I don’t know if it’s bragging but our family has eaten literally hundreds of thin crust pizzas over our 35 years of living in Chicago. Thin crust pizza in Chicago is a religion supported by the many Reddit threads and Facebook groups dedicated to passionate pizza readers seeking insight or sharing their (sometimes) strong views on where the best tavern style pizza lives.
What if I told you (and them) that your home could be the best place to find a really crispy thin crust pizza? All you need is a love of pizza and a bit of time.
Allow me to explain.
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A thin crust pizza dough you’ll make over and over
I became obsessed myself with making a thin crust pizza knowing that I put a lot of pressure on myself to satisfy both a Chicago-born hubby and kids. I’m proud to say I finally did it.
In addition to the crisp texture and crunch, here are the reasons I love this recipe:
One batch of dough makes two pizza crusts and two batches makes four and so on. Make double, pop them in the freezer so I’m ready for next week time 😉.
The dough comes together super easily either in a stand mixer or mixed by hand.
The flavor of the final product is better the longer the dough ferments in the fridge making it easy to prep and make ahead. The only downside? You have to plan ahead.
Before getting started…
Decide when you want to bake the pizza and work backwards. This thin crust dough recipe needs a minimum of 1 day (18-24 hours) but gets even better after fermenting in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe testing and hydration note
I began the research using my original pizza dough recipe. I quickly realized that wasn’t going to work because in order to get the crust thin enough, the dough needed to be dryer (translated: less hydrated) and my 65% hydration pizza dough wasn’t going to cut it.
Equipment needed
To make the dough and bake the pizza crust, you’ll need the following:
- Baking scale. Weighing the ingredients is necessary to achieve the exact hydration of the flour. Note: I do give equivalent measures in cups but can’t guarantee the crispness of the crust will be the same.
- Plastic containers. I find that carryout deli containers (approximately 32 oz.) with lids make excellent storage for pizza dough.
- Rolling pin or French rolling pin. Helps the crust be as evenly thin as possible.
- Pizza peel. Epicurean makes an excellent one and I also love my beechwood peel.
- Pizza stone or steel, I love my black pizza stones from Emil Henry. I preheat them while the oven heats for 20 minutes.
- Oven that can reach 500°.
NOTE: A stand mixer with both a paddle and dough hook are what I use but this dough can also be mixed by hand.
Ingredient rundown
Like any dough, the ingredient list is short but super specific. I cannot guarantee that your results will be the same if substitutions not specified here are made.
Yeast storage tip
I store yeast in the freezer in a glass jar for about a year.
How to make homemade thin crust pizza
If you follow these directions faithfully, you’ll be eating a thin crust pizza as good as you’ll find in any Chicago bar or tavern.
Mix the dough
- Place a large, fairly light bowl on a baking scale and turn on the scale. The scale should be set to grams and show “0”.
- Slowly add flour to the bowl until the scale reaches 473 g. Reset the scale to zero.
- Add the yeast and stir the flour and yeast together. Reset the scale to zero.
- Carefully pour in the water followed by the salt. Run the mixer or mix by hand.
- Mix the dough -it will be quite shaggy (see below).
- Pour in the olive oil and mix the dough until the oil is incorporated.
Kneading
- Rest the dough 10 minutes in the mixing bowl. Add the dough hook and knead on low for 5 minutes. (Or knead by hand by pushing the dough away with the heel of one hand as you roll the dough over on itself and turn it a quarter turn, Repeat until you have a smooth ball of dough —also about 5 minutes.)
- Rest the dough again for 10 minutes.
- Evenly divide the dough in half and shape each into a ball. Oil the bottom of a plastic container with a lid and place the dough in the container. Flip the dough to coat with the oil. Cover the containers and place in the fridge overnight.
Must read…shaping tips
Especially if doubling the recipe, weigh the dough after dividing it so that each pizza ends up approximately the same size and thickness.
For accurate measurement, reset the scale to zero before adding the next ingredient.
When rolling the dough, continue to add semolina flour below the dough so it doesn’t stick to the board.
How to roll thin pizza dough
- Sprinkle a board generously with semolina flour. Place on ball of dough on the board.
- Imagine the dough as a clock and start rolling the dough to noon. Move the dough about 10 minutes (right or left depending on what hand is dominant) and repeat moving the dough and rolling the dough as it gets thinner.
- Once the dough reach about 9″ in diameter, you can start just rolling at 1 o’clock, 6:00 and 10:00 o’clock. Keep rolling until you reach the diameter of your baking stone.
- The final dough will be a bit less than 14″ in diameter because that is the size of my pizza stone.
Pizza baking notes
Thin crust is at its best when it is cooked quickly, on high heat.
I recommend preheating your oven and baking stone to at least 500°, if possible. Or to as high as your oven can be heated.
Set the rack to the center so that the crust crisps but the toppings get golden brown and the cheese melts.
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Super Crispy Thin Crust Pizza Dough
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Equipment
Ingredients
Thin crust pizza dough recipe -enough for 2 pizzas
- 473 g bread flour
- .3 g instant yeast, I use Saf-T
- 236 g water
- 12 g salt
- 47 g olive oil
- semolina flour, for rolling and baking
Instructions
For the dough
- Place a mixing bowl on a baking scale. Turn the scale on and make sure the scale is on "grams". Add the flour. Reset the scale to "zero" before adding the yeast, the water and then the salt. Reset the scale to "0" before adding each ingredient.Stir the dough or mix in a stand mixer. The dough will be shaggy. Reset the scale to "0" and add in the oil. Stir until the dough is completely mixed and the ball of dough softens with the oil.473 g bread flour, .3 g instant yeast, 236 g water, 12 g salt, 47 g olive oil
- Let the dough rest and hydrate in the bowl for 10 minutes. Remove the paddle attachment and replace with the dough hook. Knead in mixer for 5 minutes or so then let it rest again for another 10 minutes.*If mixing by hand: knead on a floured board for 5 minutes by pushing the dough away with the heel of one hand, flipping it over on itself and making a quarter turn. Repeat this motion until the dough is smooth and soft.
- Use a pastry cutter to divide the dough into 2 balls. Place each in an oiled small container or resealable bag in the fridge overnight to ferment.
- The next day, remove the container of dough to sit out at room temperature and allow to sit out for about 6-8 hours. Time this so that it works around your planned dining time.
To roll thin crust dough
- Remove one ball of dough from the container and shape the dough into as perfect of a round ball as you can.
- Add some semolina flour to a clean pizza peel or cutting board. Start to roll upwards with a rolling pin and then rotate a bit, roll upwards and rotate. Repeat until the dough reaches about 9" in diameter. Then, start rolling at 1:00, 6:00 and 10:00 o'clock (picture the pizza crust as a clock) until you get to 14”. Be patient —this might take a bit.semolina flour
- Preheat the oven to 500°. After the oven has reached temperature, place a baking stone or steel in the oven for at least 20 minutes to heat.
Topping
- Top with your favorite sauce and toppings. Spread within ½" from the edge of the crust.
Baking directions
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes at 500° until crispy and the top is golden and melted.
Notes
- To shape the dough into a round ball, hold the dough in both hands and tuck the sides underneath, creating a domed round ball.
- Keep making sure there’s a healthy amount of semolina flour under the crust as you roll. This will keep the crust really crispy and also not stick to the pizza peel.
Pizza’s came out great. Thank you. Will use this again.
So glad you enjoyed the thin crust pizza Kevin! Now I’m hungry for it too!