Pizza Toast

1. Gather all the ingredients.

To Make the Quick Pizza Sauce

1. Heat a small frying pan (or saucepan) over medium-low heat. When it‘s warm (not hot), add 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, ¼ tsp crushed red pepper (red pepper flakes), and 1 clove garlic.
2. Sauté the garlic and pepper flakes without burning them, about 2 minutes. Once fragrant, add 3 Tbsp ketchup.
3. Stir and combine all the ingredients together until homogeneous.
4. Add ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside to cool.

To Prepare the Ingredients

1. Using a bread knife, cut 3 slices shokupan (Japanese milk bread) ¾ inch (1.5 cm) thick, if you haven‘t already.
2. Thinly slice ⅛ sweet onion and ⅛ green bell pepper.
3. Using a sharp or serrated knife, thinly slice 4 cherry tomatoes into thirds (if possible). Cut 3 slices ham into thin, short strips.

To Make the Pizza Toast

1. If you will be serving the pizza toast to children, cut the slice(s) in half (I cut it diagonally). Then, put the two pieces back together as if it‘s one uncut slice. Now, add the toppings. First, spread the homemade pizza sauce on top, about 1 Tbsp for each slice.
2. Sprinkle a little bit of shredded mozzarella cheese on the pizza sauce (once melted, this cheese helps hold the toppings in place). Next, scatter some onion slices on top.
3. Then, scatter the green pepper slices and ham.
4. Finally, add a few tomato slices and top with the rest of the 6 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese.
5. Adjust the wire rack of a toaster oven in the middle. Place the pizza toast directly on the wire rack, taking care not to let the toppings fall or hang off the edges. Tip: I place my slice on a wire rack with a tray underneath. This helps catch any melted cheese that might drip down. While the bottom of the slice doesn’t get as crisp, the tray keeps the oven clean.

To Serve

1. Serve hot immediately. Sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top, if you‘d like.

To Store

1. You can wrap the leftover (uncooked or cooked) pizza toast tightly in plastic and store it in the refrigerator for 2 days or put the wrapped pizza toast in a plastic bag and freeze for 2 weeks. Reheat the defrosted or frozen pizza toast in the toaster oven before serving.