The Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen
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Basic Pizza Crust

4.72 Mitt(s) 25 Rating(s)25 votes, average: 4.72 out of 525 votes, average: 4.72 out of 525 votes, average: 4.72 out of 525 votes, average: 4.72 out of 525 votes, average: 4.72 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

A great, basic pizza crust. Makes two crusts.

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
  • 1-½ cup Warm Water
  • 4 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • ⅓ cups Olive Oil

Preparation

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

20 Comments

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Marney on 10.12.2013

I didn’t see ANY sugar mentioned, usually yeast and sugar are used together. Did you use some? I haven’t finished the 24 hour wait, but without sugar, I worry it won’t double :(

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ninabean on 1.28.2013

this has become a stapple @ my house . I whip it up Monday and we have pizza friday night. I sub whole wheat flour for the AP flour and it turns out great. ty for the recipe.

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courtr78 on 2.11.2011

BEST pizza dough. We love pizza in our family and make it once a week. I have tried many recipes, but this is by far the winner. I have made it whole wheat, let it sit for 2 hours, let it sit for 2 days. Any which way I make it, it turns out perfect. I have also used it for calzones and pizza bites. It’s the only recipe for pizza dough I use now.

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mdith4him on 1.22.2011

This is a great recipe. I make it for me and my husband several times a month. I don’t have a mixer, either, ahinkey, but it turns out good when I just hand stir the dough. I’ve not tried it when mixed with a mixer, but I’m sure it would be better (it’s hard to really incorporate the oil by hand).

It’s hard to get the dough to actually stay in the shape I roll it to (it’s very elastic). I’ve rolled it out anywhere between a couple hours after making the dough and a couple days and it’s always kind of difficult. Any suggestions for how to reduce the elastic nature of the dough or is that just how it is?

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catherinecooks on 12.22.2010

We eat pizza every Friday night. Every. Single. Friday. Night. I used to buy those pre-made pizza crusts, but no more. Why would I when I can have a delicious homemade pizza crust?

The secret to using this crust is, as Ree has stated, it to leave it to proof in the fridge for a day or two, or even longer. The longer it proofs, the more delicious it becomes, and the easier it is to work with.

25 Reviews

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Rebecca Bess on 12.17.2013

This is our go to pizza crust recipe. It turns out perfect every time.

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countrygirlcooks on 3.17.2013

I was not at all impressed with this recipe. Pizza is supposed to have a crispy crust with a chewy middle. I followed the recipe exactly and the crust was very soft and bread-like. I even baked it longer than the recipe suggested and it still didn’t crisp up despite having a lot of olive oil on the pan and crust. Another disappointing PW recipe.

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ninabean on 1.28.2013

so good and easy and it really does taste better if you leave it in the fridge 4 days.

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Katie on 3.12.2012

This recipe is so easy and turns out great every time. It is easy to roll out the longer it rises/sits in the frig. I sometimes use 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt and 1/2 teaspoon of regular salt instead of the 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, just for added flavor.

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DCourtney on 2.16.2012

Very good pizza crust. I do add about a teaspoon of honey to the warm water/yeast mixture to help get it activated better and it seems to work better that way. Thanks for sharing!

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