Emilie: Remember when we bought a pizza stone on a whim at the grocery store and it ended up changing our lives forever?
Jonathan: To know there are parts of the multiverse in which we stood in line purchasing groceries for a New Year’s party and decided “We probably don’t need this $20 pizza stone” is genuinely upsetting.
Emilie: Indeed, our pizza would not be as delicious in that version of reality.
Jonathan: Very true. We could still make pizza, but metal pans just don’t get the same crispy, browned crust that the pizza stone creates. Part of it is that you put the stone in the oven while it preheats and throw your pizza onto the already very hot surface to bake.
Emilie: Kind of similar to cast iron, the pizza stone gets seasoned with the oil and grease from each pizza you make! The pizza we made recently on the cast iron skillet actually turned out delicious as well. Again, we just put it in the oven while preheating.
Jonathan: We make pizza often enough that it makes sense to not only have a pizza stone, but a staple crust recipe that we can practically make in our sleep.
Emilie: Yeah definitely. This crust recipe reminds me of the cornmeal and butter crust from Lou Malnati’s in Chicago, but just a thin crust version. It has the same flavors, though.
Jonathan: Similar flavors, but no butter here, so it gets quite crispy instead of doughy, something like a cross between bar pizza and flatbread.
Emilie: It’s delicious. Plus, it’s a super forgiving dough. Most times I will throw all the ingredients together in the mixer bowl and go prep the other pizza ingredients.
Jonathan: Yeah, just tell them to ignore the recipe completely and the carefully written steps. That’s why they’re here, for a message of “here’s the steps, or, eh, throw it all together and you’re good!”
Emilie: I sense sarcasm? It’s just a helpful tip to reward the homecook who has similar “just wing it” tendencies like myself! But I understand you’re different…
Jonathan: All right, fair, but… it’s pizza! There are already so many opportunities for improvisation! We’ve never made a pizza with this crust that didn’t taste good with the cornmeal. So give me that one little section at the start of the bake to follow some instructions!
Emilie: Okay. Fair compromise. What do we want to put on this pizza?
Jonathan: Hmm. So many options. We don’t really make pizzas with sauce and tend to go with just some decent olive oil on the crust before laying down toppings. What about locally made lamb sausage, fontal and comte cheeses (thanks to our local cheesemongers Formaggio Kitchen), dried figs, and a balsamic glaze with some arugula thrown on after it came out of the oven?
Emilie: You just made that up on the spot that, huh?
Jonathan: Hmm.
Emilie: Hmm. Gonna improvise your way out of this blog post?
Jonathan: So I guess… Moral of the story, get yourself a pizza stone, make this pizza dough, and your life will change forever for the better!
A crumbly thin crust pizza crust made with a mix of cornmeal and regular flour. Short 1 hour rise time. Make a full batch, use one tonight and freeze the other for later. Adapted from MarthaStewart.com
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- Pinch sugar
- ⅔ cup water warm
- 40 grams cornmeal
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 200 grams of all purpose flour
- ½ tbsp coarse salt
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Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water in the bowl of the stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and let sit for 2-5 minutes
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Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix with a dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon until combined.
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Continue to knead the dough with the hook attachment for 5-10 minutes, or by hand on a floured surface, until the dough is elastic. Add more cornmeal if the dough is too sticky, or add more water if the dough is too dry.
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Oil the bowl and toss dough to cover in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel.
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Let rest for 1 hour in a warm place.
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Pour dough onto a floured work surface and divide in half for two thin crust 12 inch pizzas, or use the whole batch for a thicker crust 14 inch pizza.
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Roll out dough to fit the desired width and place on a pizza pan, sheet pan, or preheated pizza stone or cast iron skillet. Top with favorite toppings.
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Bake at 475 degrees for 10-12 minutes for the thin crust, and 14-18 minutes for the thicker crust.