Thin Crust Pizza Dough for the Bread Machine

This Bread Machine Thin Crust Pizza Dough is perfect for you if you want a crispy thin crust that is still chewy underneath the toppings! Throw all ingredients in the bread machine and let it do the work for you. Ready to cook in 90 minutes.

Jump to:

• Tips for the Best Dough
• Bread Machine Instructions
• 🔪 By Hand Instructions
• Cooking the Pizza
• Recipe
• Serving
• Related Recipes You'll Love
• Recipe Reviews

I come from a land of pizza snobs, where New York style pizza is the norm, and the expectation when ordering pizza. Since we like to make pizza at home more than ordering delivery, I needed to come up with a perfect thin crust pizza dough comparable to that delicious, thin, and crispy NY style.

It's really tough to develop the perfect thin crust pizza dough! Especially when you are used to true Italian NY crust. But I think I have finally done it (and I hope you do to).

Tips for the Best Dough

One thing I've learned about pizza dough is that there are many ways to make it. I've also discovered two other very important steps when it comes to baking your thin crust pizza dough.

3 things that greatly impact the outcome.

1. Using a pizza stone. If you want that true NY style pizza with a crispy crust yet softer bread under the cheese and toppings, use a pizza stone.

Before purchasing this pizza stone, I made my pizza with this dough on a big round non-stick pizza pan. But once I made it on the pizza stone, there was no going back to the pan.

Using a pizza stone turned this 5 star thin crust pizza dough into 10 stars. It was truly like eating Italian restaurant quality pizza. If you don't have a pizza stone and must use the pan, your dough will still turn out fantastic. But I still suggest investing in that pizza stone if you make homemade pizza often.

2. Preheating the pizza stone (or pan). Whether you use the pizza stone or pan, it is important to preheat it and then add your dough to make the pizza. It can be tricky to shape pizza dough on a heated pan, so it's important to shape the dough prior to placing it on the pan.

With this method, the dough is shaped into a small circle and then is allowed to rest for 10 minutes. Then it's spread out again using a rolling pin until it's about 16 inches wide.

Once the dough is completely spread, it's transferred to the preheated pan.

2. Poking holes in the spread dough. The first few times we made thin crust pizza dough, the crust was uneven and lumpy. It had risen like a hill in some places and was completely flat in others.

To help it rise evenly, poke holes all around the dough with a fork.

Bread Machine Instructions

It's super simple to make thin crust pizza dough in the bread machine.

Put all ingredients in the pan of the machine in the order listed (or the order your machine suggests), set to the dough function, and let the machine do all the work for you.

The dough function on my Cuisinart bread machine takes 90 minutes. Once the dough is ready, follow the instructions below for cooking your pizza.

You should always check the dough about 15 minutes into it. The dough should be tacky to the touch but not too sticky. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour. Or, if it's too dry, add a little more warm water.

I highly recommend investing in a good bread machine. While my Cuisinart bread machine is pricey, it is very well worth it. I have made all sorts of bread, dough, croissants, and jams in the bread machine. It has saved me endless amounts of money as I am not constantly buying bread. If my machine is out of your budget, you can opt for this one.

🔪 By Hand Instructions

You can also make this thin crust pizza dough by hand, and believe it or not it's actually quicker to do it this way! So if you don't have a bread machine, here is how to make it.

First, fill a large bowl with the warm water and sprinkle in the yeast.

Second, add the sugar, salt, and flour. Mix with a spatula until the ingredients are mixed and the dough is crumbly.

Then lightly flour the counter and knead the dough for 7 minutes. If you're unfamiliar with kneading dough, Youtube has lots of videos to show you.

Now form the dough into a ball and put into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a heavy cloth and put in a warm place to rise. I put mine in the microwave or oven.

Let the dough rise for 30 minutes. The dough will not double rise, but will rise slightly. It's also okay to let it rise for longer than 30 minutes, if you lose track of time.

Then follow the instructions below for cooking your thin crust pizza dough.

Cooking the Pizza

This thin crust pizza dough recipe makes one 16-18 inch pie. You can also divide it to make 2 individual 10 inch pizzas.

First, preheat the stone or pan at 450 degrees F. While the pan preheats, spread the dough into a circle. It will be small, about half the size of the finished pizza. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Then use a rolling pin to spread it out til it's about 16 inches wide.

Next, transfer the dough onto the warmed stone carefully. Reshape and fix any holes if necessary. Poke holes all around with a fork. Bake the plain thin crust pizza dough for 5 minutes.

After it bakes for 5 minutes, layer with about 1 cup of sauce, 1-2 cups of cheese, and your choice of toppings. Our favorite pizza is a white pizza with tomatoes and basil.

Put back in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes more, until the cheese starts to brown and bubble.

Enjoy!

Feeling tired of the same old pizza? Change things up with these Margherita and Spinach and Feta flatbread pizza recipes. You can easily replace the na'an with this thin crust pizza dough. You should definitely try them. They are really quite delicious!

Recipe

Serving

Pizza dough will keep well in the fridge wrapped in oiled plastic wrap for about 2 days. It can be stored in the freezer for 6 months. To store in the freezer, wrap in foil in addition to the oiled plastic wrap.

I like to make this thin crust pizza dough in my bread machine while I am hanging around the house, even when it's not pizza night. I love to have dough in the freezer ready to go! It defrosts fairly quick on the counter or overnight in the fridge.

And that's all there is to making this delicious dough. If you've made this pizza dough, let me know in the comments below.

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