$0.31 per crust 91% savings save $38.04 yearly
This is it...
The BEST EVER!!
If you've been searching for a phenomenal pizza dough recipe, your search can end today.
Inspired by Bobby Flay, (yes, I know he's not Italian, and is more of a grilling guy... but in the case of pizza dough, the man is a genius) this dough comes together easily, is versatile, turns out delicious pizza crusts every time, and has been a huge hit with my family since the first time I made it.
My husband loves this crust so much that he'll happily "sneak" the crust scraps that the kids leave on their plates. It's cute.
Adding to its accolades, this dough turns out great with whole wheat for an added nutritional boost, and it costs basically nothing compared to it's pre-packaged counterparts. Plus, it's always nice to know exactly what is going into the food you serve your family.
Give it a try! You'll never go back.
Printable Version
*Makes 2 (14-inch) pizzas
(Note: This is the best pizza crust recipe I've come across. I've used all-purpose flour only, or half whole wheat, half all-purpose, or whole wheat only. You can add a little garlic powder, or basil, or oregano to the crust while mixing it together too. This recipe is very customizable.)
INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/4 tsp. instant dry yeast (or one packet)
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups luke-warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil (other oil will work as well)
*additional flour for rolling out the dough
DIRECTIONS
Combine the dry ingredients, starting with 3 1/2 cups of flour in a large bowl or standing mixer. Add the water and oil, and mix until the dough forms into a ball. Add additional flour as needed until the dough just starts to no longer stick to the sides of the bowl. Knead until it forms a firm ball.
Cover and let rise until doubled (45 min - 1 hour). Punch the dough down and divide into two equal portions. (I put one portion in a zip-lock bag and freeze it for later use.)
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to desired thickness (between 1/2 and 1/4 inch thick). Let rest 10 minutes. Top as desired and bake for 12-18 minutes (depending on thickness).
~ Savings ~
Cost Breakdown:
2 lb. yeast - $4.68 = 48 T = $0.098/T = $0.073
25 lb. flour - $7.28 = 94.5 C = $0.077/C = $0.308
25 lb. sugar - $13.94 = 945 T = $0.015/T = $0.005
26 oz. salt = $0.44 = 48 T = $0.009/T = $0.006
25.5 oz. EVOO - $5.58 = 50 T = $0.112/T = $0.223
Total Recipe Cost = $0.62
Cost Per (1) Pizza Crust = $0.31
The Contender:
Mama Mary's Pizza Crust (2-pk) = $6.96
Cost Per (1) Pizza Crust = $3.48
Savings:
91%
"Over a year" scenario:
Make Best Ever Pizza Dough 6 times = $3.72
Buy 6 Mama Mary's Pizza Crust (2-pk) 6 times = $41.76
Money Saved = $38.04
I've tried a lot of pizza crust recipes. My husband said I can just make this one from now on! :-)
ReplyDeleteYAY! I'm glad it was a winner. :)
DeleteJust found your blog and I think it is inspirational! Pancakes from scratch and homemade pizza are staples in our household too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steph! I really appreciate that. :)
DeleteWOndering if this could be adapted to make in a bread machine??
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
DeleteI'm sure it could... the only problem is I've never used a bread machine in my life, so I can't tell you for sure if you'd need to make any adjustments. Can anyone else answer Jen's question?
Tried this the other day (about to make 2nd pizza from frozen dough right now!) The only problem I find is with the directions. Since I have used yeast before, I knew to make it with water/sugar and let it do its magic. But you might want to add that info and when to incorporate it into the mixture in your directions for others who might not be familiar with yeast. The directions make it sound that you add dry ingredients (including yeast) right from the beginning, instead of making the yeast mix separately. IF I am doing this wrong, please let me know, but I assumed it would be done like other bread yeast recipes. Anyways, it turned out fantastic. I brushed the oil from my "chopped garlic" jar to the edges of the crust and it was super yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle,
DeleteThe funny thing about this recipe is that it doesn't require the yeast to "work it's magic" with the sugar and water first. I put all the fry ingredients in my standing mixer, then add the water and oil and mix it all up into a ball. It works just fine! :)... Sounds weird, I know, but it truly turns out great. Glad you liked it!
Really?! I have been doing it separately!! lol I will try it the "right" way next time! Thanks
DeleteHaha! I'm sure it works both ways. :)
DeleteFound you via MoneySavingMom...love your blog and recipes! Have made your pizza dough twice this last week! BEST is the word! My family loved it and I tossed the other three dough balls in the freezer to make another appearance during our next month's meal planning schedule! If it's nice out, we may even BBQ the pizzas---my favorite way! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
ReplyDeleteMan, oh man! I made your crust tonight are you are SOOOO right.... this was the BEST EVER!! This pizza was out of this world. My fiance and I inhaled the pizza...so so so great. THANK YOU! I love your blog. I've made your buns (2 batches, 1 whole wheat, 1 white), pizza crust, black bean lentil soup, pizza sauce, white bread, and micro pop all this week I kid you not! Next is the fried rice...you are a huge blessing! I'm bummed you'll be leaving IL...I'm not far from you! Thanks again and keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate! That's some seriously high praise, and it's makin' me blush a bit. :) I'm so glad this site has been helpful to you! Good luck with the fried rice... it's pretty darn good.
