So basically I have all of the solutions to your home-made pizza crust woes right here.
- No rising needed
- Totally freezable
- Basil + Oregano Heaven
- Thick and chewy
- Crispy, sturdy bottom crust
This dough recipe makes enough for one large pizza with very thick, chewy crust, or two smaller pizzas with crispier, thinner crusts.
Whenever I make pizza I usually always make cheesy bread and my pantry staple marinara sauce to dip it in.
My husband’s favorite is our balsamic barbecue chicken pizza.
Here’s a close up of the dough so you can see all the Italian spicy goodness.
This dough is easiest to make in a stand mixer with a bread dough hook – but if you don’t own one, don’t worry. I don’t either. Kneading the dough by hand only takes about 5-10 minutes, just like the mixer, you’ll just have some messy hands and bigger muscles to show for it.
I’ve found it’s easiest to roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface instead of trying to stretch it into one consistent shape. I don’t know how the wizards over at Domino’s do it. I’ve watched, I’ve tried, I’ve reverted back to the rolling pin.
Freezer Tips:
- If you’re planning on putting the dough in the freezer use COLD water. You want to preserve the yeast, and using warm water will likely wake it up prematurely.
- Thawing dough on the counter takes about 2 – 2.5 hours depending on the size of your ball, so it takes some planning ahead.
- Store each ball of dough in it’s own gallon sized freezer bag. Don’t wrap it in plastic wrap. The dough will expand some before freezing and explode out of the plastic wrap and freeze around it, leaving you with a plastic mess inside your dough. Putting the dough in a bag gives it the freedom to spread before and during the freezing process.
- If you’re storing some dough away for a rainy day, put some mozzarella cheese and a bag of pepperoni, sliced mushrooms, or whatever your favorite toppings are in there along with it. It’s better to know your have all the ingredients on hand instead of just hoping you will when you need to use it.
| Prep Time | 20-30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
8-10 inch pizzas
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- 1 1/3 cups water free(ish)
- 2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one yeast packet) $0.32
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour (plus some for sprinkling the work surface) $1.33
- 2 tbsp olive oil $0.18
- 1 tbsp honey (or sugar) $0.01
- 1 tsp salt $0.01
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder $0.10
- 1 tsp oregano $0.45
- 1 tbsp corn meal (for dusting the stone/pan) $0.01
Ingredients
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- In a large bowl, measure out 1 1/3 cups of very warm water. (Make sure it’s not too hot to touch though, or you may harm the yeast.) Add yeast and honey to the water and whisk gently to combine. Put the bowl in a warm place (about 75 degrees or warmer) let it froth up for about 10 – 15 minutes. (I usually start preheating my oven to its lowest temperature setting and then turn it back off after a minute. Then I cover my bowl with a wet towel to keep things from drying out and stick it in the oven. Just make sure the oven isn’t too hot, or you’ll risk harming the yeast.)
- Once the yeast is nice and frothy, add all the other ingredients (EXCEPT for the garlic powder and oregano) and knead it together until just combined within the bowl. Lightly flour a working surface to continue kneading. Sprinkle the oregano and garlic over the floured surface and transfer the dough ball to the surface to continue kneading. (This gives the gluten in the dough a chance to form without interference from the herbs. If you’re using a bread machine, you may be able to put all the ingredients in at once, but I’ve never tried it in a machine before so I can’t guarantee a certain outcome.)
- Knead the dough (and keep adding flour as needed) until the consistency and texture of the dough is comparable an earlobe - not too sticky, but not so dry that the dough cracks when you press the heal of your hand into it.
- Wash out the bowl and coat it with olive oil, put the dough ball inside, and cover with a wet towel or saran wrap - let rise in a warm place for an hour - 1.5 hours (or until the dough size has doubled).
- Punch dough down and split in two - let rise for about 30 minutes or more.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the pizza stone inside while the dough is rising. (if you’re not using a pizza stone, don’t preheat the metal pan you’re using.)
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the pizza stone from the oven and sprinkle it with corn meal. (You can also use flour, but corn meal has a better taste and texture.) On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pizza dough to the size of your stone, and transfer it very carefully to the stone. I've found that rolling the dough up and then transferring it to the stone before unrolling it again works the best.
- Season the crust and add your favorite toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes. The amount of time spent in the oven will depend on the thickness of the dough and your toppings.
- Follow the instructions for immediate use, however, use VERY COLD water instead of warm water. Warm water will activate the yeast and putting it back in the cold after being activated will kill it.
- After the dough has reached the desired consistency and texture of an earlobe, split the dough ball into two equally sized balls and place them on a baking sheet that is protected by a layer of wax or parchment paper. Cover the entire tray with saran wrap and put the tray in the freezer overnight (or until the dough is frozen through).
- Once the dough is frozen, remove the balls from the pan and put them in freezer safe bags.
- Label the bag with "Pizza Dough" and the date, then write these instructions on the bags: 1. remove from freezer 1.5-2 hours before baking 2. When dough has doubled in size, roll out and top with toppings 3. bake for 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees
Pricing:
Total for dough: $2.41
Price per slice (12 slices): $0.20
Nutrition:
Per slice (each batch makes 2 8-10 inch pizzas, and cut into 6 slices each = total 12 slices)
ONLY FOR CRUST – Does not include toppings or additional seasonings
Calories: 160
Protein: 5.4 g
Carbs: 27.8 g
Fats: 2.3 g
Sodium: 190.8 mg
