Thin Crust Pizza Dough Recipe


A thin crust pizza dough recipe requires a particular flour and advance preparation, making a perfect pie every time.

This thin crust recipe is super easy, fast and really, really delicious. It was sent in by an anonymous reader (Thank You!), and I adapted it from the original recipe.


A lot of thin crust pizza recipes say to refrigerate the dough for at 24 hours, but this recipe doesn't require that.

I whipped it up, let it rise for 25 minutes and it was ready to put in the oven.

The result was a yummy thin crust with a cracker-like crunch to it.

My husband, who is really picky with pizza, loved this crust and thought it was as good as any take-out crust.

In order to get good thin crust pizza dough (or California thin crust) you'll need to use a high-gluten (high-protein) flour (at least 12% protein). This is very important! The high-protein flour is what gives thin crust pizza dough its crackery crispiness.

Ingredients

Makes Two 12" Pizzas

  • 3 cups bread flour (I like King Arthur's bread flour, but any brand will do. You could also get away with using all-purpose flour, but for thin crust, bread flour is better.)
  • 1 (1/4 ounce)
  • package active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • (I use Kosher salt)
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 3/4 tablespoon
  • olive oil
  • cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions

In a bowl, mix warm water and sugar. Pour in packet of yeast and combine with a spoon.

Let yeast mix stand for about 8-10 minutes until it starts to foam.

With the dough hook attached (if using a Kitchen Aid mixer), add flour, one cup at a time, salt, garlic powder and olive oil to the yeast mixture. I suggest starting with 2-1/2 cups of flour. If the mix is still sticky, add a little more. I used about 2-3/4 to 3 cups total when it was all said and done.

Mix on level 2 or 3 for about 8 minutes or until dough has formed into a ball.

I find that my Kitchen Aid doesn't always get all the flour off the sides and bottom, so once the ball formed; I took it all out and kneaded a couple times on a lightly floured surface with my hands.

Place dough on a plate or in a bowl and cover. Let rest for 25-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

This thin crust pizza dough recipe will make two pizzas, so you can either lightly grease two pizza pans or put one pizza in a Ziploc bag and put in the fridge or freezer for later (I spray the inside of the Ziploc with Pam to keep it from sticking).

I didn't use a pizza pan. I used my pizza baking stone. If you use a pizza stone, sprinkle a little cornmeal on it and place it on the bottom rack of your preheating oven until ready to put the dough on it.

Roll the dough out to about a 12" circle - nice and thin. Try and pinch the sides up to make it thicker around the edges. Or, if using a pizza pan, you can use your hands to spread the dough out over the pan.

If using a stone, carefully pull the oven rack with the stone out and place your dough on the stone. Don't burn yourself! Have your sauce and toppings ready before this step.

Spread pizza sauce on pizza (I used this Pizza Hut sauce recipe) and add cheese and toppings (I used mozzarella and Canadian bacon).

Slide rack back into oven (or place pizza pan in oven) and let bake for 10-12 minutes.

Slice and serve. Enjoy this thin crust pizza dough recipe!



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