Homemade Thin Crust Pizza {the best EVER!}

I am SO thrilled that this was the first recipe you tried in your new oven – how awesome! And thanks for the tip about the olive oil. I haven’t had any problems with the crust sticking after it cooks, but I do know that a lot of my readers add olive oil to the crust, because they love the flavor that way. Good to know it helps with sticking, too, if needed!

Awesome, Dave! I’m so thrilled that you tried this out + it was a huge success! Now it sounds like both you AND your Lovely Wife can show off some skills in the kitchen. =)

Hi Lionel! I know exactly the texture you mean, but I confess I haven’t tried to replicate it at home. My first thought is, let’s try keeping the recipe the same, but letting it rise for about 30 minutes (under a kitchen towel or something comparable) before rolling it out. That might allow just enough rise to get a bit of that flakiness. My second thought is — one of my friends makes a super flaky, almost pastry-like pizza crust, and I believe she works some cold butter into the dough. I can ask her for more details, if you’d like! =)

Hi Tara, This is a no-rise crust, so you didn’t miss a rising step. =) The no-rise is what gives it that thin, crispy, crackery crust. Is that the texture you were looking for? Or did you want more of a traditional doughy pizza crust for your daughter’s cheesy bread? Since this is a really thin, crackery crust, it really does best with a fairly light coverage of toppings. My guess is that, if you used a ton of cheese, it was so much that it didn’t allow the crust to brown up / cook up like it normally would. Did you bake the crust first with just the olive oil/butter? And then add the cheese later?

That’s not a stupid question at all! It seems like most people don’t quite understand the difference between different types of yeast. Myself included, until I googled it a couple years ago. I always use “active dry yeast” in this recipe (and almost all yeast recipes) — with that type of yeast, you always need to dissolve it in water (or another liquid) first. With “instant (active dry) yeast,” you do not need to dissolve it in water. It’s milled into smaller, finer particles, which is why you don’t need to dissolve it. But, they’re interchangeable otherwise, and the amounts you use for each are the same. So, for this recipe, you can use the same amounts – you just don’t need to dissolve the yeast in the water in the first step. You can add it directly to the flour/herbs, and then just add the water to that mixture. Does that make sense? Does that help?

Yes, Claire – that’s exactly right. Whenever I just want to make one crust, I simply divide everything by two. =) Enjoy!

Hi Betsy! This is a no-rise recipe, meaning it has no waiting/rising time. The yeast *does* activate while it’s baking, so it has a very-slight rise while it’s cooking. If you’re doubtful, give it a try! As you can see, the previous commenters who have made this have been overwhelmingly positive about it!

I am SO thrilled to hear that, Daryl! So glad you enjoyed it!

Hi Bonnie! I believe mine is an Emile Henry pizza stone (I’m not home now to check the brand). Here are the instructions that I’ve always followed re: pizza stones — “Place your room temperature pizza stone into the oven before you turn it on. Set the oven to the desired temperature and allow the oven and the pizza stone to heat up together. This creates an evenly heated pizza stone that is ready to bake pizza efficiently.” I will say, I googled different pizza stone brand instructions, and there are a TON of blog posts/articles dedicated to confusing/contradictory pizza stone instructions (like this). Meaning, one brand says NOT to preheat it in the oven, one brand says ALWAYS to. Personally, I’ve always followed the instructions I quoted above, and I’ve never had my pizza stone crack. And I was always told that putting a cold pizza stone into a hot oven is risky because it can cause cracking.

Anywho, I’d never want you to go against manufacturer’s instructions on your particular pizza stone, but it may be worth a call to Pampered Chef’s customer service line to get them to clarify. If the don’t want you to preheat it “empty,” are you supposed to cover it with something? I’m admittedly confused. You could also ask if putting the cold pizza stone in the very-hot oven is risky (as it may cause cracking), like I’ve always heard. I’d be curious to hear what they say!

Hi Amber! I feel so happy that it was this recipe that inspired you to leave your first comment, and I’m even happier that you loved it. Hope you enjoy making it for years to come!

Awesome to know, Cheesy! I haven’t tried it with calzones yet, but that’s brilliant. =)

Awesome, Bernhard! I’m thrilled to hear it.

Megan, I do not typically calculate the nutritional value for my recipes, sorry. There are lots of nutritional value calculators online if you want to calculate it!

Hi Marie. Yes, the dough freezes very well! I’ve found that the flavor gets a bit deeper after freezing, and the texture is slightly different — a bit chewier (in a good way), in addition to being crisp. A bunch of my readers have also commented that they’ve had success freezing it (and no one’s had a complaint after freezing it), so that’s a good sign. =) Enjoy!

Hey Mike! Honestly, I don’t know. This crust is more crackery than the typical crust, SO, it *may* hold up to your love of toppings since it has a little holding power. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try!

Hi Maggie! I have not tried this with wheat flour, and I honestly bake very infrequently with wheat flour, so I can’t help you with that one. I hope you’ll experiment and report back, though! =) The ATK recipe sounds excellent!