Thin Crust Pizza Dough

If you're craving one of those incredibly crispy, super thin crust, NY Style pizzas, nothing beats a freshly baked one made right at home, straight from your own kitchen. Is it possible to get it right without a commercial brick oven? Absolutely! You just need in, on a few easy tips, that helps you get it right the first time.

Is it really possible to bake a scrumptiously crisp, thin crust pizza in a home oven?

In one word yes. You don't need a commercial grade oven or even a pizza stone. We've eaten at some of the best thin crust pizzerias in NY and stand by our dough.

So what's the secret? Part of it is the amount of hydration - the percentage of water to flour matters a lot which is why we recommend using a kitchen scale to measure out the ingredients. Kneading the dough for at least 10 minutes is also a key part of building the protein matrix which leads to a more pliable crust. This step is much easier if you happen to have a stand mixer. Proofing the dough for at least 24 - 36 hours helps develop that authentic NY pizza flavor. Finally how you bake the pizza matters. To simulate a brick pizza oven, I turn up my oven to 500° F convection. I bake the pizza on a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven for 6 minutes and then on the middle rack for another 6 minutes. The number of minutes may vary by 1-2 minutes depending on your oven.

What do you need to make Thin Crust Pizza Dough?

You only need five ingredients flour, warm water, salt, sugar and active dry yeast.

• Flour type will change the texture and chewiness. I like using all-purpose flour over bread flour for this recipe. You can use bread or whole wheat flour - I don't because I feel that it makes the the crust a little dense.
• Warm water is used to quickly hydrate and activate the yeast. The water temperature should be about 98-110° F. Cold water slows down the process considerably.
• Sugar is used to feed the yeast and helps speed up the activation process.
• Active dry yeast helps the dough rise by releasing bubbles which allows more protein to connect to make more flavor. It also breaks down the tasteless starch molecules into sweet sugars. The production of ethyl alcohol and the fermentation process helps flavor the bread. I've found that if you bake the dough in the first 24 hours - the crust is more like flatbread and lacks that special pizza dough flavor. - In a pinch you could substitute with instant yeast - however you will need to make sure that the dough does not over proof.
• Salt helps season the dough. However do not add the salt in the beginning with everything else as salt kills yeast and will reduce the rise of the dough.

How to make the pizza dough

1. Add the yeast, sugar and warm water in a large bowl and mix. Add the flour and mix until there is no visible dry flour.
2. Cover the bowl with a wet cloth or plastic wrap and let rest for one hour. This allows the dough to autolyse. Autolysing ensures that the flour fully hydrates and reduce kneading time by allowing the gluten bonds to develop. Additionally, it also helps the dough to become more stretchy which helps when making the thin crust. Covering the bowl ensures that the dough remains moist and a skin does not form on the surface.
3. Add the salt to the dough and knead using the dough hook in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes. If kneading the dough by hand - knead for about 10 minutes on a very lightly floured surface.
4. Fold the dough on a floured surface for about 2 minutes, pressing and tightening the dough into a ball. In order "to fold," you pull wide bits of dough from the corner into the center to make a pouch a few times before turning the pouch over and pressing the dough while turning with both hands to tighten it into a ball.
5. Cover the surface of the dough ball with olive oil and rest the dough for 3 hours.
6. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into three equal parts. Fold and tighten each portion into a ball.
7. Cover with olive oil and put into a covered bowl or an airtight plastic bag. There should be enough space in the bowl for it to double in size. Let the door rest outside for about an hour then refrigerate for 24-36 hours. Putting the dough in the fridge allows for slow fermentation resulting in a crust with more air pockets and a more intense yeast flavor. In addition, it helps make the dough easier to handle resulting in the thin trademark crust of NY style pizza. Skipping this step results in crust that tastes more like flatbread than pizza.
8. Rest the dough for at least an hour outside the refrigerator to bring the dough to room temperature before preparing the pizza.

Awesome Pizza Topping Ideas

I love making homemade pizza because you can explore creative topping combinations and are not limited to a menu. Below is a list of some of our favorite topping combinations:

ANCHOVY, GOAT CHEESE AND FIG PIZZA

SHITAKE MUSHROOM & THYME PIZZA

HOT HONEY, PEPPERONI & ARUGULA PIZZA

Watch how to make thin crust pizza dough

HOT HONEY, PEPPERONI & ARUGULA PIZZA

Print Recipe

5 from 10 votes

Thin Crust NY Style Pizza Dough

If you're craving one of those incredibly crispy, super thin crust, NY Style pizzas, nothing beats a freshly baked one made right at home, straight from your own kitchen. Is it possible to get it right without a commercial brick oven? Absolutely! You just need in, on a few easy tips, that helps you get it right the first time. Recipe makes 3 12 inch pizzas

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 day d 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Main

Cuisine: PIZZA

Keyword: homemade pizza, pizza dough, pizza dough recipe, thin crust pizza dough

Servings: 12 people

Ingredients

• 600 g flour all purpose
• 390 ml water room temperature
• 8 g salt about 1 ½ tsp
• 1 g active dry yeast about ¼ tsp
• 8 g sugar about 2 tsp
• 1 tablespoon olive oil and more, for coating
• flour for dusting

Instructions

• Add the yeast, sugar and warm water in a large mixing bowl. Stir lightly. Add the flour and mix until there is no visible dry flour.
• Cover the bowl with a wet cloth or plastic wrap and let rest for one hour.
• Add the salt to the dough and knead using the dough hook in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes. If kneading the dough by hand - knead for about 10 minutes on a very lightly floured surface.
• Fold the dough on a floured surface for about 2 minutes, pressing and tightening the dough into a ball.
• Cover the ball with olive oil and rest the dough for 3 hours.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into three equal parts. Fold and tighten each portion into a ball.
• Cover with olive oil and put into a covered bowl or an airtight plastic bag. There should be enough space in the bowl for it to double in size. Let the dough rest outside for about an hour, then refrigerate for 24-36 hours.
• Rest the dough for at least an hour outside the refrigerator to bring the dough to room temperature before preparing the pizza.