How do you make thin and crispy type pizza crust?

[Ginevra]

Assuming, of course, that you do make your own pizza crust. Personally, I am perfectly happy with the sourdough pizza crust I already make and I consider it perfection. (Nice chew, puffy crust edge with many yeast holes.) But dh says every Friday he would like to try a cracker-like, thin and crispy crust. I tried to make one last night from a Food network recipe but it was pretty much like a less-delicious version of the crust I spend all day ripening. It was not at all thin and crispy. 

So. How do you do it? Do you have a link to someone online or a recipe that always turns out? Beyond one time I heard it should be high hydration, I haven’t heard a word about how to make this happen. 

[Sneezyone]

I use a basic recipe that's very similar to this :https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016230-robertas-pizza-dough and roll it SUPER thin. The oven needs to be as hot as you can get it too, for me, that's 550. I slide it directly onto a pre-heated cast iron pizza thingie. Also, don't overload it with toppings. Fewer, high quality items (with the wettest things on top, like mushrooms/onions/peppers) and easy with the sauce.

[BarbecueMom]

I don’t have a specific recipe because we’re a GF household (and I was on a quest last weekend for this very thing in GF form), but try looking for “St. Louis Style” pizza crust recipes.  You can ignore the toppings (provel... ick).  I *think* a proper crust will use baking powder as leavening, or self-rising flour.

[Jentrovert]

When I use a recipe, I forget to double it. It's not enough for a large rectangular cookie sheet, so it's super thin. Ta-da!

[2squared]

I roll my crust super thin (to where I’m fighting holes) and bake it before putting toppings on. Once baked, I add limited toppings and warm those until the cheese is melted. 

[Carrie12345]

I’ve never really attempted it at home because we already struggle to get our dough thin enough for a “regular” crust. Fortunately, some of us do like crust, lol.

I can tell you that, when I worked at Pizza Hut in the 90s, we used a rolling machine (basically a pasta roller but bigger) that still took forever to reach the proper width and thick(thin)ness.  And yes, you need to put less on top, including sauce.

[PeterPan]

Option 1 -go on a cruise. Carnival has crazy good thin crust pizza.

Option 2-call local pizza shop that does it perfectly. I think that's the plan for tonight. 

ATK had a series of videos on youtube about pizza. They have some pizza gurus. This is the one I was remembering. But they have more videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3lp8vi_198&t=418s

 

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Option 1 -go on a cruise. Carnival has crazy good thin crust pizza.

Option 2-call local pizza shop that does it perfectly. I think that's the plan for tonight. 

ATK had a series of videos on youtube about pizza. They have some pizza gurus. This is the one I was remembering. But they have more videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3lp8vi_198&t=418s

 

I think a cruise is out for now. 😏

[maize]

I remember eating pizza in Italy with a thin crust that was kind of like a crispy flour tortilla. 

[Bambam]

I make this crust (add Italian Seasoning and someone garlic powder) using bread flour. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20171/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/

I roll it super thin, stab with a fork for little holes so it doesn't puff up, toss it on the pizza stone that has been sitting in a 450 degree oven (I'm thinking of trying hotter temps, but I'm waiting till it cools down here first!). I cook it on one side for 3 1/2 minutes, then flip it and cook for another 3 1/2 minutes. Then I pull it out and put it on a wire mesh cooling rack. Then I top with whatever and cook it for about 5 minutes.  I think the key is pizza stone, hot oven, bake before adding toppings. 

But, I don't make full size pizza crusts. I make them more personal size. I make a bunch and freeze the extras in a freezer baggie so we can have quick pizzas later. 

[Sherry in OH]

Use 1/2 to 2/3 the amount of dough you would ordinarily use for 1 pizza.  Place on an oiled pizza pan and poke with fork.   Par bake on top rack for 5 minutes in preheated oven (450 degrees).   Remove from oven, add toppings then bake for 5-7 minutes.   

I use my usual yeast dough -  3 cups flour (1/2 bread or all-purpose, 1/2 whole wheat), 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast, and 1 cup very warm water.  Mix, let rise for 30 minutes to an hour, then divide and roll flat. I roll it, put in the pans, then let it rise again while the oven preheats.  Makes 2-4 pizzas, depending on desired thickness of crust.  Also makes good calzones and garlic knots.

We tried baking powder pizza crust when I couldn't get yeast.  We found it lacked flavor.  We did like the flavors of beer and yogurt dough, but not so much as yeast dough.  Stout added better flavor than lager but turned the crust purplish.  

[City Mouse]

I have a summer job working in a restaurant making pizza. Our dough comes frozen, so I can’t help there, but as was mentioned earlier, a super hot oven is needed. We cook pizzas at 500-525 super crispy takes about 10-12 min.  Instead of using a solid pan, we use pizza screens which allows the bottom to get more crispy

at home, I will pre-bake  my DS’s gluten free pizza crusts to get them crispy before adding toppings.

[Chris in VA]

If you want something different, KetoConnect has a keto "fathead" dough that makes a nice thin crust. 

[Bootsie]

A friend who owned a pizza restaurant said, as several previous posters have, that a HOT oven is necessary.  In addition, he said that the water used in the crust can make a huge difference.  Waters in different locals have different mineral contents.

[Katy]

I was just about to try a recipe using puff pastry (tamped down with a fork), but DH decided he wanted take-out just before I started preparing it, so I don't know if that works or not.

Have you tried a pizza stone, preheated and powdered with a bit of corn meal? 

[Lady Florida.]

4 hours ago, Bootsie said:

A friend who owned a pizza restaurant said, as several previous posters have, that a HOT oven is necessary.  In addition, he said that the water used in the crust can make a huge difference.  Waters in different locals have different mineral contents.

This is true for bread too. That's why Cuban bread in Miami is different from Cuban bread in Tampa, which is different from Cuban outside the state of Florida, etc.