitchen towel, and let it rise for an hour.

Since I was making individual pizzas, after punching the dough down I cut it into three equal pieces. Each one rolled out perfectly, without any tears or sticking. I transferred them to a baking sheet and decorated each with swirls of tomato sauce, showers of mozzarella, pepperoni, and fresh basil.

The package instructions said to bake the pizzas at 450°F for 10 to 12 minutes, but mine cooked a bit quicker, and were done after only 8 or 9 minutes. The crusts were on the thin side (no puffy air bubbles or chewy, doughy edges in sight) but they were nicely browned and crispy on the bottom.

Upskirt shot.

The flavor of the crust was fair, but overall a bit lackluster. It reminded me a bit of pizzas made on rounds of pita bread—not bad, but really just a vehicle for the toppings. Also, the parmesan flavor was severely lacking. I had trouble tasting it even in bites that were sauce- and topping-free.

Ultimately, I would recommend this mix to fans of thin crust, crispy pizzas. If you like a little more bread action, and look forward to dragging your crusts through a puddle of olive oil and savoring them at the end of a meal, the Ecco La Pasta Mix is not for you.

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