I’ve been using this awesome, easy, and versatile pizza crust recipe for years, and I love it! This crust can be baked in a conventional kitchen oven, be grilled on a Big Green Egg, or cooked in a brick oven! I’ve also used it to make calzones… Awesome, right?

In this blog I will show you how to make this crust step-by-step; I’ll also show you two different cooking methods; (1) how to cook it on a Big Green Egg/Brick Oven and, (2) how to cook it in a Conventional Kitchen Oven.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 2 crusts):
1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more for drizzling

*This recipe yields two pizza crusts; they can be stored in the fridge for up to two days, or eaten the same day you made them! You can have one today, and save for tomorrow… Or use one for pizza, and the other for calzones… I LOVE all these options.

PIZZA CRUST INSTRUCTIONS:
Put 1 and 1/2 cups of warm water in a bowl. Not hot water, just warm. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of Active Dry Yeast over the warm water.

Pour 4 cups of All-Purpose Flour into the bowl of an electric mixer.  If you don’t have an eletric mixer it’s totally okay; you can easily mix this by hand.

Add 1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt to the mixing bowl with the flour.

Next, with the electric mixer on low speed, while using the dough hook attachment, slowly pour in the 1/3 cup of Olive Oil.

Now, back to the warm yeast water. Gently stir to mix together.

Drizzle the yeast water into the mixing bowl…

… and mix until it begins to form a beautiful dough ball.

Kinda like this one…

Drizzle a little olive oil into a separate, clean bowl.

Remove the dough from the electric mixer and start working it with your hands until it is the shape of a ball. It’s like a big ball of edible silly putty… Then toss the dough ball in the olive oil and place it at the bottom of the bowl.

Now, you can lightly cover the dough with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for up to two days before using it; the dough will rise and be super beautiful.

Or… if you’re like me, you don’t want to wait 1 or 2 days, right? You want it tonight! So, cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel, and set it in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours. It needs time to rise… Which gives you plenty of time to make Homemade Pizza Sauce (get my Pizza Sauce recipe HERE)!

Plus, remember; this recipe makes two crusts! One for tonight, and one for tomorrow, perhaps?

*2 hours later*

Uncover the dough… and, wow, look at how much it has risen!

Split the dough in half. (Remember: unless you’re using it, store the other half of the dough in the fridge — cover it lightly with plastic wrap.)

One of my favorite things about this dough is that you can easily grill it on a Big Green Egg/Brick Oven style OR bake it in a Conventional Kitchen Oven. I’m going to quickly show you both methods. Yes, BOTH METHODS, this is a two-for-one!

METHOD 1 – BIG GREEN EGG / BRICK OVEN: Bring your Big Green Egg to 500 degrees. I used a Mini Max for this recipe, but any size Big Green Egg would work! Place your dough on a clean surface…

… and stretch it out into a desired pizza shape. Circle, square, oval; I love pizza in all shapes and sizes!

Now, put a handful of cornmeal on a pizza peel…

… and spread the corn meal around evenly. The cornmeal will keep the crust from sticking to the pizza peel.

Pick up the stretched pizza crust, and sit it on the pizza peel. Use your fingers to press the dough until it is thin and even.

Now, it’s time to start adding the good stuff. So, add your pizza sauce, desired cheese, and whatever toppings you like… You can get my Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe by clicking HERE… and you can get my step-by-step Pizza Topping Recipe, for this particular pizza, by clicking HERE.

Add your desired pizza toppings; cheese, mushrooms, onions, the works… Then, carefully slide the pizza off the peel and onto the pizza stone of a Big Green Egg… Close the lid and let the pizza cook for 8 to 12 minutes.

*12 minutes later*

It is glorious!

Pizza Perfection! You can get the step-by-step topping recipe for this particular pizza by clicking HERE.

METHOD 2: CONVENTIONAL KITCHEN OVEN: Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees. If you are using a baking pan or rimmed baking sheet lightly drizzle it with olive oil. I used a pizza stone, so olive oil wasn’t required. Using your hands, stretch the dough to a desired shape…

… then use your fingers to press the dough thin and even.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

And now the dough is ready to be pizzafied! Add your pizza sauce, desired cheese, and whatever toppings you like… You can get my Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe by clicking HERE… and you can get my step-by-step Pizza Topping Recipe by clicking HERE.

After you’ve added your desired pizza toppings simply pop the pizza in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes…. And Abracadabra! You’ve got an awesome pizza!

I hope you enjoy this pizza crust as much as I do!

Also, this recipe is “Part 1” of a Three Part PIZZA SAGA, or should I say PIZZA TRIFECTA?
Part 1: Pioneer Woman Pizza Crust
Part 2: Homemade Pizza Sauce
Part 3: Baking Pizza in a Big Green Egg or Conventional Oven

*I got this Pizza Crust recipe from a Pioneer Woman Cookbook; Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. It is an amazing cookbook… Seriously, I’ve used it so much, the pages are starting to fall out! Highly recommended.

Cook Long and Prosper.

Sincerely, the Uncustomary Housewife