Recipe for Simple Pizza Crust

I love pizza!
 
Next to cheeseburgers, pizza is probably one of my most favorite foods.  I could eat it almost every day.  Sadly, Dave and I have yet to find a pizza place here in Vancouver that we like.  It's been a year and we're beginning to lose hope.  We've honestly experienced some of the nastiest pizza ever conceived - pizza so horrifically bad that we're scarred for life and a little afraid to try any new restaurants.

But our bad news is your good news because not getting pizza delivered means I've been honing my own DIY pizza recipe.  I LOVE this crust recipe.  It's fairly simple and results in a chewy, firm crust that holds the pizza toppings well and is never soggy.  It even gets a little crispy on the bottom and sides, which is exactly how I like it.

The ingredients couldn't be more simple.

3 Cups of flour
1 cup hot water
1 package of active yeast
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Choose your own toppings. 

To get started, fill a cup with hot tap water.   I would tell you the temperature, but I honestly have no idea what it is.  Hot!  Not scalding.
Dump a package of highly active yeast into it.
And let it sit for about ten minutes.  In the meantime, measure out 3 cups of flour. 

And dump it into a large bowl.   

I like to use this big shallow metal bowl because I can also knead the dough without having to get anything else dirty. 

Wait.  I lied!  Only dump about 2.5 cups of the flour into the bowl.  You want to save some to add later.

After a few minutes, the yeast should be looking slightly frothy.  If it hasn't begun to get fuzzy on the edges at all, it's probably either bad or your water was too hot or too cold.  If so, just start the recipe over (yeast is cheap!).

Now measure out two tablespoons of olive oil.

And dump them into the yeast/water mixture.

One of the things I've done (sadly more than twice) is to add the olive oil directly to the flour.  It clumps and unless you feel like kneading dough until your arms fall off, it will pretty much ruin your crust.  So now that all your wet ingredients are combined, throw them into the flour.

Add about a half teaspoon of salt (and here's the good time to add any embellishments you might like - garlic powder, herbs, etc) and begin mixing the the dough with a spatula.
 
Once the ingredients form a loose ball, you can ditch the spatula and finish mixing it with your hands.  You'll want to knead for about five minutes until the dough is smooth.  Add the remaining flour a little at a time if the dough gets sticky.

After you knead it, throw it into an oiled glass bowl.

Cover it with a dish towel and leave it alone for an hour.

If you're rushed for time (like I usually am), turn your oven on and then sit the bowl right on top, so the heat from the oven helps the yeast rise.

Out of curiosity, I decided to make a second batch using bread flour.  It didn't really make any noticeable difference to me, so I guess you can use whatever flour you have on hand.  I've also used wheat flour to great success, so you can also go that route with this recipe as well.

While the dough is rising, I always grate a virtual MOUNTAIN of cheese.  I always use the same mix: 50% whole milk mozzarella and 50% Monterey jack.  I always grate my cheese in the Cuisinart.

And here's the reason:

The jack and mozzarella somehow form this delicious creamy substance on the underside of the top of the bowl.

It's like cream cheese to the power of ten and the kids and I fight over it every time. 

Depending on how long your oven takes to heat up, now is probably a good time to preheat your oven to 500 degrees.  You want to give it LOTS of time to heat up because it will help maintain the high temperature as you take the pizzas in and out of the oven.
Once the dough has about doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface.

Pull in half and form two balls.
Technically, you're supposed to let it sit for 15-20 more minutes at this point, but I rarely ever wait that long.

Next, grease a pizza pan (I use a single-layer baking sheet lined with tin foil).

And flatten the dough with your fingers.

I never use my rolling pins since they don't work well inside a baking sheet.  Fingers work fine.  Even if my pizza isn't perfectly pretty, it still tastes good, so who cares!

Put it in the oven for six minutes.  SET A TIMER.  I can't tell you how many times I've gotten this far and then ended up with a piece of toast instead of a crust.  When you pull it out, it should be just beginning to get a tiny bit brown on the top.  When you take one half-baked crust OUT of the oven, be sure to put in your next raw crust, so you can use that six minutes to get the toppings on the first one. 

Next poke some holes in any bubbles and be careful not to burn yourself on the steam.

And go ahead and top your pizza.
I tend to use jarred pasta sauce (Prego with fresh mushrooms is my favorite), but I always perk it up with... ketchup.  I know it sounds ghetto but ketchup makes it SO MUCH better.  I mean NOTICEABLY better.  It's my killer secret ingredient.  When your timer goes off again, switch the pizzas, putting your topped pizza in for 6-8 more minutes while you work on the toppings for the next one.

As you can see, I like my pizza a little well done.  Crispy.  I love to pick the melted cheese off the sides of the pan.

You're also supposed to wait a few minutes before slicing a pizza, but again, I rarely ever do.

My kids are too hungry!

For some reason they both eat their pizza upside down, which is both amusing and frustrating.  I guess it makes sense though since the cheese is the bestest part.

ENJOY!  And let me know how it goes when you try it!

Manda's Simple Pizza Crust (Makes two 10-12-inch crusts)

3 Cups of flour
1 cup hot water
1 package of active yeast
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Choose your own toppings.

Fill a cup with hot water and add one package of active yeast. 

Let sit for ten minutes, then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. 

