Pizza. It is one of our favorites at our house along with the 93 percent of Americans who have eaten pizza in the last month. I just googled fun facts about pizza and there are some pretty interesting facts out there. One fact said that the highest-grossing single-unit independent pizzeria in the nation is Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria and it is found in Anchorage, Alaska. Its annual sales are approximately $6 million. If you have ever been to try their pizza out, will you leave me a comment and let me know if Moose’s Tooth pizza is as good as they say?
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Over the years I have tried several pizza dough recipes, this one I got from my sister Meg and tweaked it just a bit to make it my own. I love that it uses so few ingredients, and it is super easy to make by hand as I don’t have a mixer yet (still on the wish list from the Husband), AND it only takes 30 minutes to rise which is perfect when I am picking up kids from school or helping with homework.
Start out measuring 1/2 cup of warm water. Add the 3 tsp of yeast, then 3 tsp of sugar over that. I give it a good shake and cover it with a plate to keep the heat in and get the yeast going. Let it sit about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, measure the 4 cups of flour and the 1 tsp of salt and mix in the bowl and set aside.
Once you see that the yeast has been activated and is frothy, you will add 1 cup of warm water to the 1/2 cup of water/yeast/sugar mixture.
Pour the water mixture with the water and mix. I usually start mixing with a wooden spoon and then end up kneading it with my hands. Knead for about 2 minutes until you have a nice dough.
I leave a little sprinkle of flour under the dough as it rises so it does not stick to the bowl too much. Cover with a dish towel and allow to rise for about 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes have passed you will remove the towel and see something like this. Punch the dough to let the air out. Fold it over itself a few times to make a smooth ball ready for rolling out.
Sprinkle a clean surface that has plenty of space with flour so you can roll out your dough. I love my wooden rolling pin. It works perfectly and I have had it for over 10 years and it is still seems like new. You can get one similar to my WOODEN ROLLING PIN
I roll it out in a long rectangle as I use a JELLY ROLL PAN
I will lay the pan next to the rolled out dough to be sure that I have rolled it out to a good size. Spray your pan with Pam or something similar. I like my dough to go over the side of the pan slightly, not completely touching the bottom surface, but almost so I can fold it over for a delicious and thick crust. 🙂
Using both of your hands, you will fold it over toward the inside of the pan and tuck or pinch it underneath itself all around the edges.
If you want to take it to the next level you can mix 1/8 cup of olive oil with 1 TBS of minced garlic and spread it over all of the dough before any toppings are added. Add your favorite toppings with sauce first, then any meats and veggies, and last the cheese. Bake it at 400* for 11-12 minutes and you have a delicious pizza the whole family will love!
Remember that any good pizza recipe begins with a good pizza crust. I love having a thick and chewy crust, so if you are with me on that, I know you will love this one!
What is your favorite pizza crust preference?
See the Happy!
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 tsp yeast
- 3 tsp sugar
- 4 cups white flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 TBS minced garlic
- Start out measuring 1/2 cup of warm water. Add the 3 tsp of yeast, then 3 tsp of sugar over that. I give it a good shake and cover it with a plate to keep the heat in and get the yeast going. Let it sit about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, measure the 4 cups of flour and the 1 tsp of salt and mix in the bowl and set aside.
- Once you see that the yeast has been activated and is frothy, you will add 1 cup of warm water to the 1/2 cup of water/yeast/sugar mixture. Pour the water mixture with the water and mix. I usually start mixing with a wooden spoon and then end up kneading it with my hands. Knead for about 2 minutes until you have a nice dough.
- I leave a little sprinkle of flour under the dough as it rises so it does not stick to the bowl too much. Cover with a dish towel and allow to rise for about 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes have passed you will remove the towel and see something like this. Punch the dough to let the air out. Fold it over itself a few times to make a smooth ball ready for rolling out.
- Sprinkle a clean surface that has plenty of space with flour so you can roll out your dough. I roll it out in a long rectangle as I use a Jelly Roll pan for this recipe and it turns out wonderfully. I will lay the pan next to the rolled out dough to be sure that I have rolled it out to a good size. Spray your pan with Pam or something similar. I like my dough to go over the side of the pan slightly, not completely touching the bottom surface, but almost so I can fold it over for a delicious and thick crust.
- Using both of your hands, you will fold it over toward the inside of the pan and tuck or pinch it underneath itself all around the edges.
- If you want to take it to the next level you can mix 1/8 cup of olive oil with 1 TBS of minced garlic and spread it over all of the dough before any toppings are added. Add your favorite toppings with sauce first, then any meats and veggies, and last the cheese. Bake it at 400* for 11-12 minutes and you have a delicious pizza the whole family will love!
