Thursday, January 23, 2014

Baking-Powder (no-yeast) Pizza Crust


My kids love pizza. They eat it a lot. Especially my middle child, who is 11, who takes it in her lunch more than half the time. She has a specific pallet, so school lunch doesn't go over very well (not that I'm complaining about that one), and many of the typical home-lunch options don't go over very well either. But cheese pizza is always a happy lunch. I used to buy a lot of Little Caesars for her (there's one of the skeletons in my closet for ya), because it was cheap and fairly decent for a kid who didn't know any better. But then Little Caesars suddenly took a nose-dive in quality (which was barely passable as it was) and I couldn't stand to buy it anymore.

I have a really good yeast pizza dough recipe, but there was no way I could make it often enough to keep her supplied. So I started looking for a pizza dough that didn't need to do all the rising, and found a whole bank of recipes for pizza dough made with baking powder. I didn't even know there was such a thing, but I was sure happy to find it. The recipes all had the same ingredients--flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, water, olive oil--just in differing amounts. I picked one of the recipes as a starting point and changed up the amounts of all the ingredients until I had a really nice dough that was easy, fast, and accepted on their plates ;)

Now, this is not a permanent replacement for my usual pizza dough, and it doesn't have the yummy yeasty flavor, but it is definitely a keeper, and for right now it's what I'm using most of the time.


When I make pizza I use a pizza stone and pizza peel. These are not expensive items and can be found at Walmart for less than $30 for both. If you don't have a stone or peel, you can turn a baking sheet upside down for a stone replacement and use a cutting board as a peel replacement. But if you're going to make a lot of pizza, a stone and peel really make the whole production easier.

I also use pizza sauce that I make myself--well, now my 11 year-old makes it because she can. After finding the recipe several years ago I've never gone back to store sauce. It's so easy to make, and if you have even a moderately stocked kitchen, you will probably have all the ingredients on hand. I love it because it helps me rotate my cupboard staples, tastes amazing, and it doesn't have any of the extra things that always seems to end up in commercially-made products. You can find the recipe for the sauce HERE.

Note: I weigh a lot of my baking ingredients, especially flour, baking cocoa, and powdered sugar because they settle and clump like crazy. This can make it really hard to get an accurate amount by using the "scoop method" which can leave you with different results every time you make the recipe. In case you don't have a kitchen scale, I've included an approximate scoop measurement (scoop, settle by tapping the top with a knife, and level with the knife). I also use my kitchen scale to divide the dough into two equal portions so the pizzas are the same size.

I should also say that I love to knead dough by hand (I like the feel of the dough and I have less to wash), so that's what I describe below. If you want to use a food processor with a dough blade, feel free.


Baking-Powder Pizza Crust 
Makes 2 12- to 14-inch pizzas, moderately thick crust

16 oz all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling out (about 3 cups +2 tablespoons)
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups water

Update: I've started adding 1/3 cup Kraft Parmesan cheese to the dough (the kind in the green canister) and we love it!

for basic cheese pizza:
shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Adjust your oven rack to the 2nd lowest position and put your pizza stone on it. Preheat the oven to 425.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl; mix well. Add the olive oil and water, and mix with a rubber/silicone spatula until the dough holds together and mostly pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (If you measured your flour by scooping, and the dough seems obviously too wet or too dry, mix in a bit more flour or dribble of water.) Let the dough sit for 2 or 3 minutes.

3. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (I just use my counter) and knead for 5 minutes, adding a bit of flour if needed to keep it from sticking to your work surface and your hands. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with the mixing bowl, and let rest for 5 minutes. This resting part is really important. I don't know what's happening under the bowl, but after 5 minutes the dough will be soft and smooth and gorgeous, and much easier to roll and stretch out to a circle. 

4. Divide the dough into two equal portions. You can eyeball this, but I use my kitchen scale so they are as equal as possible (weigh the dough, then remove half and adjust by bits of dough until the portions are more-or-less equal). Form the two portions into balls, cover with the mixing bowl, and let rest for a few more minutes.

4. Dust your work surface with a bit more flour. Press, stretch, and roll one of the balls of dough out to a 12-inch circle. This takes a bit of patience as the dough likes to shrink back, but you'll eventually get there. Once you have your circle about the right size lay the dough on the pizza peel (dust with flour first to prevent sticking) and finish rolling it out. (I roll out the dough until it is at the very edges of my peel, which is about 13x14-inches because when I transfer it to my stone it always shrinks a little. My stone is 14-in in diameter, and I want to use as much of the space as I can.)

