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Who doesn’t enjoy a good pizza night every now and again? You simply can’t go wrong with putting pizza on the menu- to satisfy everyone’s palate in your household.
Why not turn it into a wholesome family event by trying this delicious thin crust pizza recipe that has been perfected within our own home and shared with yours!
My husband was first stationed in Vincenza Italy in 2002- where he spent a greater part of the next 3-4 years falling in love with the rich historic culture, its people, incredible foods, wines and the amazing scenery. When I’d met him, it was all he could talk about, and I just loved hearing him tell tales of his experiences while living abroad.
Needless to say, attempting to recreate the Italian dishes he’d eaten while living in Italy had been a nerve-racking task for me. But fast forward over a decade later and we’ve been able to fuse together authentic Italian flavors with a splash of American influence.
Give this recipe a try and personalize it with the toppings of choice.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 3 medium sized thin crust pizzas.
Crust
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, or 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup cornmeal
Red Wine Sauce
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp Gourmet Garden lightly dried Italian herbs
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2- 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
- 3, 8 oz. Fresh mozzarella cheese ball
- Fresh basil
- Grape tomatoes sliced in half
Instructions
- To create the dough, for the pizza crust. Place the warm water, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl. Allow to dissolve and activate for 10 minutes. Once ready you will see small bubbles form and a creamy-like texture to the solution.
- Add your flour, salt and extra virgin olive oil into the mixing bowl and beat until well combined and smooth
for approximately 5 minutes. Round out dough and place into a greased bowl, cover with a cloth and allow to rise for 1 hour. - While dough is rising, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add minced garlic and sauté. Add Italian seasoning and stir together for approximately 1 minute.
- Add red wine to saucepan. Allow for red wine to be reduced to about half its original amount, while stirring frequently to prevent from burning.
- Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to red wine mixture. Season with salt and pepper, add honey. Allow to simmer on low heat, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Once dough has been allowed to rise, removed and knead onto a lightly floured surface. Be sure to use the slap and fold kneading technique to redistribute the yeast within the dough. Cut into 3 equal sized pieces and roll into round balls. Place onto baking sheet and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour.
- During this time, measure out 2/3 cup of pizza sauce per pizza. You may wish to store the remaining sauce in a mason jar, or a small container to be frozen. They generally stay good when properly stored in the freezer for upwards of 1 month.
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, with pizza stone inside.
- Prepare your toppings and separate them out equally for your 3 pizzas.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 prepared dough to a thin round shape – approximately 12-inch rounds. Take a fork and puncture the dough evenly throughout dough. Lightly sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel and onto the pizza stone warming in the oven.
- Place the thin-crust dough onto the pizza peel and assemble your pizza. Spread 2/3 cup of pizza sauce onto pizza dough. Add mozzarella, and top with sliced grape tomatoes and fresh basil.
- Carefully transfer assembled pizza onto pizza stone and cook thoroughly for about 7-8 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and slice with pizza slicer.
- Enjoy!