Perfect Thin Crust Pizza Dough, Pizza Dough Recipe, Bread Machine Recipe

Perfect Thin Crust Pizza Dough

After experimenting with many different recipes for thin crust pizza dough, I came up with the following recipe. It is very easy to make and will produce a beautiful flaky crust that is crisp on the bottom. Either use your bread machine on the dough cycle or your stand mixer for preparing this dough.

Check out Linda's Bread Making Hints: Secrets to using the bread machine, About yeast in bread making, Sourdough Starter, Quick Breads.

Check out all of Linda's great Pizza Recipes and Bread Recipes for your bread making.

Perfect Thin Crust Pizza Dough

3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

Add all the ingredients in the bread pan of bread machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough setting. It should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).

When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough do a slow rise for 24 hours in the refrigerator before using. Do not skip this step.

When ready to use, remove from refrigerator and allow the dough to come to room temperature, approximately 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile preheat the oven and pizza stone or tiles to 450 degrees F. Prepare your favorite toppings; set aside.

Turn the dough out onto a large surface and dust the pizza dough with flour. Pick up the dough and, keeping both hands together, grasp it lightly at the top of the edge. Letting gravity do the work, start rotating the dough as though you are turning the steering wheel of a car and don’t stop until you’ve gone all the way around. This will stretch the dough without the risk of thinning out the center too much. Roll and stretch the dough out very thin to form a 24-inch or larger circle.

Place the dough on the prepared peel. The dough must be docked. NOTE: Thin pizza crusts usually need to be well docked to help control blistering and bubble formation during baking. This just means to prick it all over the middle part (not the edges) so that it doesn't inflate. Either use a dough docker or use a fork to prick the dough thoroughly.

Pre-cook the pizza crust for approximately 4 minutes before adding any toppings. After pre-cooking, remove the partially baked crust from the oven and pop any large air pockets with a fork. Let crust cool before topping (this will produce a crispy and chewy crust).

Brush the dough with some olive oil and layer your ingredients. Bake for approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom and the top is bubbly. Remove your pizza from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a serving pan. This cooling down step allows the crust to stay crisp while it cools. Once cool, cut your pizza into slice and serve.

Makes 2 (14-inch) pizzas or 1 (24-inch) pizza.

Pizza Stone: A baking stone should be placed on the lowest oven shelf and preheated with the oven. Once pre-heated, the stone evenly transfers intense heat to the food being cooked, ensuring a particularly crisply baked base.

As to if it might crack, this I do not know, as I have never had it happen. I always place the cold pizza stone in a cold oven. I then turn on the oven to preheat oven and stone. Once the stone is hot, I do not remove it from the oven. I place the pizza on the hot stone in the oven.

Dough Docker: Thin pizza crusts usually need to be well docked to help control blistering and bubble formation during baking. This just means to prick it all over the middle part (not the edges) so that it doesn't inflate. Either use a dough docker or use a fork to prick the dough thoroughly.

Baker's or Pizza Peel: Also known as a pizza shovel. It is a long-handled, wide wooden or metal spatula-like implement that slides quickly and easily under the pizza, keeping hands safely out of the fiery oven. It is used for moving pizzas to and from an oven. Sprinkle cornmeal all over the surface of a baker's or pizza peel before using.

Pizza Tips:

A helpful hint is to put a piece of parchment paper on the peel instead of using cornmeal. I place the rolled-out pizza dough on the parchment paper and then add the toppings. The parchment goes into the oven with the pizza. This makes it easier to slide the pizza off the peel and onto the baking stone.
If you don't have a peel, an upside-down cookie sheet will do if you use parchment paper. Just slide the pizza onto the stone with the paper.
Does pizza have to be a circle? - You can make them triangular, square, diamond, or anything else you can imagine. Just change the shape of your pan to the shape of a crust that fits your imagination.