I’m an equal opportunity pizza lover. I love fancy hand tossed pizza as much as I love a $3 frozen pizza. I love thick pizza crust, thin and crispy pizza crust, and everything in between. And I love trying to make them all at home. This super fast, 30-minute thin and crispy pizza crust has quickly become one of my favorites because it’s just so fast and easy. No rise time means I get my pizza fix FAST.
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My love for thin crust has grown over the past few years and I’ve been on the hunt for a good thin and crispy pizza crust recipe. I’ve tried a few with less than stellar results, but when thekitchn.com claimed that their recipe was the result of “years of very meticulous testing,” I couldn’t help but trust their word. I tried their recipe with two small variations, the use of more yeast (one standard 0.25 oz. packet) and a little sugar to help super charge the yeast. I was very happy with the results!
This crust is crispy, but not dense (thank you, yeast), and has just enough “give” to keep you from thinking you’re eating off of a saltine cracker.
Can I Make the Pizza Dough Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can make this dough ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator up to two days, or freeze it for about three months. To thaw the frozen dough, place it in the refrigerator the day before, or place it on the counter top for about an hour to thaw at room temperature.
What Kind of Pizza Pan is Best?
The more heat that hits this thin and crispy pizza crust, the crispier it will be, so try to use a pizza pan that is perforated, or a preheated pizza stone.
My pizza is topped with fresh mozzarella, a few vegetables from the salad bar, and leftover pepperoni from my Three Pepper Pasta with Crispy Pepperoni. It’s important not to choose toppings that are very wet when working with a thin crust.
Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust
Servings 2 12-inch pizzasIngredients
- 3/4 cup warm water ($0.00)
- 1/2 tsp sugar ($0.01)
- 2 tsp active dry or instant yeast (or one 0.25oz. packet) ($0.19)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting) ($0.34)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to its highest position. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, or its highest setting.
- Dissolve the sugar and yeast into the warm water and let it sit until foamy (about 5 minutes).
- While the yeast is soaking, combine 1 cup of the flour and the salt in a separate large bowl. Stir until the salt is evenly mixed into the flour.
- Pour the yeast water into the bowl of flour, then stir with a wooden spoon until fairly smooth. Stir in an additional 1/2 cup flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, slowly adding up to 1/2 cup more flour as you go. Be sure to add the flour slowly as you knead to prevent it from becoming too dry and stiff.
- Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Divide it into two equal portions and form each piece into a ball. If you do not wish to make two pizzas immediately, the second ball of dough can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator for up to two days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
- Press the dough down into a flattened circular disk, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a thin circle, about 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.
- Prepare a pizza pan with either non-stick spray or a combination of spray and cornmeal, then carefully place the dough onto the pan. Spread a thin layer of your favorite sauce over the surface, then bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, or just until the edges develop a hint of color.
- Remove the crust from the oven, add the rest of your toppings, then bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is a medium golden brown.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating your oven to 500 degrees, or as close to 500 as you can get it. It may take a while to get up that high, so start preheating as soon as possible. Also, move your oven rack to the highest position because that’s where the air will be hottest. Hotter is better when it comes to pizza.
Next, dissolve 1/2 tsp sugar and 2 tsp (or one 0.25oz. packet) of yeast into 3/4 cup warm water. Let that sit until it forms a thick layer of foam like the photo above (that should take about 5 minutes).
While you’re waiting on the yeast, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Make sure to stir them until the salt is evenly distributed throughout (or as best you can tell).
Pour the foamy yeast water into the bowl of flour and stir until fairly smooth.
Stir in an additional 1/2 cup flour, then turn the shaggy dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Slowly add up to 1/2 cup more flour as you knead. Add the flour slowly so that the dough does not become dry and stiff. It should remain soft and supple.
Let the dough rest for at least five minutes. This helps the gluten relax a bit, which will make it easier to roll out.
Divide the dough into two pieces and form each into a smooth ball. If you’re not going to make two pizzas at this time, wrap one in plastic and store it in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for up to a few months.
Flatten the ball of dough into a circular disc with your hands. People always ask me how I get my pizzas so round and the answer is (in addition to having YEARS of pizza making experience) this first “pat down” step. This is where the shape begins. If it’s not a circle before you start rolling, good luck making it into one later! :P
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a rolling pin is very important to making the crust thin and crispy. It flattens out the tiny air pockets and kind of compresses everything down. If you simply stretch it with your hands (like hand tossed crust), it remains more pliable and will become more fluffy when baked.
Prepare whatever pizza pan you prefer to use. I highly suggest using a perforated pan if you don’t have a pizza stone because it allows air to get up under the crust to make it crispy. I like to use a thin layer of non-stick spray and then a generous sprinkle of cornmeal, but that’s just my preference.
Carefully transfer the dough to the pizza pan. Folding it in half before picking it up will help it maintain its shape without further stretching. Then once it’s on the pan, you simply unfold the dough. Spread a thin layer of your favorite sauce over the crust.
Bake the crust in the fully preheated oven for five minutes. This helps dry it out and prepares it for it’s final crispy form. If you top it with everything first, it probably won’t get enough heat and air exposure to fully crisp, so partially bake the crust and sauce first.
After baking for five minutes, add the rest of your toppings. Remember not to use anything too wet or heavy (like fresh tomatoes) because you don’t want lakes to form on the pizza.
Pop the pizza back into the oven for 7-10 minutes more, or until the crust is nicely browned and the cheese is bubbly. When cooking at such a high temperature, the time will vary quite a bit from oven to oven, so just keep an eye on it and use those visual cues to tell you when it’s done.
