I haven't eaten at Pizza Hut in years....but as I recall it was very ordinary and not as good as many other pizza places.
Can you describe what you are looking for? Was it a stuffed crust? Did it have garlic and oregano in it? Was it a sour dough crust?
There are a lot of so-called copy cat recipes on the web but all are different, some have garlic salt some oregano too some have onion powder....some have milk some have more oil and some do not call for oil.
To know what you like best, you are going to have to try several.

Check out this recipe on pizzamaking.com. I've not tried it because I personally don't like Pizza Hut, but the guys on that forum are pretty serious about pizza so it's probably worth a shot.

Here is a link that might be useful: pizzamaking.com

Amazing....that's the recipe I often use for bread....

I use Giada's recipe.
It makes 3 13 oz balls. I put 2 in the freezer and use 1 right away. That way I always have dough ready.

Pizza Dough

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
. Prep Time:15 minInactive Prep Time:3 hr 0 minCook Time: -- Level:IntermediateServes:3 (13-ounce) balls of dough.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water, 100 to 110 degrees F, plus extra as needed
1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Olive oil, for drizzling

Directions:
Put the water in a small bowl. Add the yeast and stir until dissolved.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add a little extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too sticky, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. With floured hands, knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drizzle the inside of a clean bowl with olive oil. Put the dough in the bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place, until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Using a fist, deflate the dough in the center and cut it into 3 equal-sized pieces. Form the dough pieces into 3 balls and put into 3 oiled bowls. Cover each bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour. Remove the dough and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for up to 1 day.
Linda

I love Pizza Hut crust, though we haven't had it in years since we very rarely eat pizza anymore. The crust I remember had a buttery crispy bottom, and I've always wondered how they make it.

A Google search turned up these; have you seen any of them? https://www.google.com/search?q=%22pizza+hut%22+dough+recipe&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

I used to make a knockoff of the pan pizza dough that I got from someone on TV decades ago. All I remember was it used club soda and self rising flour and oil or butter the pan well. That might have been about it. It was pretty good. I always added garlic and Italian Seasoning to it.

Just bake the pizza in a deep dish pan and dump in a cup or two of oil...that should do it.

Well Donna - your comments were not helpful. But they must've made you feel good or you would not have posted them.

CLBlakey - sorry I can't help you. I have never had Pizza Hut pizza - or much other take out pizza. I hope you find what you are looking for. As lindac said you might have to try a few recipes to find the one you like.

I don't think Donna is too far off. Pizza Hut pizza has a fried crust to me. Googling fried pizza dough, it exists, might help the quest.

Teresa, not sure why you felt the need to get snarky with Donna. Her advice seems spot on. Apparently, one of the things that people like about Pizza Hut crust is the fact that it is baked in a pan with lots of oil.

Lots of information on line to confirm this.

So, CLBlakey, I would take Donna's advice. And regardless of which dough recipe you decide to use, (although, I would use a more hydrated softer dough) just add a little more oil to your pizza pan. The information on this pizza site, recommends the oil being 1/4 inch deep.

~Ann

CLBlakey, This recipe, on Savory Reviews is suppose to be a copycat Pizza Hut Recipe.

This recipe also coats the pizza pan with lots of oil- 3 ounces.

~Ann

My DH and I have made this one and it's really good. Hope this helps!

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/525/Pizza_Hut_Original_Pan_Pizza41605.shtml

I've always heard that Pizza Hut crust is fried. You can probably take any good pizza dough recipe and do as above, add oil or shortening to the pan. I haven't eaten Pizza Hut pizza in a long time but I recall a crispy fried crust.

Eileen

I don't know if it's fried per se, but I think it's cooked in a cast iron pizza pan, which may be preheated and oiled (or maybe there's fat in the dough) to give that effect.

I worked at Pizza Hut back in the 70s and that's exactly right - their "Pan" pizza was baked in a heavy pan coated with oil, which gave it a crispy crust that was somewhat bread-like in the middle.

Sue

The crust I remember had a crispy buttery crust, but I doubt butter was used. It was not a toasted bottom like most pizzas, more fried in some type of fat.

I agree, Pizza Hut's dough is more fried than baked. Amanda worked at the local bakery/pizza place during high school and that was one of the options available. You could get crispy thin baked crust, thick crust or the "fried" Pizza Hut knock off crust. The bakery was trying to keep people from driving the 15 miles to a neighboring town that had a Pizza Hut.

They baked them in deep carbon steel pans with lots of whatever "butter flavored" fat the bakery bought by the vat for baking.

I think it would be worth a try, though, to just grease a pan really well, maybe cut down the fat content a bit. I think all butter could burn or taste scorched if you used enough to get that "fried" texture.

Annie

Even though there is a Pizza Hut right around the corner,
I have to agree that the 'Pan Pizzas' are swimming in
oil. But, they are very tasty. They bring the pizza
to you, still in the baking dish, and it tastes great,
BUT, like I said, it is swimming in oil. Mother
does not like it, for that reason, but I LOVE it.
So, I eat a lot less of the other greasy stuff, and
occasionally splurge on this one item, what's the harm?
I'll just eat a lot of salad and frozen peas to make up
for it. Hey, it's just once a year, or less.
Remember....'Everything In Moderation',...or so they say.

I know the secret of Pizza Hut crust. Everyone above who said it has to do with the amount of oil used to coat the pans is correct. They use quite a bit to get that extra crispy, fried-like crust.

That's only half the answer. The rest of it is SAFFLOWER oil. I asked at our local pizza hut years ago. I knew the oil was the thing, so I specifically asked what kind they used. I guess they were afraid NOT to tell me (what with people with allergies, etc) and I got the answer.

That was the day I started buying exclusivly safflower oil for use in my kitchen. It's one of the very healthy oils, it's light (only slightly thicker than water), and it's got a wonderful flavor--so much better than canola oil. It also is a very good product for using on your skin (actually a component of many high-end skin preparations) and for conditioning your hair (but use only 1-2 drops, no more is needed).

Whatever recipe you decide to try, try coating the pan with safflower oil before you bake it.

Wow Thanks everyone I think you might be on to something with the fried crust. I have holes in my pan that could be part of the problem I love the crispy outside I might try cooking one in my cast iron frying pan and see how it goes. Again Thank you everyone.

Instead of frying pizza dough, you can also make panzarotti, which is somewhat similar to a deep fried calzone. I've made them in the past, but not recently.

I agree that the pizzamaking forum is a great resource - they helped me get my pizza dough to where I like it. I haven't visited them in several years, however.

Lars