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.
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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). Yippee!
๐ 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 like pictured. 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 have the pan, your dough will still turn out fantastic. But I still suggest investing in that pizza stone and giving it a try when you can, you will love it!
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. This can be tricky when using the pizza stone. My trick is to shape and spread the dough prior to putting it on the stone. Then I put it on the preheated stone and if there are any rips or misshapes, I fix them. If using the non-stick pan, you can shape the dough on the pan completely after it preheats. Either way, be careful handling the hot 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! I've since learned that to help it rise evenly, poke holes all around the dough with a fork, like in the picture below.
๐ช 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.
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 water.
I highly recommend investing in a good bread machine. While my Cuisinart bread machine is pricey, it is very well worth it. I 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.
๐ช 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, you can see how to here.
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!
When you're ready to make your pizza, roll out the dough. Then follow the instructions below for cooking your thin crust pizza dough!
๐ฉโ๐ณ Cooking the Crust
This thin crust pizza dough recipe makes one 16-18 inch pie. You can also divide it to make individual 10 inch pizzas too. Spread the dough in a circle until it's about ⅛-1/4 inch thick. Feel free to make a rectangle pie if that's your preference! Or even different shapes for younger children. When my daughter was going through a particularly difficult picky eating phase, I made her dough into a star and a moon. I've also made my baby a mini pizza!
First, preheat the stone or pan with the warming oven at 450 degrees. While the pan preheats, spread the dough into a circle.
Next, transfer the dough onto the warmed stone carefully. Reshape and fix any holes if necessary. Poke 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.
Put back in the oven and cook for 10-15 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!
๐ Recipe
Bread Machine Thin Crust Pizza Dough
Equipment
- bread machine
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water (110-130ยฐ)
- 1 ยฝ tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp active dry or instant yeast
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order listed. Set machine to the dough function and press start.
- When cycle completes, spread into a circle on a greased pizza pan or seasoned stone. Poke with fork to create holes.
- To cook, pre-bake spread dough at 450ยฐ for 5 minutes. Then layer with 1 cup of sauce, 1-2 cups of cheese, and your choice of toppings. Bake for another 10 minutes, until the cheese begins to lightly brown and bubble.
Notes
Nutrition
๐ฒ Serving and Storing
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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This dish looks SO deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right now!
Loved the tips! Dough can be very tricky to get right. Thanks to your detailed guidance, I got it right in the first time. Pizza turned out perfect, we ended up making 4 of them ๐
I make this pizza dough on a regular basis. I always prebake because that's how we like it. Thin and crispy! Now I need a good pizza sauce recipe.
love this, thanks for posting and working out the bugs so we didn't have to. the first time we found that the prebake made the crust a little too crispy, probably because we go really thin on the crust. this time we'll skip the prebake and see how that goes. expecting it to be perfect! cheers!
I'm glad it's work out so well for you! I think you'll be very happy the next time around. Let me know how it goes!
Turned out perfect at the first try. I put it in the oven together with the toppings (no preheating of the dough); the pizza was ready in 13 minutes. Everyone loved it. Great bread machine recipe.
Awesome! I am glad you all loved it and hope you make it part of your regular pizza night!
I make this pizza dough on a regular basis. I always prebake because that's how we like it. Thin and crispy! Now I need a good pizza sauce recipe.
I am so glad to hear how much you love it!
I never comment on recipes but this pizza dough is so good!!! Everyone should try it! Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you so much! I worked hard to get this pizza dough just right, so I am pleased to hear that you love it too! I'd love to hear about the pizzas you've made using it. Feel free to send along some ideas!
Tonight,I made this again. Best pizza crust ever! Thank you so much!
Best pizza dough for bread maker that I've tried by [email protected]
Thank you so much for your feedback! Hopefully you will enjoy it many times over!
Great recipe. I made two small pizzas and it worked out nicely for 4 people as a dinner.