Cornmeal Pizza Crust Recipes

EASY HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don't have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.
• Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3-4 minutes (for a visual, watch me do it in the video above!). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray- just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it's doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
• Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you're doing, cover it lightly for 5-10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker's peels dusted with cornmeal.
• Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings. I suggest pepperoni & green peppers or jalapeño slices, extra cheese pizza, Hawaiian pizza, margherita pizza, pesto pizza, spinach artichoke white pizza, or homemade BBQ chicken pizza.
• Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
• Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator. Reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 3 months.

CORNMEAL PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Stir warm water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush a large bowl with oil, and set aside.
• Stir together the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the yeast mixture and the oil; stir mixture until all of the flour-mixture is incorporated. Continue to stir until a stiff dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead with floured hands, dusting with as little flour as possible if dough seems sticky, just until the ball becomes smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Reshape the dough into a ball. (Alternatively, pour 5 cups all-purpose flour, cornmeal, the salt, yeast mixture, and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until dough is smooth and slightly sticky to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. If dough seems too sticky, add up to 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing after each addition. Knead 4 or 5 turns on a clean work surface to form a ball.)
• Place dough in oiled bowl, smooth side up. Tightly cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• Remove plastic wrap; punch down dough. Fold dough back onto itself 4 or 5 times; leave smooth side up. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise again until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Punch down dough, and transfer to a clean work surface. Cut dough with a bench scraper or knife into sixths. Knead each piece 4 or 5 turns to form a ball. Cover all but one with plastic wrap.
• On a lightly floured work surface, flatten remaining dough ball into a disk. Loosely cover with plastic wrap; let rest 5 minutes. Using a rolling pin or your fingertips, flatten and push dough evenly out from center to form a 9-inch circle (or a 7-by-11-inch rectangle or rough oval).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and sprinkle with flour. Place dough on top. Cover with another sheet of parchment, and sprinkle with flour. Roll out and stack remaining dough balls.
• Wrap baking sheet with plastic wrap; refrigerate pizza dough until ready to use, up to 1 day.

NO-YEAST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Position an oven rack about 8 inches from the broiler element and preheat the broiler.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda in a food processor and pulse to combine. With the motor running, add 1/2 cup water and process, scraping down the sides as needed, until the flour is incorporated and the dough comes together to form a ball that is still slightly sticky.
• Lightly flour a work surface and your hands. Form the dough into a neat ball between your hands and put on the work surface. Sprinkle with flour and roll into a 10-inch circle.
• Spread the olive oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet to cover the bottom. Put the dough in the skillet and flip so both sides are coated in oil. Top with the desired toppings.
• Put the skillet over high heat and cook for 5 minutes, then transfer to the boiler and cook until the cheese is melted and golden, about 4 minutes.

MEXICAN CHICKEN PIZZA WITH CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. In medium bowl, mix 3/4 cup of the flour, the sugar, yeast and salt. Stir in warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on high speed 1 minute. Stir in 1/3 cup cornmeal and remaining 3/4 cup flour to make a soft dough.
• On lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with additional cornmeal. On cookie sheet, press dough into 14x10-inch rectangle; prick with fork. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges just begin to turn brown.
• Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese blend. Top with chicken, tomatoes and bell pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake 6 to 8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and edges are golden brown. Sprinkle with onions and cilantro.

CORNMEAL PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Fit the kneaded blade on a heavy-duty mixer.
• Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup water with 1 teaspoon sugar until foamy (about 8 minutes).
• In the stainless steel bowl place 5 cups flour, salt, sugar, oil and cornmeal.
• When the yeast is proofed, add to the bowl along with 1-1/2 cups warm water; start kneading adding in more flour as needed to create a soft smooth dough.
• After the kneading is finished, let the dough rest in the bowl for 8-10 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape in a ball.
• Place into a well greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Punch down dough and let rest for 10 minutes before shaping (this is important, the dough must rest for 10 minutes).
• Roll out the dough into two 16-inch circles.
• Place into lightly greased pizza pans.
• Top as desired.
• Bake in a 400 degree oven until lightly golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).

CORNMEAL PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the yeast mixture and oil. Slowly stir ingredients with a wooden spoon just until dough starts to come together. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into four 4-ounce balls. Place balls in a shallow oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil; cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone on lowest rack. Stretch dough into 6- or 7-inch rounds. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel or inverted baking sheet. Place dough rounds on top, and cover with toppings, as desired.
• Slide rounds onto pizza stone, and bake until crust is crisp and golden and toppings are bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven; serve immediately.

PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together 1/3 cup water, yeast, and sugar and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/3 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 3/4 cups flour, cornmeal, and salt and blend until the mixture forms a dough. Knead dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of remaining 1/4 cup flour, as necessary, to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth about 5 to 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
• Lightly oil the sides and bottom of a large bowl with oil, add the dough, turn to coat in the oil, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Gently punch the dough down and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle that is 1/8-inch thick. Brush off excess flour and transfer the dough to a baking sheet, cover each circle of dough with plastic wrap and continue stacking rolled out pieces on top of each other. Wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to grill.

SANTA FE CORNMEAL PIZZA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the cornmeal and 2/3 cup water. In a large saucepan, bring the remaining water to a boil. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal mixture; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. When cool enough to handle, pat into a greased 12-in. pizza pan. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onion, green pepper and garlic in oil until tender. Add the tomato sauce, mushrooms, basil, oregano and pepper. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beans. , Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese over crust. Top with the bean mixture and remaining cheeses. Sprinkle with olives. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted.