The Easiest And Best Pizza Crust
At our house, Friday means Pizza Night. I am particular...I love the PERFECT crust. I want my pizza crust to be easy, fast, simple, rolled out thin and crispy, and fabulous flavor. I have to admit, I've been holding out on you. I've been using the easiest and best pizza crust for over a year now and I am finally sharing it.
Being a food blogger, I often don't share certain recipes for the simple fact that I don't have good pictures. Setting up photos, making sure the ingredients are timed just right with the natural lighting, planning my day to have plenty of time to get photos before the kids are home from school, and ensuring that the recipe actually turns out "picture pretty" is quite a task!
Some days I just like baking and cooking and serving food that has NO place in a food blog......I'm talking food that tastes amazing but is ugly. You know the meals I am talking about. In fact, you probably make meals and look at them with the expectation of seeing the "Pinterest" results.....it is NOT reality! I've been snapping some pictures with my phone here and there to share my Pinterest "unworthy but reality" photos. It should make for some fun and laughter for all of us!
*Now, on to the food...the good stuff, and some ugly pictures*
I use my trusty KitchenAide mixer and this kneads the dough for just 6 minutes and it is perfection!
The dough should be just a bit sticky to the touch but not stick to your fingers. As it kneads in the bowl, it will totally clean off the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems too dry add in more vegetable oil 1 tsp at a time. If the dough is too sticky, add in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
This beautiful dough rises up beautiful in just 2-4 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is. In the summer I can trust it to be ready in just 2 hours. But in the winter I count on about 4.
I use this dough to make garlic breadsticks, pesto cheesy breadsticks, and the PERFECT thin crust pizza.
And Oh Heavens, put some soft scrambled eggs, sausage gravy, bacon crumbles, and lots of cheddar cheese on this crust and you've got yourself some AMAZING breakfast pizza! GLORY!
The Easiest And Best Pizza Crust
I use this dough to make garlic breadsticks, pesto cheesy breadsticks, and the PERFECT thin crust pizza.
Ingredients
1 cup warm water (warm to the touch on the inside of your wrist)
1 TBSP sugar
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 pkg)
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal for rolling out the dough
Instructions
In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve the sugar in the warm water and then stir in the dry yeast. Set your timer for 5 minutes and let the yeast bubble up in the water.
Add in the salt, oil, and half the flour. Use your dough hook attachment and set the speed to "stir" or level 2. Once the flour is pretty well incorporated, add in the rest of the flour while the mixer is still stirring.
Once the flour is mixed in, set your timer for 6 minutes and let the dough knead at a level 2. 6 minutes seems to be the magic number. Watch your dough and it should clean off the sides of the bowl and be just sticky to the touch but not stick to your fingers.
If the dough is too dry, add in more oil 1 tsp at a time. If the dough is too wet, add in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. After the 6 minutes of kneading, your bowl should have clean sides and a ball of nice smooth dough.
Lift out your dough and set it on the clean counter for just a second and spray the inside of your bowl with non-stick cooking spray (no need to dirty another bowl). Put your dough back in and cover with saran while it rises.
In the winter my dough usually needs 2 hours to double in size, but in the warmer months, I can count on in being ready in just an hour.
After your dough has doubled in size, you can use it immediately and roll out on a counter sprinkled with cornmeal. I like mine rolled nice and thin.
Or, you can divide it up and put it in a ziplock in the fridge and use it within 24 hours.
*see notes for my pizza tips*
Notes
*For garlic breadsticks, melt a stick of butter and stir in fresh minced garlic. Drizzle over your dough and top with mozzarella. Bake at 500 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
*For pizza, spread with your favorite pizza sauce, add toppings and cheese. Bake 12-14 minutes.
*For pesto breadsticks, spread with a thin layer of pesto and top with mozzarella. Bake 10-12 minutes at 500 degrees.