Thin crust bread (for pizza, foccacia-sandwiches, etc)

[madhen]

Got this from Allrecipes.com, and it is labeled as thin crust pizza dough, but it works well for sandwiches, pizza, a side to a hearty stew, etc.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. warm water (100-110F)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. sugar
1 t. active dry yeast
2 t. olive oil

If you are lazy, like me, mix the flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. Add water to a bread machine, then add flour mix, then the yeast, then push the "dough" cycle. Otherwise, mix together as you would any yeast bread.

Preheat oven to 425F

After bread has time to rise, transfer to a pizza stone (if you have one, and I don't) or a cookie sheet or flat baking pan. Stretch dough out as thin as you can get it without tearing it, leaving it a little thicker at the edges. Brush with olive oil.

Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes.

At this time, if you want a big pizza, you can top it with whatever you want for pizza, then put it back in for about 5 minutes to allow the ingredients to cook.

If you want to use it as sandwich bread or you want to make individual, smaller pizzas, you can do what I did, which is to cut it into as small of pieces as you want (I went with 8), then pop those pieces into the freezer and use at your leisure.

Overall prep and cook time is about 1 1/2 hours, but only because you have to let the dough rise. Actual work time is about 15 minutes, then 5 minutes to cook.

[Spirit Deer]

That's very similar to the one I make. Mine is for really lazy people and people not familiar with baking bread.

Easy Focaccia Bread
1 c. warm water (not too hot)
1 tsp. yeast
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 T. olive oil
2 c. flour
1/8 c. or so additional flour
additional olive oil
herbs, Parmesan cheese, or other toppings as desired
Mix together first five ingredients. Mix in 2 c. flour. Cover and let stand 5-10 hours at room temp or until dough is doubled in bulk and looks bubbly. Sprinkle 1/8 c. of flour around edge of dough. Using a rubber spatula, pull dough away from bowl, letting flour drop between bowl and dough until dough ball is covered with flour. Use additional flour sparingly as needed. Lightly oil 12-14" pizza pan with olive oil and dump dough onto pan. Spread out dough into circle. Brush lightly with more olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan, garlic powder, herbs, or toppings of your choice. Gently pat toppings into dough to help them stick. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

I bake this on a 14" round cast iron griddle in the stove oven. I've also made it at camp on the lids of two cast iron Dutch ovens, with the pots turned upside down over the dough. Super easy and always a hit.

I also use this for pizza crust sometimes by pre-baking it for about five minutes before adding the sauce and toppings, then finishing the baking as directed.

[rosebudget]

I am going to give this receipe a try the next time I make pizza! Thanks for posting this!

[Frugal Nurse]

Thanks for posting. I copied and pasted both for future use.
I'm going to get back into baking my own bread. I got lazy - but I see here, you can be lazy and still bake bread! I like that!

Thanks ladies!

[mauimagic]

Mahalo ladies - love thin crust pizza - so shall give both recipes a try!

[Spirit Deer]

My recipe isn't really a thin crust. Sometimes it rises enough that it gets thick enough to slice horizontally for a sandwich!

[madhen]

MM, this one is definitely a thinner bread. I am going to use it tomorrow, when I pack a lunch, and I'll either use it as a pizza crust or as a trencher sandwich, with the toppings packed separately until I'm ready to eat.

[Trishagirl]

I'll give them both a try. Thank you(: