How to get a thin, crisp pizza crust

spbull472

So I've been cooking pizzas on the Egg and I'm just loving it, however my wife and I are trying to find a dough that will help us accomplish a thin, cracker like crust.

Anyone have any tips?

Will I get a crispier crust cooking directly on the pizza stone versus cooking the pizza on an airbake pan? Currently we've been using the Trader Joe's Whole Wheat dough, which is good...but doesn't really get crispy.

Thanks for any tips in advance.

AzScott

Try rolling the dough out with a rolling pin until it is about the thickness of a quarter. My girlfriend loves her pizza crispy and thin. It comes out perfect.

fishlessman

higher heat, thinner stretchin of the crust, no cornmeal, just a light dusting of flour on the peel, go extremely light on the sauce, 2 tablespoons is pushing it. stone, not airbake or parchment etc. i get 3 12 to 14 inch pizzas from a dough ball and just use the store bought regular stuff

spbull472

Sounds good, I'll try the same dough again...just going much thinner when rolling it out.

I have another begging question, how are other people getting the pizza from the kitchen to the egg?

I roll out the dough on the counter in my kitchen, then I put on the toppings. Then I try to figure out how to get it to the stone that has been heating on the egg. Curious as how others are doing this part of the process. When I switched to the airbake i had moved the dough onto it, then put the toppings on. Now if I remove the airbake pan, not sure what to do.

fishlessman

i use a wooden peel, they seem to work better after several pizzas have been cut on them. your supposed to work the dough on a floured counter, toss it several times and sing in fake italian while doing it, no rolling. with the dough stretched thin you need to get that pizza in the egg quickly or the dough will stick to the flour rubbed peel. the hotter the egg the crispier chewier the pizza will be if you can get the dough thin enough

spbull472

Any recommendations on where I can get a good pizza peel?

Jersey Doug

We bought our peel at a restaurant supply place.

I don't have the skill to make a thin crust pizza by tossing or stretching. I admire people who do. I use a roller and it works fine. One trick is to roll it as big as I can get it and then let it rest for 10 minutes or so. The rest lets the gluten relax and then it's easy to roll it really thin.

Lots of flour on the countertop, lots of cornmeal on the peel. 450º and a pizza stone up in the dome works for me.

fishlessman

i got mine at a kitchen supply, william sanoma has them but they would be picey. i like the untreated ones better than the varnished ones as they hold more flour when you rub it in. after you get the dough part right you will have to try different temps and setups til you find what works best for you, im cooking between 900 and 1100 to get what i want out of a pizza, but everyone likes pizza differently, thats why there are so many lousy pizza places doing good business. to me, pizzas start to get better when the temps are 650 and higher. there are some cons cooking at higher temps, gasket issues and the dome bands get looser at the higher temps so watch that

mkc

We like very thin crisp crust but make our own dough. I have tried the Trader Joe's regular dough and I would say one ball is about twice as much dough as I use for a thin-crust 13-14" Egg pizza.

Is the airbake pan like a cookie sheet? If so, you can use it as a peel, too, that's what I use as a peel. I pat then roll my dough out to about the size I want it, then transfer it to either my Silicone Zone pizza mat or a piece of parchment paper that I have on my cookie sheet/peel. Once I fuss with the dough a bit more so it's the 13-14" I want, I top it. When you're ready to go onto the preheated pizza stone, just shake the cookie sheet lightly to get the pizza to start to slide and gently "apply" it to the stone.

When done, just use the cookie sheet (using potholders/mitts) like a peel to get the pizza and the mat or parchment off the stone.

All this talk of pizza lately - time to get some dough kneading for tomorrow!

Michelle

70chevelle

Most 'cracker' style crusts are low hydration recipes. You could use a little extra bench flower (more flour means less water) and you could also roll the dough out fold it 2 or 3 times (laminate), reroll fold again and the roll out to it's final size. Pizza shops that make this kind of crust use a machine (called a sheeter) that looks like a huge pasta maker to thin out the crust evenly. Then they put the crust over the pan and trim the edges, but I digress, basically a little extra flower, and a little extra muscle should get you the crust you're looking for. Also, once you have your skins ready to dress, poke them with a fork (or buy a docker) to keep any air bubbles from rising when they cook. (If you don't want air bubbles)

Pizza supplies - try these links

http://www.fogazzo.com/html/oven_accessories.html
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/third1065/products/pizza-peels.html
http://www.acemart.com/kitchen-supplies/pizza-supplies/pizza-peels/c230-c678-c687.html

Bacchus

I sometimes use a store bought product called a "Flat-Out". It is an oval shaped flour "tortilla" for lack of better words, but it is thicker than a tortilla. They can be used for pizzas, wraps, etc.
They do make very good pizza's. I have loaded th4em up thick with topping, cut them up into pizza sized slices and they are very crispy.

Zippylip

For thinness & transportation from countertop to egg, nothing beats a rolling pin & a peel:

Ross in Ventura

Try this.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=R40
Ross