Homemade Thin Crust Pizza For The Entire Family Recipes

THIN CRUST PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

Steps:

• Add warm water to a small liquid measure (I use a 1-cup measure). Be careful to not get the water too hot - I once read to try to mimic the temperature of a warm bottle that you would feed a baby.
• Add sugar to warm water, then sprinkle yeast evenly over the top of the water. Let stand for 15 minutes until frothy.
• Meanwhile, add flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir to combine.
• Add yeast mixture and olive oil to flour mixture. Combine on low speed for about 30 seconds, just to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Then increase speed to medium and let the dough hook knead the dough for 2 minutes, or until nothing is left in the bottom of the bowl.
• Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll each one into a ball on a clean countertop using the palm and heel of your hand, adding a little flour to the countertop if needed. Drizzle a little olive oil into the bottom of a low wide bowl. Add dough balls and roll them around in the olive oil to coat completely. Spray a piece of plastic wrap lightly with non-stick spray and cover bowl of dough balls, sprayed side down. Let rise at room temperature at least 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• Place baking steel in the upper portion of the oven - in our oven, I adjust a rack to the position second from the top. Preheat oven and baking steel to 500° F. Once that temperature has been reached, let the baking steel heat for an additional 20 minutes.
• While oven is preheating, prepare pizza peel by spreading cornmeal evenly over the top.
• Then start rolling out one of the dough balls on a clean countertop lightly dusted with flour. First pat it down into a thick dough round, about 5" in diameter. Then, using a lightly dusted rolling pin, roll dough round into a 12" diameter circle, flipping over on the lightly flour-dusted countertop once or twice. Let dough rest for 5 minutes. Then continue to roll the dough into a larger 14" diameter circle. Fold circle in half and transfer to cornmeal covered pizza peel. (For easy countertop clean-up, use a bench scraper to remove the flour!)
• Brush a thin coating of olive oil over entire crust.
• And then proceed with the toppings! For a basic pepperoni pizza, as shown in my photos: Spread on 1/3 c. thick-style pizza sauce, sprinkle with 6 oz. shredded mozzarella (use whole milk mozzarella, if you can find it), top with pepperoni, as much as you like. If using "roni cup" style pepperoni, know that it will shrink up tremendously, so feel free to crowd on the pepperoni!
• Jiggle the pizza peel a bit, to make certain that no part of the pizza is sticking to the surface of the peel. Then place the peel just above the back of the baking steel at an angle and jiggle slightly to get the pizza to make contact with the back of the hot baking steel. You may pull the oven rack out of the oven about half-way to make it easier, if you like. When the pizza crust hits the steel, the crust will stick to it. Slowly pull the peel out of the oven, letting the entire pizza fall down onto the hot steel.
• Bake for 8 minutes, or until crust is browned and cheese is bubbling. To remove pizza from oven, slide the oven rack out about half-way. Then position the pizza peel level with the front of the rack, and slide the baked pie onto the peel with the help of a big spatula/turner. Then slice it up and ENJOY!

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.

THIN CRUST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Place flours, yeast and salt in a food processor; pulse until blended. Add honey. While processing, gradually add water until a ball forms. Continue processing 60 seconds to knead dough., Turn dough onto floured surface; shape into a ball. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into quarters. Use immediately or securely wrap and freeze for later use. Freeze option:Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap and place in resealable freezer bags; freeze up to 1 month. To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Proceed as directed.

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!