Thin Crust Pizza

Ron recently had a birthday. Yay! Happee Birthdae, Roonil!! (Our inside Harry Potter joke). This will be his last year in his 20's. I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished in the 7 years that we have known one another. If you don't know already, Ron and I are going to be moving to Seattle in June for his job. It's an amazing opportunity for him that demonstrates how successful he is. <3

So for Ron's recent birthday, I decided to mix up some pizza dough. Ron and I love thin crust pizza. Love, love, LOVE it. We love the way it bends, the way it folds, the way it tastes. Yum! So I knew that this was going to be the best birthday celebration dinner. We had made the dough in the past and knew that it turned out delicious. We made our own delicious pizza sauce (recipe below) and rolled out the dough. Now, I will caution that the dough can get slightly sticky. Ours did rip, but if you have adequate space in your kitchen, you should be fine.

Overall, birthday dinner turned out to be a success. We both love the sauce, the addition of parmesan cheese, and the crust. The crust is so different compared to the thicker crust that we normally eat. We both rate the meal an A+. Enjoy!

Thin Crust Pizza
Annie's Eats
Ingredients
For Crust:

• 3 cups (16 1/2 oz) bread flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
• 1 1/3 cups ice water
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

For Sauce:

• 1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

For Topping:

• Olive oil, for brushing
• 1/2 cup (1 oz) finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella
• Olives, green pepper, onion, Pepperoni, Salami, or other toppings as desired

Instructions
For Dough

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse just to combine. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and process just until the dough is combined and all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, about 10 seconds. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. 
2. Add the oil and salt to the dough.
3. Process until the dough forms a smooth, tacky ball that clears the sides of the bowl, about 30-60 seconds. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead briefly, about 1 minute. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.

For Sauce

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

For Pizza

1. One hour before baking the pizza, adjust an oven rack to the second highest position and place a baking stone on the rack to preheat. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. 
2. Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. Form each half into a ball and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Spray the dough balls lightly with cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for one hour.
3. To assemble the pizza, transfer a dough ball to a well floured work surface and flatten into an 8-inch disk, leaving a slightly thicker edge around the rim. Carefully transfer to a pizza peel and using your hands, gently stretch the dough to a 12-inch circle. 
4. Lightly brush the thicker edge of the disk with olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup of the pizza sauce over the dough. Sprinkle evenly with the grated Parmesan and the shredded mozzarella. Sprinkle additional toppings on pizza, as desired. Carefully transfer the pizza to the preheated baking stone.
5. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Let cook for about 4 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!