Preparation times vary depending on the topping you use. Obviously, it takes more time to cook sausage and grate your own cheese than it does to slice a tomato and sprinkle it with preshredded cheese. The prep times in the chart don't include making the toppings.
TYPE:Pita
COST: $1.69 for six
TIME: No prep time, 8 to 10 minutes in oven
COMMENTS: Fine for snack or lunch but not quite pizza.
TYPE: English muffins
COST: $2.09 for six
TIME: No prep time, 8 to 10 minutes in oven
COMMENTS: An open-faced sandwich, not a pizza.
TYPE: Tortillas
COST: $1.79 for six
TIME: No prep time, 5 minutes in oven
COMMENTS: The ultimate thin-crusted pizza. Good snack.
TYPE: Boboli (pizza shell)
COST: $1.99 for two small crusts or $2.09 for large
TIME: No prep time, 8 to 10 minutes in oven
COMMENTS: Easy, and a good taste if you like a thick crust. But a large shell, which is supposed to make eight slices, would be skimpy for four.
TYPE: Refrigerated dough in a can
COST: $2.29 for 12-inch pizza
TIME: 5 minutes prep time, 15 minutes in oven
COMMENTS: The can is fun, but the pizza is less so. The crust doesn't taste like the real thing.
TYPE: Pizza from scratch
COST: 60 cents for yeast, plus pennies for flour, sugar, salt and oil.
TIME: 90 minutes prep (including rising time), 10 minutes in oven
COMMENTS: The best. Make a lot, because you'll want leftovers.
