Thin Crust Pizza Dough

For the first time in my short adult life, I have a broiler. When I read about broilers, and what they could do, I was always half-convinced they were a lie, a magical kitchen item that was meant for other people, but certainly unattainable for me. Suddenly, I have one. Inspired by a friend at work, I’ve recently rediscovered pizza. 

I read an article that said that according to Navy SEALS most people operate their lives at 40% of their actual capacity. Talk about a wake up call. 

My mother told me recently that making things is all about finding “stolen moments.” Which is why this pizza dough is actually the perfect thing because it requires just a moment. 

I’ve gotten wary of sharing on the internet lately. Have you been to instagram? Have you seen how REAL it’s gotten? I feel increasing reluctance to share my life online. Is it important to have a “personal brand?” Is the internet even real? I don't know. Regardless, all of my internet anxiety has made sharing here radically more difficult. A navy SEAL would probably tell me that I’m wasting the 40% of my energy that I apparently expend that I’m really wasting my time worrying. Besides, I technically have nothing to worry about, I have a broiler. 

Anyways. Here is the recipe for the dough, from the website TheKitchn, alongside my italicized instructions for how I like to make a pizza. 

Talk soon. I hope you find a stolen moment. 

Homemade Thin-Crust Pizza Dough from TheKitchn

Makes two 10-inch pizzas

For the dough:

3/4 cups (6 ounces) lukewarm water

1 teaspoon active-dry or instant yeast

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

*I like to preheat my oven with my pan IN the oven, to 500 F. Once my dough is ready, I turn my oven off and turn my broiler on and place an oven rack in the top third of the oven.

Place the dough in the hot pan, put on toppings and then put the pizza in the top third of oven, under the broiler, for about five minutes, or until the pizza crust looks done. (I like mine a little charred.) 

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Set the oven to 500°F or as hot as it will go and let it heat for at least half an hour before making the pizza. If you have a pizza stone, put it in the lower-middle part of the oven now.

Combine the water and yeast in a mixing bowl, and stir to dissolve the yeast. The mixture should look like thin miso soup. Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix until you've formed a shaggy dough.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface along with any loose flour still in the bowl. Knead until all the flour is incorporated, and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should still feel moist and slightly tacky. If it's sticking to your hands and countertop like bubble gum, work in more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it is smooth.

If you have time at this point, you can let the dough rise until you need it or until doubled in bulk (about an hour and a half). After rising, you can use the dough or refrigerate it for up to 3 days.

Cover the dough with the upside-down mixing bowl or a clean kitchen towel while you prepare the pizza toppings.

When ready to make the pizza, tear off 2 pieces of parchment paper roughly 12 inches wide. Divide the dough in 2 with a bench scraper. Working with one piece of the dough at a time, form it into a large disk with your hands and lay it on the parchment paper.

Work from the middle of the dough outwards, using the heel of your hand to gently press and stretch the dough until it's about a 1/4-inch thick or less. For an extra-thin crust, roll it with a rolling pin. If the dough starts to shrink back, let it rest for 5 minutes and then continue rolling.

The dough will stick to the parchment paper, making it easier for you to roll out, and the pizza is baked while still on the parchment. As it cooks, the dough will release from the parchment, and you can slide the paper out midway through cooking.

Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the center of the pizza and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edges. Pile on all of your toppings.

Using a bread peel or the back side of a baking sheet, slide your pizza (still on the parchment) onto the baking stone in the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, bake the pizza right on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 5 minutes and then rotate the pizza, removing the parchment from under the pizza as you do so. Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes until the crust is golden-brown and the cheese looks toasty.

Remove the pizza from oven and let it cool on a wire rack. Repeat with shaping, topping, and baking the second pizza.

Let both pizzas cool for about five minutes before slicing and serving.

March 28, 2016