30 Best Thin Crust Pizza Recipes

PERFECT THIN CRUST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Add the olive oil and cold water and knead with the dough hook for 5-7 minutes, or 8-10 if kneading by hand.
• The dough should be smooth and elastic, and clear the sides of the bowl (it will be fairly sticky, but as long as it clears the sides of the bowl that's okay - if if doesn't clear the sides, sprinkle in a little more flour).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray it with cooking spray. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and cut it into 4 equal pieces (or 6 if you want smaller pizzas).
• Gently shape each piece into a ball with floured hands and place it on the prepared cookie sheet. Mist the dough balls with spray oil and lightly cover them with plastic wrap.
• Place the pan into the refrigerator overnight, or for up to 3 days.
• You can also freeze the dough balls at this point, by placing the oiled dough balls into individual freezer bags for up to 3 months, removing them to the fridge the day before using them.
• The day you want to make pizza, remove the dough to room temperature 2 hours before making pizza.
• On a floured counter, flatten the cold dough into 1/2 inch thick disks, spray lightly with oil and then cover them to rest for two hours.
• Preheat the oven 45 minutes before baking the pizza to 500 degrees F.
• With floured hands, stretch the dough out to 12 inch rounds, using the backs of your hands and your knuckles to do so. It will get quite thin without breaking. When it is stretched as large as you like, add the toppings you like (remembering it's a thin crust so it's best with fewer toppings!) and bake for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned.
• I like to prepare my pizza on a sheet of parchment paper and then slide the paper with the pizza directly onto a hot pizza stone in the oven. If you don't have a pizza stone, a cookie sheet turned upside down and heated in the oven works well too. Just place your stone or cookie sheet into the oven to heat when you turn on the oven.
• Once cooked, slide the parchment with the pizza back out of the oven onto a cutting board.
• Wait 5 minutes before slicing for the cheese to set.

THIN-CRUST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in hot water in a bowl. Let stand until yeast forms a creamy foam, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Mix 1 3/4 cup flour and salt in a large bowl. Pour in yeast mixture; mix well until dough comes together.
• Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding remaining 1/4 cup flour if dough is too sticky, about 2 minutes. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a greased pizza pan.

AMAZING THIN CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• DOUGH: In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the plastic dough blade, pulse the flour, yeast, and salt to combine; about five 1-second pulses. With the machine running, slowly add the oil, then the water through the feed tube; continue to process until the dough forms a ball, about 15 seconds. Generously dust the work surface with flour. Using floured hands, transfer the dough to the work surface and knead lightly, shaping the dough into a ball. Lightly oil a 1-quart measuring cup with cooking spray, place the dough in the measuring cup and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a draft free place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 - 1/2 hours.
• PIZZA SAUCE: Mix this up while the dough is rising, giving the flavors some time to meld.
• Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F. This may take as long as 30 minutes, so allow enough time for the oven to get hot. Remove all racks except the one holding your baking stone, for easier positioning of pizza onto the stone.
• BUILDING: When the dough has doubled, grease hands with olive oil and remove it from the measuring cup, placing into the middle of a lightly floured board. (A silpat placed on the work surface makes cleaning up easier.) Being careful not to deflate all the air in the dough, roll dough into a ball and set aside. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut parchment paper and set aside. Do NOT cut parchment larger than your pizza stone, to mimimize risk of the paper catching fire.
• Oiling hands again, gently stretch the dough, shaping it into a large rectangle on the parchment paper. With palms, stretch and flatten the dough until it takes the shape you want it to have, keeping a slightly thicker edge for the crust. Dock the surface of the dough with your fingers to "texture" the surface and hold the toppings. Oil the dough before building the pizza.
• Place finely cut (or dried) basil across the top of the dough. Add Mozzarella and Provolone cheese slices on top of the basil. Spread a thin, even layer of the pizza sauce, adding pork sausage, shredded Mozzarella and mild cheddar over the top of the dough. (You can really use any toppings you'd like.).
• BAKING: Position the baking stone on the bottom rack of your electric oven, or on the floor of your gas oven. Lift the parchment paper and slide onto the bottom of a sheet pan, then quickly slide pizza onto the baking stone. Shut the oven door, and reset your oven for 500 degrees. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the crust are browned. Check the bottom of the pizza for doneness before removing from the oven. Using tongs, transfer pie onto oven rack and set aside to cool a few minutes. Cut with a pizza cutter and enjoy!