Thin Crust Pizza Dough in Five Minutes

It's Dough Time!

Looking for an easy way to get your kids to help in the kitchen?  Pizza! I know, I know- sounds like an awful lot of work, but the hardest part is making the dough. Until now! This recipe makes enough dough for one thin crust pizza, or 2 super thin cracker crust pizzas. There is no rising time either- you make the dough, roll it, top it and bake it! No additives, no preservatives, and you can choose the type of flour you want to use.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup hot water
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• pinch of sugar or honey
• 1 3/4 cup flour (use all purpose and half whole grain spelt)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Combine water, yeast and sugar/honey. Set aside to let it foam up a bit.  I never really let it sit for more time than it takes to find the mixing bowl and measure the flour.  

Place 3/4 cup of flour in a large mixing bowl, and whisk in salt. Pour water/yeast mixture over top.  With an electric mixer, beat at medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes. Add remaining flour, stir or knead in by hand. Work the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. (You are aiming for a smooth, elastic type texture.  If the dough seems sticky, sprinkle more flour and knead)  Roll dough out on a floured surface, transfer to pizza pan and add your favourite toppings.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Makes one large thin crust pizza. For a super thin cracker style crust, divide the dough in half, and brush edges with a tiny bit of olive oil. Watch your baking time- it will only take about 15-20 minutes for the cracker style crust.

I usually make 2 pizzas for our family of 4. While I make the second batch of dough for the grown up pizza, the kids put the toppings on theirs. Served with a Caesar side salad or vegetables and dip, or fruit and vegetable smoothies, it makes a much healthier choice than take out.

A few words about take out pizza....

I have been making this pizza for a number of years now.  At first, it was a cost saving measure, as with most of the home cooking I do, since Jon started his apprenticeship just after we met.  We could barely afford to live let alone get take out.  But then, after Owen came along, and we realized that he had food sensitivities coupled with a severe feeding disorder, we felt that it was incredibly important to pay attention to what we were putting on our table.  Have you ever thought about what does in to commercially produced pizza?

Common ingredients found in crust:  Partially hydrogenated soybean or cottonseed oil (transfat- the bad stuff), vital wheat gluten, high fructose corn syrup,  fumeric acid, Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Ester of Mono- and Diglycerides (DATEM is the shortform- DUDE!  If I can't say it, I don't want to eat it!) Amylase, Alpha Amylase, Silicon Dioxide.

I think I would rather have this....

One Hundred Percent Whole Stone Ground  Spelt Flour

How does shredded mozzarella sound?  Does it still sound yummy when I tell you that most companies add powdered cellulose made from wood pulp to keep it from clumping together?  Also interesting to note- powdered cellulose increases the fibre content of food.  Here you thought you were getting more fibre from better quality whole grains.  Read more about cellulose here.  Another interesting add on in cheese- Natamycin. It is an anitfungal, in the same family as Nystatin.  While I am happy that my pizza cheese is likely to be mould free, and now higher in fibre and non-clumping, wouldn't it be better to avoid the additives and shred my own mozzarella?

I think I would be much better off using this.....

One Hundred Percent Fresh Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheese

For a long time, it seemed like having take out pizza once a week wasn't a bad idea.  But if you take that one meal, with all of those additives, and then remember that many of them are found in other mass produced bakery goods, how much are you actually eating?

I think that I would rather eat this....

Which would you prefer?

Hey!  If you stopped by, THANK YOU!  Please feel free to drop me a line below in the comments section!  I love hearing from you!