Oh, hello blog.
Um, it’s not you, it’s me…
Seriously.
So, I’ve been completely absent for the last three weeks. Lets just chalk it up to holiday madness and my desire to get onto a ridiculously regimented schedule as a new year resolution. It only took me three days (and the 5 am rising of my children), to adapt to it enough to get a blog post up.
Here’s what I consider the gem of my holiday cooking, and surprise, it’s not a cookie. I figured out a way to make a pizza with a chewy, airy crust that doesn’t need to rise, and is ready to eat faster then you could get one delivered.
This really is incredible. At least to me and my pocket-book. We (shamefully) eat a lot of pizza in this house.
Enough chit-chat, this is a food blog after all.
First, dissolve your yeast and sugar in warm water (110 degrees). Getting the temperature of the water as close to this as possible is key. It’s really handy to have one of those instant read meat thermometers. Just hold it in the water coming out of your tap until it’s as close to 110 without going over as possible. Too hot and the yeast will die, too cold and you won’t get it to pop. Leave it for 5 minutes until it looks nice and creamy, like this. Another tip, thanks to Julia Child, keep your jar of yeast in the freezer. It’ll last longer and stay much fresher!
Next, throw in your bread flour, salt and olive oil. Now, if you don’t have bread flour you can just sub good old all-purpose, you just won’t get quite as much chew in your crust.
Here’s the best part: no fancy tools needed at all! Just grab your hand mixer and go to town until it looks like this, well combined and looking like little flakes of dough.
A quick two second mix with your hands leaves you a nice ball of dough. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes while you get the rest of your toppings ready.
Tip: dust your baking sheet well with cornmeal, then there’s no need to grease it and the pizza won’t stick at all. If you’re into pizza like we are, invest in one of those pizza stones. They’re pretty cheap now, and you should be able to find one for $10 or less on sale. Just put it into the oven while it pre-heats, then put your pan on top of it to cook. It’ll give you a crisper crust.
Lightly dust your counter with flour.
Through your dough down on it.
Then roll it out. That’s right, with a rolling-pin. SO easy! Make it about an inch bigger then your pan all around. Don’t worry about being perfect though.
See, perfection is really over rated. Fit it into your pan, and press it into the edges.
Laugh break at the way Oliver was drinking his juice this day. Chug it kid!
Now just fold your edge over to make a nice crust. Again, we’re not going for looks here. If there are any spots where you had too much of an overhang, just tear it down to size.
Add your sauce, cheese and toppings, then throw it in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
You can’t tell me this doesn’t look incredible, I won’t believe you.
Closer? Alright, if you insist.
Just let it sit for a minute, then it’s easy to slide out of the pan with a pair of tongs. I find it much easier to cut out of the pan.
I just wanted to show you the underside. See what a wonder the cornmeal is! No sticking at all!
And see those delicious air bubbles in the no rise crust. It’s insane, honestly.
Alright, enough drooling, here’s your printable:
Quick No Rise Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 (.25oz) pkg active dry yeast (2¼ tsp from a jar)
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 cup warm water (110ºF)
- 2½ cups bread flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 450ºF with a rack in the middle position. If you have a pizza stone, put it in the oven while it pre-heats.
- In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit for five minutes.
- Add the flour, salt and olive oil and beat until combined and the dough looks flaky. Quickly knead into a ball with your hands then let sit for five minutes. Get the rest of your toppings ready.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and roll out until 1" bigger then your pan on all sides. Lightly dust the bottom of your pizza pan with cornmeal (if you don't have cornmeal, be sure to grease your pan to avoid sticking). Place the dough onto the pan, pressing into the edge, then fold over the overhang to create the crust. Add your toppings.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling and just starting to brown in spots. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.
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