Thin Crust Pizza

About a year ago I was able to recreate my favorite Chicago deep dish pizza in the world. I need to update the cooking temperature and time on that one, by the way. 425 for 45 minutes should be more like it. My second attempt was rather doughy and unsatisfying, lacking the crunch in the crust that is needed.

Chicago's other pizza claim to fame is crispy, paper thin, square-cut pizza. This is by no means a competitor to New York style pizza, but a third form of the art. I have fond memories of ordering thin crust pizza back home in Chicago; fighting over the crispest, tiniest outer cuts; avoiding the inner, soggier slices. In fact, my main complaint about Chicago thin crust was the unavoidable sogginess of the inner square slices. My goal is to bake a paper thin pizza that is crispy throughout the pie.

After some digging on the internet, I came across a quick recipe for a thin crust that is prebaked before adding toppings, much like a pie crust. Here's the basic recipe for the crust:

Thin Crust Pizza

1 c warm water
1 pkg (or 2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 T olive oil

Dissolve the yeast in the water for a few minutes. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour and salt. Make a well and add the water-yeast mixture and the olive oil. Mix thoroughly with your hand and then turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 8 minutes so that it is smooth and elastic. Allow the dough to rest in a clean bowl covered with plastic or a damp towel.

While the dough is resting, preheat your oven to 425 F. Have ready two 12" pizza pans or use a baking stone. Divide the dough into two balls and stretch each one to fit the pans. Bake the crusts for 12 minutes at 425. They will be slightly browned and crisp.

Add your favorite toppings and bake a further 1o-12 minutes at 425. The pizza in the picture was smeared with hummus and topped with canned diced tomatoes that had been drained for 30 minutes to remove most of the excess water. A little bit of oregano spiced it up just enough.

The crust proved to be crispy throughout the pizza, but it had a nice chewiness in the thicker parts so that it wasn't overwhelmingly crunchy. The taste is a little on the bland side, but it does remind me of some of my favorite old delivery places. Served with an ice-cold RC, this is a little taste of home. I suppose a little more flavor could be gained by allowing the dough to rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight, as with the deep dish crust.