How to Make the Best Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe
Making pizza for dinner has become a staple in my weekly meal planning rotation. Knowing that one night of the week is already planned out makes meal planning so much easier.
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 baking stone
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp honey (or sugar)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive or canola oil
- 3 cups bread flour
Instructions
- In a large mixer (I use my mixer), stir the yeast and honey into warm water. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes or until you see that the yeast is doing its job. Pour in salt, oil, and half the flour and mix.
- Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it, it doesn't stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, knead for 6 minutes. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean!
- Lightly grease the bowl and the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours.
- After you have let it rise, divide the dough into two equal pieces, lay parchment paper on your counter and create your pizza on the paper. In a 425 degree oven (preheated with a HOT baking stone inside), slide your pizza (still on the parchment paper) onto the HOT stone. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until it is done how you like.
- Repeat with the second pizza.
Notes
Tips for cooking pizza in the oven
- Pizza needs to be baked at above 400 degrees. If you like a crispier crust you will want to bake for a longer amount of time. You can also make your dough a little thicker if you prefer a thicker crust.
- Make sure to add any fresh toppings like basil, arugula, prosciutto, etc., once the pizza is removed from the oven to prevent toppings from wilting or burning.
- You could add some corn meal to the bottom of the sheet pan, that adds a little bit of texture and flavor to the crust.
- Even though it is tempting to eat the hot pizza straight from the oven, make sure you allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it. If you cut the pizza too soon the sauce and cheese will separate from the crust, causing the topping to slide off the top.
- Make sure that the dough is rolled out at room temperature. If the dough is too cold, the crust will be tougher and harder to roll out. Make sure to remove it from the refrigerator at least thirty minutes prior to cooking.