Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

 

I love carbs. And I love PIZZA. Outside of just plain pepperoni, I will eat almost anything! Believe it or not, pepperoni is a bit “spicy” for me (I know, call me Dutch). With being a on low-sodium diet, frozen or pre-packaged pizza is kind of a no-no. I vividly remember laying on the heart cath table over a month ago, and the surgeon asked me if I knew how many mg’s of sodium were in a slice of pizza. This is after he asked me if I ate pizza. Well, my dreams were dashed when he told me 700-1,000 mgs.

Ouch.

I knew there had to be a better option, outside of having to let dough rise. I have made it in the bread maker, and even with that though, I feel like it was a bit too much prep because I had to remember to put the ingredients in the bread maker, 1 hour and 20 minutes prior to needing it. I know, a small step, but by the time 4:30pm hit and I remembered, it was too late.

Hence my need for a low-sodium, quick and easy, pizza crust.

Enter one of my favorite cooks, Pioneer Woman’s Favorite Pizza (modified)! I have made this crust twice and have not been disappointed with how it has turned out, yet. It is a make-in-one-standing crust and doesn’t skimp on taste.

QUICK & EASY PIZZA CRUST

(MAKES TWO CRUSTS):

• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (I put half or less in)
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better. (Yes, PW is right!)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and use fingers to coat thoroughly. Remove HALF the pizza dough from the bowl. Stretch pizza dough into a large rectangle, pressing with fingers to finish forming. Dough will be very thin.

Lightly drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and use fingers to spread. I sprinkle over garlic powder and italian seasoning (use garlic salt for sodium lovers). I then bake the crust for about 5 minutes so it gets a bit more crunchy.

Then spread sauce (I use no-salt added tomato sauce), cheese, and desired toppings.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from pan and slice with a pizza cutter.

Modifications are in italics.

What is your favorite store-bought, restaurant, or homemade pizza?