This recipe belongs to my mother-in-law, but I was lucky enough to be able to snap a picture of it the last time we saw her (at pizza night, of course!). My mother-in-law makes amazing pizzas with really unique and tasty topping combinations (one of her classics is an asparagus, gorgonzola, and carmelized onion that I sincerely hope to feature here someday).
With a crust like this, though, the toppings are really an afterthought. This crust will come out right every time and can hold up to all kinds of toppings, classic or crazy. Basically, if you master this crust, the whole world of pizza is open to you. Take hold of your destiny.
This is a thin pizza crust that cooks up crunchy and crispy, but I wouldn’t quite call it a “thin crust” pizza, since this recipe has enough baking powder and yeast in it to give it a little lift and a hint of bready texture. To me, it tastes like a classic homemade pizza crust. Also, you can prepare it ahead of time and then top it and cook it up once your guests arrive. Get ready for pizza night!
| Prep Time | 2 hours |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
pizzas
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- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups semolina flour
- 1 envelope instant yeast
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup room temperature beer
- 2-3 tbsp water
Ingredients
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- In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk flour, semolina, yeast, baking powder, and salt together.
- Add in 2 tbsp of the olive oil and the beer and knead with the dough hook on low. Continue to knead, until ingredients come together as a dough, about 5-10 minutes. My dough was a little dry, so I added 2 tbsp of water to help it come together.
- Knead the dough with your hands a few times to form a cohesive ball. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours. Warning: this isn't the typical pillow-y pizza dough, so it won't rise a whole lot. Don't worry. It's going to be fine.
- While the dough is rising, prepare all your toppings. You'll want to have them ready to go before you put the dough in the oven.
- Preheat oven and pizza stone to 500°F. Divide dough into two equally sized balls.
- Line countertop with parchment paper, and roll dough into a 12-14 inch circle with a rolling pin (dough should be a little less than 1/4 inch thick). This isn't the typical stretchy elastic pizza dough, so it's easier to roll it with a rolling pin than it is to use a more traditional stretching method.
- Drizzle rolled-out pizza crust with 1 tbsp olive oil and spread to coat pizza evenly. Don't bother with a brush here; it works best to use clean hands.
- Slide the pizza dough and the parchment (you're basically never going to take your pizzas off the parchment) onto the preheated pizza stone and pre-bake, untopped, for 4 minutes. The crust will get bubbly and patchy brown. Pull it out early if the edges start to blacken.
- Slide pre-baked crust and parchment out of the oven (a pizza peel is obviously the best tool for this, but I used a cookie sheet since I don't have one of those).
- Add toppings to your preheated crust. This is a sturdy crust that can handle a lot of toppings, but keep in mind that you will have to slide your pizza in and out of the oven one more time, so don't go too crazy.
- Slide your topped pizza, parchment and all, back onto the pizza stone. Bake about 10 minutes more, until edges begin to blacken and cheese is bubbly and patchy brown.
- Repeat with second pizza.
Notes about toppings and stuff for this pizza.