All American Pizza Crust Recipes

QUICK AND EASY PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine water, 1/2 cup flour, yeast, and sugar in a bowl; stir well and let sit until mixture is foamy and bubbling, about 20 minutes.
• Stir 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt into yeast mixture using a wooden spoon until dough holds together; turn onto a lightly floured work surface.
• Coat the inside of a large bowl with 2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil.
• Knead dough, adding small amounts of flour as needed, until soft and slightly sticky, about 10 minutes.
• Form dough into a ball and place in the prepared bowl; drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over dough and spread to coat entire ball. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm area of the kitchen until dough is doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Punch dough down and place in a large resealable plastic bag; refrigerate 8 hours to overnight. When ready to use, remove dough from refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using.

ALL-AMERICAN PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a mixer bowl, combine 1 cup flour, yeast and salt; mix well.
• Combine water and oil; heat to 120 - 130 F, add to flour mixture.
• Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a firm dough. Knead on floured surface 3 - 5 minutes.
• Divide dough into 2 parts. With well-floured or greased fingers, press each half into greased 12 or 14-inch pizza pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of your favorite shredded cheese over dough to prevent a soggy crust.
• Spread prepared pizza sauce on each pizza (approximately 3/4 cup of sauce per pizza).
• Add your favorite toppings. Cover with shredded cheese of your choice.
• Bake at 400°F for 25 - 30 minutes (see NOTE below) until edge is crisp and light golden brown and cheeses are melted. Serve immediately.
• Note: It may not take the full time. In my oven, it was about 20 minutes.

ALL-PURPOSE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over the hot water in a small bowl. Let stand until dissolved and slightly foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk the bread flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and add the olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, dust the dough with flour and knead, dusting with more flour as needed, until very smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough into two 1-pound balls. (If making sheet-pan pizza, let the dough rise, covered, on an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet coated with 3 tablespoons olive oil instead of in a bowl; do not divide into two balls.)
• If not using the dough right away, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before using.

ALL-AMERICAN PIE

Steps:

• Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until crumbly. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough in two, making one portion slightly larger. Shape each into a rectangle; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., For apple pie filling, in a large saucepan, combine apples, 2/3 cup apple juice, sugar, cinnamon and apple pie spice; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir until apples soften, about 10 minutes. Combine cornstarch and remaining apple juice; add to saucepan. Return to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally., For cherry pie filling, in a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in cherry juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg and almond extract. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally., For blueberry pie filling, in a large saucepan, combine 1 cup blueberries, water and butter; simmer for 4 minutes. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt; add to saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and remaining blueberries. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally., Preheat oven to 425°. For crust, on a lightly floured surface roll out larger portion of dough to a 17x12-inch rectangle. Transfer to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of pan. Line crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake on a lower oven rack until edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake 6-8 minutes longer or until bottom is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack., Meanwhile, roll out remaining dough to a 15x10-inch rectangle. Using a pastry wheel and star cutouts of varying sizes, cut out stars and stripes for decorative topping of flag pie. Bake at 400° until golden brown, about 15 minutes for stripes and 8 minutes for stars. Cool on a wire rack., To assemble, place blueberry filling in 1/3 of crust; fill remaining portion of crust with "stripes" of cherry and apple fillings. Top pie with star and stripe cutouts.

THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar; add yeast and whisk until dissolved. Let stand until bubbles form on surface. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and, if desired, dried herbs. Make a well in center; add yeast mixture and oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead, adding more flour to surface as needed until no longer sticky and dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes; transfer bowl to refrigerator and chill overnight. Allow dough to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before rolling.