5. Spread pizza sauce and cheese on the dough and slide it onto the pre-heated pizza peel. You'll need to give the peel a few quick shakes and jiggles back and forth to make sure the dough isn't sticking, or you could have a mess when you try to slide it onto the stone (which is completely maddening). And I mean quick. Like you look like you're having some kind of seizure. And some of the cheese might shake off the edges on to the floor (which always makes my dogs happy). But don't skip this part. When I forget to make sure it's not sticking I'm always sorry.

6. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, and the bottom of the crust is golden. Use your peel to remove the pizza from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board (I don't like to cut the pizza on my peel because it makes marks on the wood which I worry will ruin it over time. If you have a metal peel you are probably safe). Cut the pizza into wedges, squares, or whatever shape you want. Right now my kids like it cut into rectangles.

7. Repeat with the 2nd ball of pizza dough.

Makes 2 12- to 14-inch pizzas.

25 comments:

  1. I can't wait to try this! Sadly 3 out of 4 of my kids do not like homemade pizza (crazy kids!) and I'm going to see what they think of this crust. :) So happy you're back to blogging!

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    1. I want to hear how it works and what your kids think :) And I'm happy I'm back, too ;)

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  2. I, too, never thought a yeast-less pizza dough was real--until now. Thank you so much for perfecting this recipe and sharing it with all of us. I am absolutely going to try this soon! The whole family loves pizza (especially with homemade sauce and lots of peppers and onions), I just don't have the time to wait for that yeast! Thank you!

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    1. Thanks for your sweet comment! If you end up making it sometime I'd love to hear how it goes for you :)

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  3. I made this last night and it was great! Everyone liked it. Like you said, it's not just like yeast dough, but it's perfect for when I accidentally buy the wrong leavening agent... ;o) Mine never did become knead-able, but that may be because I am unfamiliar with French ingredients as we've just moved here. I spread it out with the spatula and covered it with my toppings. I love how quick, easy and yummy this is! It'll be my go-to yeast-free pizza recipe! Merci from France!

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    1. I'm so glad it worked for you, even so far away in France! I'm so jealous that you get to learn to use French ingredients and eat amazing French food!

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  4. So I found this recipe online and I loved it. I tweaked the dough a little by adding some Italian seasonings and garlic powder as well as stuffing the crust. THANK YOU!!

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    1. Thanks for coming back and telling me how it went! I've wondered about adding some seasonings to the crust--I definitely need to try it :)

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  5. Already made this last night, my husband and i ate it for sahur (we are fasting during Ramadhan Month now). You now what, the dough is soooo simple to make, easy yet sooooooo delicious. I think i'll make some more and roll it a little bit thicker to get the bread-like texture. I rolled it thin last night so it was crunchy. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you for coming back to tell me about your pizza--I love that it was part of your sahur. :)

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  6. I hate buying yeast because it always expires before I get to use it. Yours was my second attempt at making yeast less pizza dough and it turned out amazingly! Thank you so much for the instructions.

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  7. Just want to say that what makes "St. Louis style pizza" different is the use of baking powder rather than yeast. From your photo, though, you must be using more powder or getting more gluten formation before baking because it isn't as thin as a "St. Louis style" would be.

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    1. While it's interesting to know that St. Louis-style pizza also uses baking powder, that's not what I was trying to make here, so it doesn't really matter if I used more baking powder or developed the gluten more or just didn't roll it out as thin as those making St. Louis-style pizza. Mine is just a quick pizza crust that doesn't use yeast.

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    2. Sorry for the delay in replying. I wasn't trying to imply that you were trying to make St. Louis style pizza or that you had somehow made your pizza wrong, just making an observation. I found this particular web page by searching for "yeastless pizza kids" because I wanted to see accounts of parents teaching their kids how to make a pizza whose 30 minute preparation time is well within their attention span. :)

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  8. u can make the normal yeast dough. cover it with a towel. and heat it for 15 minutes at the lowest heat of your oven 50celsius.same time less effort

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  9. Sounds great. I noticed your recipe for homemade sauce does not have the sweet paprika.

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  10. Fantastic!!! The whole family loved it. Not even a "pizza bone" (outer crust edge) left for the dog. And super easy.

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  11. Can i know how much grams will be 16oz flour.thank you

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    1. Thanks for your question. 16 oz flour is 453.5 grams.

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. Just made this for a group of 5th graders hanging out at my house sue to early dismissal. Split dough in 5 somewhat equal portions after kneading and turned them loose-how funny. Every one of them had me print the recipe or email their mom's the site. Not a crumb left.

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  14. the most incredible pizza base. dumped all other recipes.

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