Quick Pizza Crust

There are very few things that intimidate me in the kitchen quite like baking with yeast does. What if it doesn’t rise? What if it takes way longer to make than I anticipated?

I usually make my Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe, but last weekend I had a major craving for homemade pizza, like my mom used to make us. She would have the dough rising in a towel wrapped bowl above the fireplace and it would make the whole room smell amazing.

I really wanted to make it, but I didn’t have 24 hours to let it rise….I wanted pizza now. A quick search found this amazingly easy and quick pizza crust from the always lovely Katie at Yes, I Want Cake.

 

I had it made and on the table in less than 30 minutes. I was able to make it faster than it would have been to order pizza in, and making it from scratch is inexpensive and let’s you pick the quality of the ingredients you use. The crust is just the way I like it – perfectly crispy on the outside and softer on the inside. I’d still like to try to make the kind that takes longer to rise, but this was the perfect recipe for a quick pizza fix.

 

Makes 1 medium pizza · Printable Version

• 1-1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp quick rise yeast (or 1 packet)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• dried oregano or basil

 

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for a few minutes. Stir in the salt and oil.  Add the flour and mix.

 

Roll out the dough. I’m not too concerned with having a circular pizza because I love the rustic look. I use our pizza stone, which gives it a perfectly crisp crust. Bake it for 5 minutes.

 

Remove from the oven and rub with more olive oil. Sprinkle with dried oregano or basil.

 

Add your favourite toppings and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

 

We loved this pizza so much that I’ve made it twice in the past week. To make a larger pizza, you can double the recipe. It is easy enough to make it on a weeknight and you can load it up with any toppings you like. I love to create pizzas using leftover meat (grilled chicken, thinly sliced steak) and the last of the vegetables in the fridge. There is no limit to the toppings you can load up on it!