The Ultimate Thin Crust Pizza ::: Family Night

This whole wheat pizza from The Food Matter’s Cookbook was my first homemade pizza recipe test. Not the typical first pizza to attempt, but a great healthier alternative.

It left me DYING to find the best thin crust pizza recipe out there. It was kind of the opposite of thin crust.

Thanks to one of my fellow bloggers, Lexi at Lexi’s Kitchen, I found this very old looking website with a thin crust recipe. Lexi said this link was posted during an online discussion with Mark Bittman regarding pizza crust. Pretty hilarious reading some of the highlights, pizza clearly has millions of options and pizza eaters even more opinions. Guys, don’t judge a book by its covers!

This recipe created THE ULTIMATE thin crust pizza. The result is a cracker-like super thin crust. I had doubts throughout the process. I’ll explain these in the recipe below. YOU, yes you, must make this!

So with this newfound thin crust knowledge, I turned Friday night into a pizza making party with the family. My mom and sister were in town so we listened to ~~Call Me Maybe~~ Peter’s legendary ipod playlist, drank wine.champagne.andmorewine, and made pizzas. Such a memorable night!

Peter and I started a tradition now called “dueling pizzas,” this being round II. He actually turned it into quite the competition and I think he may have won this time around. I chose regular thin crust and he made his, get this…

…stuffed thin crust! I have never even heard of stuffed thin crust. SO. GOOD.

::: Peter’s Stuffed Thin Crust ::

Thin Crust Pizza makes one large pizza

Dough

recipe from PizzaMaking.com

1 pound (or about 3 1/2 cups) high gluten flour
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with dough hook add the water, oil, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix thoroughly until yeast has fully dissolved. Add flour and mix on low-speed until the flour and water have mixed and a stiff dough ball forms, about 3 to 4 minutes. This dough does not need to be kneaded any further. {It is going to look like a bunch of crumbles and you will tempted to add water. Don’t! Squeeze it all together in a tight ball and move onto the next step. I got really worried at this point. Just go with it!}

Place the dough ball in a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 24 hours in the refrigerator. The recipe author emphatically states “Please note that I cannot over-emphasize the importance of a 24-hour rising time since it is absolutely essential for the dough to develop its signature texture and, more importantly, its unique flavor! Do not skip this step!” {The refrigeration period actually adds moisture to the dough, changing its crumbly dry consistency completely}

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees F, place the main rack on the lowest level, and prepare the sauce. See recipe below.

Turn the dough out onto a large surface {I used my marble kitchen counter top} and dust surface with flour. Using a heavy rolling-pin (or dough sheeter), roll the dough out very thin to form a 24-inch or larger circle. If you’re using a cutter pizza pan (recommended), dust the pan lightly with flour, place the dough in the pan and dock. Use the rolling-pin to trim off the excess dough drooping over the sides of the pan. If you wish to cook the pizza directly on a pizza stone (not using a pan), then place the dough on a dusted pizza-peel, dock, and fold the edge over 1-inch all the way around and pinch it up to form a raised lip or rim.

{I used a regular round perforated pizza pan and cut the excess off around the circle. Peter painted the very outside with sauce, laid out a thin row of cheese, and rolled up the extra around the outside for a stuffed crust.}

::: Crust rolled out thin on a flat surface then laid over the round pan, excess trimmed :::

::: Stuffed crust: paint sauce around edge, add a small layer of cheese and roll tightly :::

Poke around the pizza dough with a fork, this keep air pockets from forming under the dough. Pre-cook the crust for 4 minutes before adding any sauce or toppings. {This helps make it crunchier in the end.} Remove the crust from the oven and pop any large air pockets that may have formed. Add the sauce, mozzarella cheese and shredded cheeses, and your favorite toppings.

Continue baking, on the lowest oven rack, rotating the pan half way through so that it cooks evenly, until crust is sufficiently browned and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and slide pizza out of cooking pan onto a large wire cooling rack or cutting board. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a serving pan. This step allows the crust to stay crisp while it cools, otherwise the trapped steam will soften the crust.

{Dough recipe from pizzamaking.com}

Pizza Sauce