Homemade Pizza Crust

The best Homemade Pizza Crust, and I’ve tried many! Made with bread flour for a chewy yet crispy crust. Skip delivery and make your own!

I’ve only tried making homemade pizza dough once, and it didn’t turn out well. I used the wrong type of yeast, partly because I wasn’t well versed in yeast, and partly because our store didn’t sell instant yeast. (If you’re new to yeast, check out this guide; I found it very helpful!)

A lot of the pizza dough recipes out there call for a Kitchen Aid mixer to knead the dough, or knead by hand ((shudder)), but this one from Cook’s Illustrated can be made in a food processor! I have an awesome Kitchen Aid food processor and was excited to try this out.

We invited my BFF Kathleen over for a pizza party and movie night at the beginning of April (you may notice my posts are never in order!) The recipe makes 3 medium pizzas or 2 large pizzas. I just divided the dough into 3 portions, and each of us shaped and ‘decorated’ our own little pizzas. We had plenty leftover – this makes a lot of dough. But as Chelle suggested, you can freeze half of it for another time.   I am so happy with this recipe, and it really couldn’t be simpler.

Although Cook’s Illustrated says it must be made in a food processor that holds 11 cups or more, it worked just fine in my 9-cup one. Apparently the bread flour is the key to this dough’s crispy crust – although you may sub all-purpose for a less crisp crust. The dough is so nice and smooth and easy to press out. It bakes up crispy yet chewy and didn’t stick to the pan. I highly recommend this recipe!

For our pizza party, we used browned sweet Italian turkey sausage, turkey pepperoni, chopped onions, 2% mozzarella cheese, and pizza seasoning. Yum!

UPDATE: I now make this dough using a pizza stone, parchment paper, and a pizza peel, so I’ve updated the recipe to reflect those changes. I’m still working on making a gluten free version of this and will add my notes when I have a good recipe for it!

Want more Homemade Pizza Ideas?

Turkey Bacon, Sausage, and Pepperoni Deluxe Pizza
Chicken Pesto Pizza
Chicken Pizza with Nut Free Pesto
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Thin Crust Pizza
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Quick Homemade No Yeast Pizza Dough

Pizza Crust

Meghan

The best Homemade Pizza Crust, and I've tried many! Made with bread flour for a chewy yet crispy crust. Skip delivery and make your own!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2 large pizzas

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup warm water (~110F)
• 1 envelope (~2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast AKA Rapid Rise)
• 1 1/4 cups water (room temperature)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups bread flour (22 ounces, plus more for dusting work surface and hands)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for greasing bowl
• corn meal (for dusting pan)

Instructions

 

Make the dough:

• Fill a 2-cup liquid measuring cup with warm water and sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to sit until yeast dissolves and swells – ~5 minutes. Meanwhile, add flour and salt to food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
• Add room temperature water and oil to the yeast/water mixture, and stir to combine. While pulsing flour mixture, pour the liquid through the feed tube, reserving a few tablespoons. If the dough has not formed a ball, add the rest of the liquid and pulse. Process for ~30 seconds until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand a few turns, shaping the dough into a smooth, round ball.
• Place the dough ball into a deep, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Bake the crust:

• Preheat a pizza stone for at least 30 minutes, 60 minutes if possible.
• Press the dough to deflate it. Divide dough into desired portions, and place them back in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth to allow dough to rest for at least 10 but no more than 30 minutes.
• Press dough out into a round pizza onto a piece of parchment paper. Brush lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Using a pizza peel or a baking sheet, transfer dough on the parchment to the pizza stone and prebake for around 5 – 7 minutes or until crust just starts to turn golden.
• Remove crust/parchment paper and top pizza as desired. Bake pizza for another 5 – 10 minutes, or until crust is golden and toppings are heated through.

Notes

Source: Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker, originally from Cook’s Illustrated

You’re Gonna Bake It After All

bakeitafterall.com

Keyword main dish, pizza