In a large bowl, combine 2.5 cups of flour with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 

Add the yeast/oil mixture and combine with a spatula until the mixture forms a loose ball. 

Knead by hand for five minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and set aside in an oiled bowl.  Cover with a dishtowel and allow it to rise until doubled in size, one hour.

PREHEAT YOUR OVEN to 500 DEGREES FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and separate into two balls.  Let them sit for 15-20 minutes (or not).

Throw the dough onto a greased pizza pan and form into a circle (or a square if you're using a baking sheet like I do). I use my fingers, but you can be more civilized and use a rolling pin if you so desire.

Bake at 500 degrees for 6 minutes.

Remove from the oven, poke holes in the bubbles and add your toppings.

Return to oven and bake another 6-8 minutes.

Voila!  Easy pizza!

Comments

[Debra]

Have you tried Garlic Jim's (my favorite) Juliano's (my husband's) or Belagio's (pizza by the slice + salad + Coke = $5.50). There is also Twilight down in Camas which has a cool atmosphere.

P.S. Found your blog by accident, and now, every time I go to Target I look for you.

[Elizabeth]

I know many will scoff, but my husband and I love the pizza from Sam's Club. Either take and bake (preferred) or from the deli. And it's a really large pizza for $7.50.

Also, I've tried the pizza dough balls from Trader Joe's and found those tasty. It sounds like your's is a winner, but sometimes in a pinch, those TJ products are pretty nifty.

[Kristen]

You have to go to NW Portland for Escape from New York. Best pizza in town. You will not regret it. It's totally old school, no credit cards, don't talk on your cell phone in line, get your slice and get out of their faces. But the pizza is worth the attitude. Also, Pizza Scmizza, lame name, has great pizza.
Ooh, also Silver Dollar, again in NW, is fantastic.
I say stay away from the big chains for the best pizza. None of these places deliver, but I think it's worth the extra effort.

[laura]

we also love pizza from Sams club, it is unreal how tasty is it. here on the east coast i must say we have awesome pizza everywhere. but im going to make this. thank you

[Amber]

Man, you're brave! I use a bread machine to make my dough (similar to your dough, but with a teaspoon of sugar). Then I roll out my crust and place it on my pizza stone (with cornmeal inbetween). Load it up, pack it in at 425 and eat 15 minutes later. I'm sure your sauce is much better than mine, a pitiful can of tomato sauce sprinkled with oregano. Now I want to make pizza, but it's too hot this weekend. Or so it shall be.

[Kizz]

Yeast water should technically be about 105 degrees. The yeast is live and needs to grow so you don't want to kill it. If you wouldn't bathe your kid in it don't put your yeast in it.

[Salome Ellen]

If you're really short on time you can raise dough in the microwave. Ten minutes on the lowest possible setting AND (this is the important part) a glass bowl or cup with 3 cups of boiling water. I learned this from instructions that came with my two-microwaves-back, and it works wonderfully. You could do your whole recipe from the start while the oven is preheating. (Of course, this assumes your microwave will hold both a bowl and a cup, but mine's pretty standard in size and it does.)

[seeeeeeestor]

all of the flour you mentioned is wheat flour, just so y'know. There isnt really any difference betwen all purpose flour and wheat flour.

[Kate]

I've been using almost the same recipe for years! I used to make it with my mom when I was a kid. We use 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt though. I use the food processor to mix it--very easy!

We let each of our 3 girls make their own pizza. I just use aluminum foil, spray it with some oil and they can pat it out and put whatever toppings on it they like. They love it!

[Amanda]

My daughter also eats pizza upside down! Must be a kid thing.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the hair. Way cute. Way hip. Not at all house wife-y (how rude!). Your curls are awesome!

[Abby]

I made your pizza for dinner tonight and it was the bomb!! My dh had FIVE pieces!!!

I made two and one was smaller in diameter with thicker crust, the other larger with thinner crust. (I wasn't sure how flat to roll them out). As it turns out dd liked the thick crust and dh and I liked the thinner. So next time I'll make one of each again.

Thanks for sharing the recipe, it really was very easy and super tasty!

[Angela]

Can't wait to try this recipe thanks for taking the time to post it!

[Laura]

Oh, you think you're reeeeally funny with the whole, "Ooops, only measure out 2 1/2 cups!" thing, aren't ya? I don't read ahead, man!

[Laura]

Oh, you think you're reeeeally funny with the whole, "Ooops, only measure out 2 1/2 cups!" thing, aren't ya? I don't read ahead, man!

[Laura]

Ooops, I didn't realize my comment yesterday posted twice! Hey, I wanted you to see this! We made your pizza and the kids loved it - I took a bunch of pictures and posted about it here: http://lalagirl.org/?p=2026 Check it out! :-)

[Cess]

can i make thsi with whole weat flour?

[Ashley]

Hello! I came across you blog tonight and just love what you have to say about food. I feel the same way but I am only 9 weeks post op! I live in PDX but lived in Vancouver before jumping across the river 1 year ago. Have you tried Pizza 360? They are off 164th near QFC. Also my husband and I (pre WLS) LOVE American Dream pizza off Glisan in Portland. I too have PCOS and have been trying for years to get pregnant. It's so nice to read about you and all you have been through! Your babies are beautiful!!!