Reflecting on our recent dinners, we noticed that we hadn’t created a funky pizza crust in a long time. Realizing that changing that was well within our span of control, we decided it was time to make it happen! Unlike some of our other Crusts, we opted to construct this one with Italian flavours in mind as a classic way to underlay a mushroom pizza. The garlic, basil, and oregano infusion added a nice dimension to the meal, and we definitely plan to make it again. In fact, we’re borrowing the concept to build a garlic bread as a side for tonight’s dinner!
We suggest this crust as the foundation to your favourite Italian type pizzas…but if you’re looking for some other suggestions to mix it up a bit, try the toppings from Eggplant Parmesan Pizza, Pesto Goat Cheese Flatbread with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, or Tomato White Pizza.
Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Yeast. We used Instant, but active dry will work too.
- 1 Teaspoon White Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- A good sprinkle of Dried Oregano
- A good sprinkle of Dried Basil
- 1 Cup of Warm Water
Method:
- Combine all your dry ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Add in your water, and use your dough hook to mix, combine your ingredients into a dough ball, and knead to develop the gluten structure.
- As your dough kneads, give a large bowl a quick oil spray.
- When your dough is formed, transfer it to your bowl, and cover with plastic cling wrap, and let rise for an hour.
- Towards the end of your rise time, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, and get all of your toppings in order.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on your counter.
- Form your risen dough into the shape you want. You can do this by tossing/kneading by hand, but we prefer placing our dough on the parchment and using a rolling pin. As you can see below, we went with a more rectangular shape than the traditional round.
- Slide your parchment paper onto your cooking vessel (pan or pizza stone).
- Top with your ingredients.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on your preferred crust crispiness level.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
