Thin Crust Pizza Dough Recipe 435

Steps:

• Mix warm water and sugar together in a bowl; add yeast. Set aside until yeast mixture becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Pour yeast mixture into a large bowl; add flour, olive oil, and salt. Knead dough for 6 to 8 minutes, adding more flour to keep dough from sticking to your hands if needed. Cover bowl and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Grease 2 pizza pans or baking sheets.
• Divide dough in half. Make each half into a ball shape and roll each into a flat, circular crust using a rolling pin.
• Place 1 piece dough over your hands with your knuckles turned upward directly underneath the center of the dough. Using your knuckles and backs of your hands, toss the dough into the air in a circular motion, spinning the dough. This thins the center of the dough and forms the padded edge of the pizza. When the edge of the dough is about 1/4-inch thick, place the dough onto the pan. Pizza diameter will be about 10 inches. Repeat with other piece of dough.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the milk, water, yeast and sugar. Lightly whisk and let sit until bubbly and the yeast is bloomed, about 5 minutes. Add the oil.
• Mix the all-purpose flour and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Set the mixer to medium-low speed and slowly add the yeast mixture until entirely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to get everything homogenous. Knead on medium low until the dough is glossy and forms a rough ball, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm part of the kitchen until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Split the dough into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the balls of dough as THIN as possible with a rolling pin. To get an even "trimmed" circle, use a large round lid to trim a rim around the dough. Sprinkle some semolina flour on a pizza peel. Carefully transfer the round of dough to the peel. Dock the crust with a fork or docker, poking holes all over the surface to keep it thin and crispy.
• Working quickly, add half of the pizza sauce almost all of the way to the edge of the crust, leaving about a 1-inch border. For the pepperoni side, place an even layer of pepperoni directly on top of the sauce on half of the pizza. Combine the skim- and whole-milk mozzarella in a large bowl and top the entire pizza with half of the cheese. Top the pepperoni side with some more scattered rounds of pepperoni. For the sausage side, spread half of the giardiniera on top of the cheese, then dollop with hunks of the Italian sausage on top. Transfer to the pizza stone in the oven and bake until golden and bubbly, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board with the pizza peel. Make another pizza with the remaining ingredients.
• Let the pizza rest for 4 or 5 minutes, then cut into small squares--never triangles. This is called the party cut. Why? Because no matter what's going on, when you're eating Chicago thin crust, it's always a big ol' party.

Steps:

• Measure 1/4 cup of warm water into 2-cup measuring cup. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes.
• Add remaining 1/4 cup warm water plus remaining 1 1/4 cups tap water and olive oil.
• Meanwhile, pulse flour and salt in workbowl of large food processor fitted with steel blade to combine.
• Add liquid ingredients (holding back a tablespoon or so) to flour and pulse together. If dough does not readily form into ball, stop machine, add remaining liquid, and continue to pulse until ball forms. Process until dough is smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds longer.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead by hand with a few strokes to form smooth, round ball.
• Put dough into medium-large, oiled bowl, and cover with damp cloth. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and use chef's knife or dough scraper to halve, quarter, or cut dough into eighths, depending on number and size of pizzas desired. Form each piece into ball and cover with damp cloth. Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape into rounds as thick/thin as desired. Use your hands to stretch the dough into shape, rather than a rolling pin.
• Transfer to pizza peel that has been lightly coated with semolina, brush dough very lightly with olive oil before topping and cooking.
• Use the following guide to determine cooking time for pizza crust with topping but without cheese. All pizzas need to be cooked an additional two or three minutes after adding cheese, or until cheese is completely melted.
• THIN CRUST.
• 14-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 2) - 7 to 8 minutes.
• 12-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 4) - 5 minutes.
• 8-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 8)- 3 minutes.
• MEDIUM-THICK CRUST.
• 12-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 2) - 9 to 10 minutes.
• 8-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 4) - 5 minutes.
• 6-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 8) - 4 minutes.