Thin-crust pizza is a great alternative to a thick-crust pizza and uses less dough. It has fewer calories and it can be served as a side, appetizer, or even a meal. It is much faster to cook from scratch as there is no proofing needed and cuts down overall time.
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Ingredients
This thin-crust pizza dough makes a cracker-like pizza base. It is made with only 4 ingredients. All you need is all-purpose flour, water, salt, and instant yeast.
Instructions
The first step is to make the dough for the thin-crust pizza. I like to knead the dough in the bread machine or the KitchenAid stand mixer.
For making dough in the bread machine, put all the wet and dry ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the bread machine manufacturer. Select and start the dough cycle. Let the machine knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until the rising phase starts.
Step 1: Put all wet and dry ingredients in the bread machine pan.
Step 2: Knead the dough using the dough cycle.
As this is thin crust pizza dough, there is no need to proof the dough, else it will end up becoming thick crust pizza dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, make a smooth round ball, and divide it into 4 equal parts. Roll each dough into a thin pizza base of 10-inch diameter and about ⅛ inch thick using a rolling pin.
Step 3: Once well kneaded, remove the dough from the pan.
Step 4: Divide the dough into 4 parts.
Place the base onto a baking tray optionally lined with parchment paper Apply olive oil on the base using a basting brush. Apply pizza sauce and toppings of your choice. Sprinkle some grated mozzarella cheese and other cheeses like cheddar and pepper jack.
Step 5: Roll each piece into a 10-inch base of ⅛ inch thickness.
Step 6: Apply olive oil, pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 425°F for about 10-12 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts becoming golden brown. Take the pizza out of the oven and let it cool down for 2-3 minutes and then slice it using a pizza cutter.
Step 7: Bake the pizza at 425°F for 10-12 minutes.
Step 8: Cut the pizza into desired number of pieces.
Substitutions
- Flour - bread flour or all-purpose flour can be used to make thin-crust pizza.
- Yeast - instant yeast or bread machine yeast can be used. If you want to use active dry yeast, mix it in warm water and let it rest for about 10 minutes until it is foamy at the top.
Variations
- Cheese pizza - for thin-crusted cheese pizza, add only cheese and pizza sauce, no other toppings.
- Paneer pizza - add tandoori paneer as a topping to make thin-crust paneer pizza, check out this paneer pizza recipe for inspiration.
Serving suggestions
Thin-crust pizza is perfect when you are looking for a light meal option or to serve for gamedays and pizza nights. It can be served with soups like tomato soup and minestrone. It can be served with lemonade or orange juice.
Equipment
I have made this pizza dough in the Zojirushi Supreme bread maker. It can be made in any bread machine with the dough cycle. There is no need to let the dough cycle go through the rise phase else the crust will not turn out to be thin.
To make the dough in a stand mixer, knead all the ingredients with a dough hook for about 12 minutes on the low setting (2).
Storage
Any leftover thin-crust pizza can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days and then reheated in the oven or the air fryer before serving.
Any leftover dough can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. However, the dough will slowly rise in the fridge and the pizza will not turn out as thin when baked.
Top tip
- There is no need to let the dough rise to make thin-crust pizza dough.
- Weighing the flour with a digital food scale gives consistent results.
FAQ
What is the secret to thin-crust pizza?
The secret to a cracker-like thin-crust pizza is not adding oil to get a crispy base. Not allowing the dough to proof and rolling out a thin base of about ⅛ inch thickness are key for a crispy thin pizza crust.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with thin-crust pizza:
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📖 Recipe
Thin Crust Pizza Dough
Equipment
- Convection Oven
Ingredients
Pizza base ingredients
- 3 ½ cup All purpose flour (420 grams)
- 1 cup Water (warm, microwave 30 seconds)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Instant Yeast or Bread Machine yeast (7 grams)
Instructions
Option 1: Making dough in bread machine
- Add all the wet and dry ingredients to the bread machine container in the order recommended by the bread machine manufacturer.3 ½ cup All purpose flour, 1 cup Water, 1 teaspoon Salt, 2 ¼ teaspoon Instant Yeast or Bread Machine yeast
- Close the lid and start the "Dough" cycle.
- Once the dough is well kneaded and the final rise starts, remove the dough from the pan. (There is no need to let the dough rise for thin-crust pizza).
Option 2: Make dough in stand mixer
- Put all ingredients in the stand mixer bowl and knead them with a dough hook for about 12 minutes on low setting until dough is well kneaded and attaches to the hook.3 ½ cup All purpose flour, 1 cup Water, 1 teaspoon Salt, 2 ¼ teaspoon Instant Yeast or Bread Machine yeast
Making thin crust pizza
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it for a few seconds to make a smooth ball.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and roll one part on a floured surface to form a 10-inch pizza base about 3 mm or ⅛ inch thick.
- Place the pizza base on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and apply some olive oil.
- Apply pizza sauce, your favorite toppings, and cheese.
- Bake the pizza in a preheated oven at 425°F for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese becomes golden brown in color.
Notes
- There is no need to let the dough go through the first rise, once it is well kneaded, it is ready to use.
- The recipe makes 4 thin-crust pizzas of 10 inches.
Cindy says
My husband loves thin pizza- this is perfect!