Knowing how to make pizza crust is one of the most essential steps in creating the perfect pie. Here at Hungry Howie's®, we make our pizza dough fresh daily to preserve the integrity of your pizza and provide the best taste. Keeping dough fresh, with the proper levels of moisture, and at the right temperature are all extremely important elements of learning how to make pizza crust. As a franchise in business for decades, we've perfected the craft and are here to share our tips with you.
Pizza Crust Ingredients
The base ingredients for all great pizza crusts are the same, no matter if you vary in deviation later in the recipe. To start, you need just seven basic ingredients.
These include:
- Yeast- This provides your dough with stability to work with. You can use instant yeast if you prefer.
- Water- Make sure your water is warm but not too hot. Keep it in the range of 110 to 110 degrees. If your water surpasses the temperature of 130 degrees, it will ruin the yeast and make it ineffective.
- Flour- Unbleached all-purpose flour gets the job done. You want to ensure it's unbleached as it removes essential protein and affects how your dough absorbs the flour. You can also substitute whole wheat flour if you prefer.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- As a famous Italian ingredient, it's no surprise that it's included when learning how to make pizza crust. It adds flavor and prevents the dough from turning soggy.
- Salt- A little salt goes a long way in giving your dough a flavor boost.
- Sugar- It may surprise you to learn that there's sugar in pizza dough. While you only use a small amount, it helps activate the yeast and soften the dough.
- Cornmeal- Cornmeal is a secondary ingredient, as you don't incorporate it into the dough mixture itself. Instead, use it to dust your pizza pan. It helps provide crispiness to the bottom.
Extra Seasonings
As with any dish, chefs often add a combination of seasonings to their pizza crust recipes. These can include garlic powder, Italian seasoning, onion powder, paprika, and black pepper. However, the possibilities are endless, with others adding herbs such as thyme or fennel. You can play around with your recipe until you find the right combination to suit your taste.
How to Make Pizza Crust
Knowing how to make pizza crust is a simple process, yet it takes a great amount of skill to get it right every time. It's common for beginners to take several attempts before finding their stride. At Hungry Howie's®, our pizza chefs are top of the line, crafting their skills over the years. This is what gives you the best pizza crust with every order. Our crust has just the right crispiness and a fantastic flavor, never soggy or bland. It's what keeps our customers coming back for more.
Steps to make pizza dough include:
- Mix 1 and 1/3 cup water with 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of yeast.
- Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the mixture. Note: You can use a standing mixer or a large bowl with a spatula or spoon.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and set aside extra to brush the dough with at the end.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt and 3.5 cups of all-purpose flour, stirring into the mixture.
- Set your standing mixer to "low speed" or knead with your hands for 3- to 4-minutes. You'll know when it's done by poking the dough with your finger. You're ready to move on to the next step when the mixture bounces back. If it doesn't bounce back, continue kneading until it reaches the right consistency.
- Grease a big bowl and transfer the dough. Turn the dough ball until it's evenly coated in your greasing option of choice. Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for an hour to an hour and a half. This allows the dough to rise.
- Shape your pizza dough on a greased pan, preferably circular shaped. Pinch the edges to create the lip of the crust. Cover the dough again and allow it to rest on the pizza pan for another few minutes, and then brush lightly with olive oil before adding your toppings of choice.
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes until the crust is a nice golden brown.
Now that you know how to make pizza crust, it's time to perfect your recipe and get to cooking!
Order Take-Out or Delivery from Hungry Howie's® Today
We know how to make pizza crust from fresh dough every day. We love to do it, perfecting our recipe to provide you with the best pie around. However, with lots of practice, your pizza crust may rival ours! We love to hear how our customers' pizza crust turns out, so let us know next time you stop by or tag us on social media with your homemade pizza!
Order take-out or delivery Hungry Howie's® pizza today to be sure you'll get the best crust every time.