Thin Crust Pizza Dough

In a glass mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients of 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose or bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast. Mix ingredients. Add 3/4 cups of lukewarm water (about 85° F - warm to the touch) and mix thoroughly. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Knead dough with your fingers. Sprinkle in a little bit more flour if dough is on the wet side, you don't want the dough to feel too sticky. You can pickup the dough ball and knead it in the air (this is not the pizza dough tossing method, so nothing difficult here). Fold and rotate the dough as you knead, and repeat. The dough should become smooth and elastic. Knead for about 4 to 5 minutes.

Divide the dough in half. One small size (about 10 inches) pizza crust from 1/2 the dough. For the pizza we'll be baking, place 1/2 the dough in a well oiled bowl, coat with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature and alloow to rise until double in volume.

You can store the other half of the dough in a small bowl, coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. You can keep the dough in the referigerator for several days and bake the pizza later. If you want to keep longer, the you can store in the freezer.

After the dough has rizen (about double in volume), flour a board (or your counter), place the dough on your floured surface, and roll out with a rolling pin. Roll out to about a 10 to 12 inch pie, which will produce a nice thin-crust when you bake.

Pre-heat a baking stone in the oven at 500° F. To prepare the pizza for baking, use a pizza peel (handy, inexpensive tool). Coat the pizza peel with flour and a little corn meal. Lift the pizza onto the peel, and place your toppings of choice on the pizza, while working right on the peel.

Tip - spray the pizza dough with a little olive oil before you place your toppings. This will keep the ingredients from soaking into the dough.

Transfer the pizza (with toppings) from the peel to your pre-heated pizza stone in the oven (should slide easily). Bake for 7 to 10 minutes at 500° F until both the toppings and the crust are golden brown.

Now that's a pizza!

See this step-by-step instructional video from Breadtopia.