Thin Crust Cheese Pizza Recipes

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 CAPRESE PIZZA

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Mix the flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup water and 2 tablespoons olive oil until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, toss the beans, giardiniera and brine, basil, parsley and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Slice the tomatoes, place on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt; set aside.
• Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly oiled piece of parchment paper. Slide the parchment with the dough onto an inverted baking sheet. Rub 1 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic all over the dough. Sprinkle the parmesan on top. Slide onto the hot stone and bake until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes.
• Remove the crust from the oven and top with the mozzarella, tomatoes and basil leaves. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the bean salad.

ULTIMATE ITALIAN STYLE THIN CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• Sift the 00 flour in to a large mixing bowl and add the yeast and salt, make a well in the centre. Next mix the cold water, milk, honey and olive oil together in a mixing jug. Pour this in to the well, little by little, stirring and gradually bringing more flour in to the centre with a fork. Do this until all the flour is mixed in to the dough.
• Next you want to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes so that it is of a smooth elastic consistency and does not stick. If you don't know how to knead dough check out www.youtube.com there are some great video's. Do this on a lightly floured surface with floured hands, applying a dusting of flour when needed. Hint: Use latex gloves to prevent dough from sticking to your hands.
• Put the dough back in a lightly oiled bowl with a damp cloth to cover it. Let this sit in a warm place ideally about 40C or 100F until it has doubled in size this should take about an hour to an hour and a half. Remove the dough from the bowl and 'knock it back' punch the air out of it, do this for 1-2 minutes. Set this aside for later.
• The secret of great dough is using ice cold ingredients (milk, and water). If you have time, let the dough sit in the refrigerator overnight when you reach this stage, you will need to knock it back once more before you roll it out. This will make approximately 2 largish pizzas.
• For the tomato sauce i find using fresh tomatoes gives a better taste, plum tomatoes give a nice sweet taste or you can use canned ones here. Take the plum tomatoes and pierce the skin with a fork then blanch in boiling water for a few seconds, you should be able to remove the skin now. Put these in a saucepan and mash them up. Add all the other ingredients, apart from the basil, you can garnish with that on the finished pizza. Gently warm the ingredients for 5-10 minutes, don't burn it. There should be enough here for 2 fairly large pizza's.
• Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a well floured surface, apply the tomato sauce and then add your cheese. The amount of cheese in the recipe is per pizza, and should be enough for 1 fairly large pizza.
• Grate the Mozzarella and apply evenly over pizza, sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and the grated provolone. The secret here is not to smother the pizza in cheese you want to be able to taste the full flavours in the pizza. A selection of Italian cheeses really makes a difference too.
• Add your favourite topping, My favourite topping is some portobello mushrooms sauteed in garlic butter and bell peppers, but you can add whatever you want. Again try not to smother it with toppings, the Italians tend to take the less is sometimes more approach here.
• Cook in a preheated oven on your maximum setting, probably about 250°C Watch it doesn't burn it will only need about 10 minutes. A great tip is use a pizza stone, if you cook a lot of pizza and don't have one then buy one. It transfers the heat very fast in to the dough and creates a great crispy base that is unmatched to any other methods of cooking it, apart from using an authentic pizza oven.

HOMEMADE THIN CRUST PIZZA (CRISPY DOUGH AND SWEET BALSAMIC SAUCE

Steps:

• Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it on a rack in the lower-middle part of the oven.
• In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, heat the water until it feels barely lukewarm when you test it with your finger (if the water is so hot that you can't leave your finger in it, wait for it to cool down). Add the yeast to the water and use a fork or whisk to stir it into the water. Set this aside for a few minutes and allow the yeast to dissolve.
• Measure out the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and use your hand or a whisk to combine.
• Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the water-yeast mixture. Use your fingers or a wooden spoon to combine everything together.
• When it comes together into a cohesive ball, turn it out onto the counter along with any extra flour in the bowl that hasn't yet gotten worked inches.
• Knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic to the touch--about five minutes.The dough should still feel moist and slightly tacky. If it's sticking to your hands and counter-top like bubble gum, work in more flour one tablespoon at a time until it's smooth and silky.
• Use a bench scraper to divide the dough in two. Shape each half into a smooth ball. Set aside while preparing sauce.
• Heat olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and red pepper olive oil (or a little extra olive oil, plus red pepper flakes).
• Saute 2 minutes, or until garlic is golden. Add half of the white sugar, and allow to melt (it might start to look clumpy, don't worry and keep going).
• Add drained tomatoes and the rest of the white sugar. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the rest of the ingredients (prepared sauce, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper). Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. You can break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, or use an immersion blender if you prefer.
• Work one piece of the dough in your hands and form it into a large disk. Working from the middle of the dough outwards, use the heel of your hand to gently press the dough outward until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick or less. You can also use a rolling pin for this part.
• Repeat with the second piece of dough (or freeze it for later).
• Place pizza dough on baking stone or baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the center of each pizza and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edges. Pile on all of your toppings except the cheese.
• Bake for about 5 minutes and then rotate the pizza 180-degrees (most ovens have 'hot spots' your pizza will bake unevenly if it's not rotated). Bake for another 3 minutes and then sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for another 2-3 minutes until the edges are golden brown and crispy.
• Remove your pizza from oven and let it cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before cutting.

THIN-CRUST FATHEAD PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water in a bowl. Set aside for about 5 minutes.
• Place mozzarella cheese into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds until cheese is completely melted. Stir in yeast mixture and egg and stir to combine; mixture will not incorporate well at this point.
• Stir in almond flour, xanthan gum, and salt. If mixture is difficult to mix, reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften the cheese. Stir again until well incorporated. Using your hands, knead the dough for 2 minutes.
• Place dough on baking sheet and press with your fingers into a thin crust, approximately 11-12 inches in diameter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, top with your favorite pizza toppings, and return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.