The edges have a nice crispy texture and the interior has a nice crunch on the bottom. Thin and crispy pizza crust heaven!
Super thin, but strong enough to hold up to toppings!
Omg. You are the pizza queen. This turned out amazing. I didn’t realize the recipe made 2 batches of dough when I started making it, but you can never have too much pizza dough on hand anyway :p The first pizza was ok, but I think I really perfected it with my 2nd one. I wanted bacon on my pizza, so I cooked a couple slices in my cast iron skillet. I took the bacon out, and then put the rolled out dough right in there with all that hot bacon grease deliciousness (taking hints from your thick pan pizza recipe, which I also love). I also added a generous amount of italian seasoning on top of the sauce. The crust came out deliciously crispy and awesome. It’s dangerous times now that I know a no-rise pizza recipe…will make this again and again. Thank you Beth!
This recipe is brilliant. Worked like a charm on the very first time.
I use this to make no-dairy, no-meat pizzas, which admittedly is more like lots of veggies on a cracker, but with the right veggies, it’s pretty awesome. Much better than the thin-and-crispy from Dominos.
Does the refrigerated dough need to be at room temperature when you want to use it?
I do like to let it warm up a bit because it’s much easier to stretch and work with when it’s not cold.
I goofed and bought instant yeast instead of regular will that still work.
Yes, it should still work fine. :)
I’ve been wanting to try this forever and finally got a pizza pan the other day. It’s AMAZING. The dough is so delicious. I probably should have cooked it a little longer but I didn’t want to burn the cheese all the way – next time I’ll let it cook longer with just the sauce. All the same, what an easy, delicious with absolutely NO advance planning required. I am a Budget Bytes evangelist for life! Thank you!
Hi Beth,
Long time fan. Could you please specifiy which type of yeasy you used? Was it active or instant?
Thanks!!
Dan
Yeast***
Hi Dan, For this recipe either instant or active dry will work fine. :)
I had seriously given up making homemade pizza altogether until I saw this recipe. We love thin crust pizza, but every recipe for pizza crust that I’ve ever tried was either flavorless or never cooked all the way through.
I tried this recipe yesterday, and it was PERFECT. It made the perfect amount of pizza for the two of us, and it was so easy to make without compromising flavor! No letting it rise for an hour or two. Just make the dough and bake it right away. The texture was awesome: crisp on the outside and a little chewy on the inside. Now we can have pizza whenever we want! Thank you!
Hey, Beth! I love this site, and plug it to people all the time. How much sauce would you recommend per pizza? I’m planning on making your Thick & Rich Pizza Sauce recipe to go with this and was wondering how many pizzas I’d get out of it. Thanks!
The pizza sauce recipe makes about 3 cups and I’d say each pizza would get between 1/4 and 1/2 cup, depending on how saucy you like it. For the thin crust pizza it’s always a better idea to go a little light, though. :) You can freeze the leftover pizza sauce.
Long time lurker but first comment on this site. Tried this recipe last night and it was FANTASTIC! It is exactly the type of pizza crust I love the best – thin and crispy with a great chew. I am smitten! By you and your crust!
OMG this crust looks amazing! I love crispy, thin-crust pizza (that’s how it is in Italy and I fell in LOVE with pizza in Rome)
I wonder how this would do as an herbed crust? Like mixing in some dried rosemary & oregano maybe? I will have to try that.
I think that would work well!
Thank you for the recipes Beth! :) Sorry for the single comment, I was and will be a lurker because…I think I am not good enough to give advice to anyone. ;)
Uhmmm, only a correction to DC’s comment above. In Italy, pizza is always «pizza napoletana» (transl.: neapolitan pizza). If you eat a “shallow” pizza is only a matter of…marketing. To make original Italian pizza you MUST use a good amount of dough and time and “pizzerie” in Italy want to bring in cash like every other business. If you eat shallow pizza you have taken one of these paths:
1) You have bought a “take away pizza” (they’re EXTRA thin and also rubbery: I won’t call them pizza)
2) You specifically have requested a shallow pizza (or the waiter/ress asked you which one): a good 40% of my friends dislikes «pizza napoletana» thick pizza.
3) If you requested a traditional pizza (or intended to eat one), the «pizzaiolo» hadn’t been trainer well! :-) It’s not his/her fault at all, it’s not so easy to find a good “pizza teacher” ;-)
OK, I love cooking too so we all know there’s NOT a single way of cooking a dish (thank God! :D). So take my comment only as a clarification from a…native Italian. And sorry for my English too!!!
Alternatively, use large tortillas!! We have a place where we can buy like 15 of them for $3 or $4, depending on size, and then have some of the best dinner parties ever.
Made this, but not for a pizza. Used the grill and turned it into awesome flatbread. Will never use a mix again….Thanks
Great quick recipe. I just used a parchment lined cookie sheet and preheated it in the oven. I found this to be a little too salty but it may have been my pink salt. We usually buy dough because I have no patience! NEVER AGAIN. Great recipe, thanks Beth!
Great recipe! I have only bought pizza dough before. I will definitely be trying this recipe in the near future. I recently made a grilled pizza, do you think this dough recipe would be ok on the grill?
Hmmm, I would think so, but I actually have never grilled pizza before! :) I need to get a real grill.
Your timing was perfect with this post as I was already planning on making pizza for dinner last evening. I’ve been searching for a thin crust and this crust was amazing! It couldn’t have been easier, either. Thank you!