Super-Fast Thin-Crust Pizza

Recipe by PJ Hamel

Looking for delicious homemade thin-crust pizza in under an hour? This recipe uses a simple dough made with both baking powder and yeast, which yields a super-thin yet light crust. Mildly crunchy while still pliable (you aficionados of foldable pizza will appreciate this), this crust is ready for any topping you care to throw on it. One caution: use any topping, but go light; the crust won't support too much weight.

Prep
15 mins
Bake
8 to 12 mins
Total
57 mins
Yield
two 12" pizzas
Super-Fast Thin-Crust Pizza - select to zoom
Super-Fast Thin-Crust Pizza - select to zoom
Super-Fast Thin-Crust Pizza - select to zoom

Instructions

Prevent your screen from going dark as you follow along.
  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F with a pizza stone in the bottom, if you're using one.

  2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the lukewarm water and yeast until the yeast dissolves.

  3. Measure out the flour by gently spooning it into a cup and sweeping off the excess; or by weighing it. Add the flour and the remaining ingredients to the water/yeast, stirring to make a cohesive, somewhat sticky dough. The dough should only be mildly sticky, and easy to work with. If it's sticking to your fingers, mix in additional flour.

  4. Divide the dough in half, pat each half into a disk, and place on a lightly floured piece of parchment or waxed paper. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, while your oven gets good and hot.

  5. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll between two pieces of lightly greased parchment. Don't have parchment? See "tips," below. Roll a 12" circle; don't worry about making it perfectly round, an oval is fine. The rolled crust should be very thin.

  6. Top the crust with about 3 to 4 tablespoons sauce, and your preferred toppings.

  7. Transfer the pizza, parchment and all, to your baking stone. Bake for about 8 minutes, until the crust is brown and the toppings are heated through. Remove from the oven and serve.

  8. If you're not using a stone, transfer the pizza, parchment and all, to a baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is brown and the toppings are cooked through. Remove from the oven and serve.

Tips from our Bakers

  • Parchment paper makes it very easy to move this pizza from counter to oven to table. If you don't have parchment, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet to transfer the crust to the hot pizza stone, or to a baking sheet, and bake as directed above.
  • Just how thin is thin? Dough rolled about 1/8" thick will bake into a crust about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. The longer the dough sits, the thicker the crust will be; for thinnest crust, shape and bake dough immediately, without any rest.
  • Looking for a gluten-free version of this recipe? Find it here: Gluten-Free Thin Crust Pizza.