DeleteI really enjoy how you break your recipes down into cost comparisons. Not only do I feel better for making something from scratch but when I know I can save money by doing so, it makes it that much better. I think we will have to try this pizza crust this weekend.
ReplyDeleteTried this tonight. Easy and a hit with my family. Thank you! How far ahead do you recommend taking out the frozen dough?? Thanks :)
ReplyDelete4 hours give or take, before it will be thawed enough for you to shape it into a crust. ;)
DeleteDo you mean take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge or countertop? Planning on using my frozen dough tonight. Thanks!
DeleteCountertop. :) Good luck!
DeleteI make pizza crust similar to this, it is really yummy to substitute GARLIC SALT for the salt!:)
ReplyDeleteI have Active Dry Yeast on hand, can I substitute the instant dry yeast? If so, is there something different, or specific I need to do.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm so slow to reply! I had family in town all weekend. :) Instant dry and active dry will work the same. The only one that would be different would be the rapid rise yeast. Good luck!
DeleteMade this crust tonight and it is so amazing. I brushed it with oil to brown it a little and its just so chewy but crispy. You are amazing Andrea thank you for this recipe. I don't think we will be doing much pizza take out anymore.
ReplyDeleteI am currently attending Culinary School and I absolutely LOVE the fact that you cost out all of your recipes. This is something I had never heard of before school and the fact that you do it is so smart! You know exactly how much each individual ingredient will cost you and how much you save overall. Super smart and keep up the excellent work! I'm very excited to try out some of your recipes this month!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog and I think it is inspirational! Pancakes from scratch and homemade pizza are staples in our household too
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog, as we are working to cut down our budget quite a bit. We had been looking for new recipe and this is BY FAR the best recipe we've found. ..not to mention sooooooo much cheaper!! We can finally stop looking for crusts :) Love the blog...I'm a big follower now
ReplyDeleteCould you explain how you use the frozen dough? Do you ever freeze bread dough?
ReplyDeleteThis recipe makes enough dough for 2 pizzas, and I usually only bake one. So, I put the other half of the dough in a ziplock bag, squeeze out all the air, and stick it in the freezer. When I want to make pizza again, I pull it out of the freezer in the morning, and let it thaw, then bake it in the evening. I freeze bread dough too and thaw and bake it the same way. :)
DeleteSo, the dough goes into the freezer before it rises, and it rises after it has thawed?
ReplyDeleteYou can do it that way if you want. I prefer to let the dough rise, then punch it down, divide it in half, then freeze one of the halves. When I thaw the dough, I just shape it into a pizza crust as soon as it has thawed. If it rises a second time, though, it won't hurt anything. :)
DeleteSo this pizza can be made using a regular pizza pan or do you use a pizza stone? I would eventually love to own a stone but *sigh* finances don't allow for such luxeries at the moment. Think I'll give er a go with a regular pan anyway though ;) Just found your blog today and I've got my shopping list all set to go! Going to attempt the dough, bread, scones & yogurt. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteSheena, you can use a pan. :) have fun with all your time in the kitchen!! I'd love to hear how everything turns out.
DeleteI just finished my first 2 slices and it was DELISH!! Turned out great in the pan. I also made the yogurt the other day and I'm still enjoying it. Funny story, I'd been simmering the milk on the stove for awhile when of all things our power went out... waited about 30 minutes and nothing so I decided to return it to the fridge, call it a night and hope it could be salvaged the next day. Of course as soon as it went in the fridge, surprise! Power back on. Ended up warming back up and simmering a few more minutes, then continued as directed and it still turned out great :)
Deletewow looks so delicious !
ReplyDeleteLOVE this recipe! I use it for regular pizzas, add a little vital wheat gluten for thin crust pizzas, deep dish pizzas and instead of freezing an extra dough I will use it for cinnamon rolls. I know that you have a separate cinnamon roll recipe but I fell in love with ones made from pizza dough a long time ago and that is how I prefer to do it. I have also used this recipe but picked off little balls od dough to form into bread sticks, or breadsticks with cheese in the middle of them. THANK YOU!!!!!! I have tried other recipes but this is my favorite! I used to love one from Cooks Illustrated, and it is still a great recipe but it takes a MINIMUM of 24 hours as opposed to your EASY one! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! - Heather
ReplyDeleteI actually use your tortilla recipe to make pizzas just pat or roll until its about 1/4-1/2" thick...cook it like the tortillas but for longer then top put back in the pan and put on the lid to melt the cheese super quick and easy and even my picky teenage son loves it. I started doing it that way because I never remember to start actual pizza crust early enough for all the rising and the tortilla you just mix and it sits a few min not hours lol
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea!
DeleteHi from Australia! I have just discovered your blog and the pizza dough was awesome. I also made the pizza sauce and that got great reviews in our house as well. Thanks again
ReplyDelete