Bake up a batch of these delicious pizza twists and feed a crowd, or freeze them to enjoy anytime. The easy dough comes together quickly and is filled with pizza sauce and lots of cheese! Finished with a brushing of garlic butter.
My homemade pizza buns are a favourite freezer staple, and these pizza twists will become another one! These come together in just a couple of hours to enjoy right away (they’re a great addition to a football-watching spread!) or pop in the freezer to enjoy anytime the pizza urge strikes.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Cheese – You can use any cheese or combination of cheeses that you like. I’m partial to cheddar myself, as the cheddar bits that spill out and cook on the pan (frico is the proper name, I believe) are irresistible! That said, pizza mozzarella would certainly be appropriate here and also delicious. Or try a combination of both or any cheese you like!
How to make pizza twists
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete instructions in the Recipe Card below when making the recipe.
- Mix together the dough. The finished dough should clean the bowl and wrap the kneading hook. Add a bit more flour, if needed, to get the dough to this consistency.
- Set the dough to rise in a greased bowl or large measuring cup. (I’m using an 8-cup measuring cup here. I like to use large measuring cups as you can more easily see when the dough has doubled.)
- Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, however long that takes.
- Roll the dough out into a 14-inch x 12-inch rectangle.
- Working with the short side closest to you, spread the pizza sauce over half of the dough closest to you.
- Sprinkle generously with shredded cheese over the top of the pizza sauce.
- Fold the empty half of the dough down over the top of the filled part of the dough.
- Cut the dough into twelve 1-inch strips.
- Take on strip and twist it while stretching it out a bit as you twist.
- Grab the right-hand side of the twist and coil it up towards the left (while the dough is still sitting flat on the work surface). Once coiled, take the left end and tuck it under the coil, pushing it up slightly to seal it in place. Place onto a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining strips of dough.
- Cover the formed pizza knots with plastic wrap and set to rise.
- Bake the twists and brush with garlic butter while still warm from the oven.
Recipe tips!
- Don’t stress the shaping of the twists. Each one will be a little different but all will be delicious!
- These pizza twists freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen by placing them on a baking sheet and placing them in a 400F oven for 7-8 minutes.
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Get the Recipe: Pizza Twists
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (200 g) lukewarm water, about 105F
- 1 Tablespoons (10 g) white granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) Dry Active yeast or Instant yeast
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons (20 g) canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon (8 g) fine salt
- 3 1/4 cups (400 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
For the filling:
- 3/4 cup pizza sauce
- 2- 2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded and well-packed, or cheese of your choice
For the garlic butter:
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Tip! If you have a kitchen scale, use the weight measurements for the dough ingredients for the best results. If you don't have a scale, be sure to spoon and level the flour when measuring, so you don't add too much.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading hook, add the lukewarm water, sugar and yeast. Stir to combine and let stand 5-10 minutes.
- Add the egg, oil and salt to the bowl and mix in. Add 3 cups or 375g of the flour and knead in at Speed 2 on the mixer. Gradually add the remaining flour (1/34 cup or 25g) a bit at a time, kneading in between additions, until the dough clears the bowl, then continue kneading for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour only if the dough becomes sticky. The finished dough should clean the bowl and wrap the kneading hook.
- Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Add to a greased bowl or large measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Tip! If the shaping instructions are unclear, refer to the step-by-step photos in the post above this recipe card.
- Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle 12-inches wide and about 15-inches deep. With the short side closest to you, spread the bottom half of the dough generously with pizza sauce. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the pizza sauce. Take the empty top half of the dough and fold it down to evenly cover the filled bottom half.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into twelve 1-inch-wide strips.
- Take one of the strips. Lift up and twist the strip by holding both ends, stretching the strip slightly as you twist. Lay the twist back down on the work surface. Starting on the right end, coil up the twist into a spiral. When you reach the end, take the left end of the strip and tuck it under the coil, pressing up slightly to seal it under the coil. Place onto a large ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough strips.
- Cover the baking tray with the formed pizza twists well with plastic wrap and let stand to rise until puffy, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (non-convection/not fan-assisted).
- When the twists have risen, remove the plastic wrap and place into the preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
- While the twists are baking, mix together the garlic butter ingredients and set aside.
- Remove the baked twists from the oven and immediately brush with the garlic butter. Transfer the pizza twists to a cooling rack to cool. Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container for 2-3 days. The pizza twists will also freeze well for up to 3 months.
Notes
More pizza recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I made this yesterday and the twists turned out perfect! Thank you for the directional photos, I’m not an experienced baker and your clearly written instructions really helped.
I’m so glad to hear, Candy :) Thanks so much!
Great bread and the taste is in the sauce you select!
So glad you enjoyed it, Sue and I agree. I love Mutti pizza sauce. What’s your favourite?
Looks great. Â I was wondering if you could bake them as the long twists before you form them into a bun shape? Â Kind of like a trusted bread stick shape.
Hi Debby, and yes, you absolutely could. The only thing I’d worry about might be the cheese escaping too much, but as I haven’t tried it, that may or may not be an issue.
Thank you so much for replying.  I agree that’s what I thought too.  I will still give it a try one day and let you know.  I love your recipes and the visual instructions . So many of them are my faves. You are fabulous.
Thanks so much, Debby :)