Dorothy Dean presents: Thin-crust pizza that can stand up to many toppings
This crust is thin and crispy, but can still hold its own when loaded with toppings.
Another perk of being so thin: it doesn’t require time to rise, so it’s fast to make as well.
For a more flavorful and chewy crust, you can let the dough rise, or even refrigerate it overnight. But it’s just as delicious when baked right away.
And when it comes to toppings, go ahead and get creative. Think outside of pizza for dinner and try it for breakfast. I often load mine with scrambled eggs, bacon, spinach and tomatoes. For the base, I use cream cheese and then, of course, I top it off with even more cheese.
You can also make calzones by loading half of the pizza with your fillings, then fold the remaining dough over. Crimp the edges, bake and there you go.
Thin-crust Pizza Dough
Adapted from
For the dough:
3/4 cups of warm water
1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the toppings:
1/2 cup pizza sauce
3 cups of cheese
Toppings of choice
Making the dough: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees 30 minutes before baking. If using a baking stone, place it on middle oven rack before preheating.
In a small bowl, stir together the water and yeast. Set aside until yeast is fully dissolved. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Add the yeast-water mixture and stir until combined.
When it comes together into a cohesive ball, turn onto counter and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. If it’s too sticky, knead in more flour, a tablespoon at a time. Divide the dough in two even balls.
Shaping the dough: Cut two pieces of parchment paper about 12 inches wide. Take one of the dough balls and form it into a large disk. Lay the disk of dough in the middle of parchment paper.
Using a rolling pin, roll dough to about 1/4 inch thick or less depending on how thin and crispy you like your crust. Roll from the middle of the disk outward, turning slightly after each roll to make an even circle. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
The dough will stick to the parchment paper and you’ll bake the pizza right on it. As it cooks, the dough will release from the parchment, and you can slide the pizza off before serving.
Topping and baking: Spoon 1/4 cup of sauce into the center of each pizza and use back of spoon to spread to edge of crust. Using the backside of a baking sheet, slide your pizza (still on the parchment) onto the baking stone in the oven. If you don’t have a baking stone, just bake it right on the baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle half the cheese and half of other toppings over the top. Bake for another 3-5 more minutes until the edges are golden brown and crispy. You can broil for a minute or two if you like your cheese browned and toppings more crisp. Remove your pizza from oven. Repeat with second pizza. Slice and serve.
Yield: Two 12-inch pizzas