15 min. Perfectly Thin & Crispy Pizza Crust

I love pizza and I have been on the hunt for an easy & yummy crust recipe.  This is it!  It comes together so fast and the dough does not need to rise, so you can literally make homemade pizza in approximately 30 min.  The crust is crispy, chewy and flavorful.  I loved sharing it with my friends and being able to say that I made my crust from scratch.  Plus, as often as we eat pizza, this is a quick, delicious and cheap alternative.  

What You Need:

3/4 cup warm-hot water

1 pkg (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (or reg. salt)

1 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 500° F with pizza stone or pizza pan inside 

2. Heat water in microwave on high for 15 seconds (water should be like very warm bath water 105°-115°)

3. Dissolve sugar and yeast into water & let set for 7-10 min. until creamy & bubbly.  

4. Combine flour, salt & italian seasoning into a mixing bowl.

5. Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and combine until you have a dough ball.
6. Put dough onto lightly floured surface (I love my pastry cloth) and knead for 2 minutes.

7. If needed, sprinkle a little more flour on surface, flour your rolling pin and roll dough into a circle, the thinner you roll it, the crispier your crust will be.  Tips: While rolling, continue to flip dough over, always add a little more flour if dough is sticking and roll firm, but not too hard or dough will stick.

8. Trim your dough to fit your pizza stone or pan.  Slide your arms under the dough and transfer to the hot stone or pan.  Be very careful not to burn yourself!  Pizza does not have to be round, make it square if you want or use the dough trimmings to make random shapes.
9. Bake empty crust in 500° F oven for 4-6 min.  If you want, you can brush very lightly with olive oil to give a little flavor and extra browning to the crust.  Wipe off any excess oil to keep from getting soggy.  If using right away, go to step 10.  If baking later, cover and set aside until ready to top.

10.  Add your favorite toppings, but not too much!  A little goes a long way, especially with sauce.

11. Bake an additional 8-10 min. until crust is a nice light brown color.

I used a chunky tomato basil sauce, shredded mozzarella, half was pepperoni and half was portobello mushrooms, sweet peppers and arugula.  It was delicious! What are your favorite pizza toppings?