Ultimate Italian Style Thin Crust 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.

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.

ITALIAN PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Stir yeast and sugar into lukewarm water, using a fork. Let stand in a warm place until a creamy layer forms on top of the water, about 10 minutes.
• Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix olive oil into flour and stir for 2 minutes. Pour yeast mixture and beaten egg into flour mixture and stir to make a stiff dough. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until springy and smooth, about 8 minutes. Place dough into a floured bowl and cover with a piece of plastic wrap wiped with a thin film of olive oil.
• Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and roll out to desired shape.

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!

THIN BASE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine both flours together.
• Put 225g of combined flours in a large mixing bowl and keep the remaining aside.
• Stir in the sugar, yeast and salt.
• Combine the oil and water.
• Make a well in the combined mix and slowly add the combined water and oil whilst stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Mix in remaining flour until it comes together as a ball and is smooth and elastic.
• Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 mins until smooth.
• Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with a paper towel.
• Set aside in warm spot for 1 1/2 to 3 hours until almost doubled in volume diveded into 3 and shape into very thin circular shape about 12ins diameter