Looks heavenly! Can’t wait to make it!!!
Thanks so much Kim! It really is so delicious! I would love to hear what you and your family think 🙂
Girl! You NEED a mixer! One of those awesome conveniences that make life happy! I love the olive oil and minced garlic addition, why have I never thought of that? Sounds like the most delightful final touch! Yum! Thanks for sharing this! Pinned for later.
Thanks so much for stopping by Missy! I know!! I have been telling the husband for years that I NEED one, but we always find something else to spend our money on that is more important. I keep thinking I will find an almost new one on KSL or something, maybe one day. The oil and garlic seriously do take it to the next level – so easy and so good 🙂
I’m sure my kids would appreciate some home cooked pizza every now and again! This one looks easy enough to try!
It really is super easy, and my kids love making half the pizza what they want, while the husband and I put on all the “gross” stuff. 😉 Please let me know if you end up making it, I would love to hear what you guys think!
I love how easy this pizza crust is!!! I have to try your recipe. Do you think it will be good to make a thin crust pizza? I will make it tonight 😛
Fabi! Thanks so much for stopping by! This recipe is so easy – I think if you halved the recipe and did not pinch a crust on the side you could get a pretty good thin crust pizza. If you end up doing thin crust definitely come back and let me know, I would love to hear how it turns out 🙂
This looks super easy!!! I just pinned, I am going to have to try this on friday, our “pizza night”!! Wahoo!!
Thanks so much Carolynn! Pizza night is the best! I would love to hear how it turns out 🙂
Made this dough tonight! Oh my! It is delicious and so easy!! I doubled the recipe and used the other half for bread sticks! I loved the oil and garlic addition to the pizza crust! On the breadsticks I used butter instead of oil and the minced garlic then added kosher salt and grated Parmesan cheese. They were perfect! Thanks Kirsten!
Emily! I am so glad you enjoyed the dough! I love using butter too, but I have never added Parmesan, I think I will try that next time! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
This looks soooo yummy!! And easy to boot !!
Looks so easy and delicious! 🙂 Homemade is way better than delivery! 🙂
Thanks so much Laura! I totally agree! Homemade hands down any day!
Hi Kirsten,
I finally made your pizza dough recipe. I took 1/3 of the dough and made a thin crust pizza, using a 14 inch pizza pan. It turned out delicious and very crunchy, just the way we like here at my house.
With the remaining dough, I paced it into a 9×13 cookie pan and made a thick crust pizza. I brushed olive oil on the dough and sprinkled it with garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Then, I spread pizza sauce, placed pepperoni and finished it with cheddar and mozzarella shredded chesses.
I just have to say that your recipe is totally delicious, very easy, and very fast. I usually make my pizza dough using a bread maker. But yours is much faster. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe 🙂
Yay! I am so glad that you were able to make the recipe and that you enjoyed it! Great to know you can make thin crust too 🙂 Thanks so much for trying it out and letting me know how it went! 🙂
I live in Alaska and Mooses Tooth pizza is the best. I live on the peninsula and when my wife flies to Anchorage I have here go to Mooses Tooth and bring me back a Spicy Thai chicken pizza on her flight back.
Great to know Pete! Thanks for stopping by, if I ever get up that way I will definitely be going to Moose’s Tooth, spicey thai chicken pizza sounds fantastic!
Just got back from Anchorage late last night with two 18 inch pizzas from Moose’s Tooth in gallon ziplock bags in my carry on! We lived in Anchorage for 15 years and have lived in the Bay Area and are now in the Seattle area… nothing comes close to the Moose’s Tooth!
Thanks so much for letting me know Catherine! If its so good you are willing to bring it back home in ziplock bags on the airplane, then I most definitely need to go visit! I wonder if everyone could smell it on the plane! 🙂
The crust is delicious but it’s the incredible, inventive sauces and topping combinations that make a Moose’s Tooth pizza special. Nobody else comes close. Like the gentleman above, I love the Thai chicken pizza but my two other favorites are the gyro and the Margherita. We are so, so lucky to have this restaurant in Anchorage. A former kitchen manager moved to Medford, Oregon and opened his own restaurant there: Kaleidoscope Pizza. It’s not identical but it’s close so give it a try if you’re ever near there.
It all sounds delicious – pizza flavors I have never tried! I hope to get to Alaska someday, but in the mean time I bet I could make it to Oregon and try that Kaleidoscope Pizza out! Thanks for the info!