Cracker-crust pizza: you’ll need this French dowel rolling pin giveaway WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN
This pizza is so thin and crackly that light shines through it! It’s much easier to achieve perfection with this Tuscan specialty than you might think. You will need a good rolling pin, and the good folks at JK Adams in Vermont have a terrific French dowel rolling pin that we like (especially the thinner 1 1/2″ model), and they’re providing five of them to give away in a drawing here. We prefer these tapered handle-less pins to the handled straight rollered versions–seems that you get better control of thinly-rolled items…
To enter the drawing for the rolling pin: anyone posting a comment to this post will automatically be entered–we’re giving away one of these pins to five lucky winners. Contest closes and winners will be selected seven days after this original post. Usual rules apply (we’ll need your e-mail to notify you, we’ll only ship to a U.S. address, only one entry allowed, and you must respond within 24 hours if you’re a winner). Winners have been chosen and notified…
Everyone knows that cracker-crust pizza needs to be stretched and rolled really, really thin in order to get a crunchy and super-thin result. But before you even start with that, two things to do:
- Pre-heat your oven for 30 minutes or longer, with a glazed or unglazed baking stone in the bottom third of the oven, and use the highest heat your oven allows (for me that’s 550 degrees F). It actually takes my stone about 40 minutes to completely preheat–guaranteeing a great crust.
- Prepare all your toppings before you start stretching the dough: Otherwise the dough will glue itself to the pizza peel while it’s waiting to be topped and you’ll never get it into the oven. Today I used a smooth and thick but plain tomato sauce (less than 1/4-cup), and about 1.5 ounces of fresh mozzarella. Cracker-crust pizzas need very little topping– if you use lots, it won’t crisp and the whole thing may turn to porridge.
In Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, our cracker-crust pizzas call for a dough-round that’s only 1/16-inch of an inch thick. Maybe there’s someone out there who can do that with their bare hands, but I can’t. I need a rolling pin, and I’ve come to love the handle-less French milled rolling pins, which give you better control in this situation (the JK Adams model in this giveaway is a beauty, milled from super-hard maple). Use a small ball, about 4 ounces (peach-sized) of refrigerated dough from one of our recipes. You need “lean” dough here (those not enriched with eggs and lots of sweetener) from our books: white dough, or the whole-grain are just two examples, see the books for more. Using some whole grain makes it easier to get very thin–plain white dough is the most difficult to stretch because of its gluten-strength. If you use a large ball, you’ll have a very hard time getting it this thin:
(You don’t really have to weigh it, but it can be nice when you’re learning). Briefly shape it into a ball as in our other posts, and if you have time, let the ball rest under plastic wrap or an overturned bowl at room temperature for up to 60 minutes; that will make it relax and be easier to roll out. So start with the rolling pin and your fingers…
It’s pretty easy to get it to 1/4-inch thick, and then 1/8-inch. But for my ball of dough today, it needed to get to a diameter of about 14 inches in order for the thickness to be down to 1/16-inch…
Use plenty of flour…
Getting it to 1/16-inch takes a bit of perseverance. Some tricks:
- If it just won’t “relax” and thin out, cover the partially-stretched dough-round with plastic wrap and give the gluten five or ten minutes to relax.
- Use the dough’s own stickiness to force it thin: although you’ll need to dust with lots of flour, allow it to stick to your work surface a little. That pins it down and allows the work surface to oppose its natural tendency to shrink back into its thicker self.
- Use a dough scraper: It’s very difficult to make cracker crust without one, because this dough will try to stick to the work surface, and as I say, you want a little of that. But periodically “un-stick” it, like so:
As you gather it up in your other hand, you can see that the top surface is going to need lots of dusting flour. Don’t be stingy with it; most of it will fall off as you work with it. You know you’re getting close when the dough is looking paper-thin, and draping your hands like a glove:
When you get to 1/16-inch thickness, place the dough-round onto a pizza peel dusted with flour. Periodically shake the peel to be sure that you’re not sticking. Start with the sauce; you can use a spoon, but a pastry brush is quite handy for the thin coating of sauce that’s called for here:
… OK, maybe a little more than that, but don’t overdo it:
In our pizza book, our cracker-crust pizzas don’t call for the big cheese chunks that work so nicely on Neapolitan-thickness pizza– go for grated cheese if you’re using commercial mozzarella, or small pieces of fresh mozzarella as in these pictures (you really can’t grate the fresh stuff, it just disintegrates). And not so much– 1.5 ounces is enough here:
… so you’re spacing the cheese a little. Now slide it onto the pre-heated stone (more on that technique in the book). Hopefully the 30-minutes preheat was enough, but if you’re not getting the crispiness you like, next time preheat for up to an hour:
In my oven, which runs hot (and I’m never getting that fixed), this was ready in 5 minutes. If your oven runs cooler, you’ll need more time, but check early– this is thin stuff and you don’t want it burning. Check your oven with a thermometer or it can be challenging to get the crispiness you want. A little scorching is OK– see the blackened bits on the underside and at the edge, and yes, the light should shine through it:
Give my regards to Siena!
love homemade pizza!
Perhaps I can finally make St Louis style pizza with Provel cheese, That’s right Provel cheese not Provolene
Everything I make from your book is amazing! And this style of crust is my absolute favorite! Would love to win the roller to make this soon!
Thin crust is the best crust! I’ve been interested in trying this style of rolling pin~ thank you for a great post!
When I lived and worked in Philadelphia in the 80’s, one of my favorite pizza memories is of Taconelli’s super thin crust, brick oven pizza. It was garlic and oil with spinach, or crushed Italian tomatoes. It was so popular, they would regularly sell out of dough. I would love to duplicate that in my own kitchen. Thanks for the post!
I have that rolling pin, it is the best one out of the five or six different types I have. If I get randomly picked, move on to the next person, these will last a lifetime (s)
I love a thin crust puzza
I have both the Original & Whole Grain Artisan books, but have not tried the cracker crust. Definitely will be next on my list!
What a fun recipe!
hard to find cracker crust pizza in local shops. This is my only hopr.
Thanks for posting this technique. Will be trying it with a bit of creme fraiche, saluted mushrooms and grated Emmental and Parmesan cheese. Really enjoy a cracker crust.
I will have to try this thin pizza recipe. Thus far, all the recipes I’ve tried have been successful! Thank you for giving me this confidence in baking bread.
I think I need that rolling pin
I love any type of crust, thick or thin.
This sounds simply delightful!
Thank you for the thoughtful giveaway, also!
I’ve been making pizza nearly every day for 4 weeks, but haven’t used a rolling pin as yet, because it would mean one more thing that i would have to wash
I would love to try the French dowel rolling pin. I’ve made several pizza crust from your book.
love thin crispy pizza crusts. Your detailed instructions & photos make it look so easy. Thanks for all your hard work, Liana
The pizza looks beautiful.
Thin crust every time! Xo
I really need to work on my pizza dough technique. Thanks for this lucky chance!
Oh my mouth is watering! I can feel the crunch! This. Looks. Fabulous. Bring.It.On.
I’d love to win one of the rolling pins — they’re beautiful!
Thanks for demoing how to make the thin crust — my fav!
I love making pizza at home!
I definitely need more practice with this style crust. Much different than my usual kind.In the meantime, I’m enjoying working with recipes from your “5-Minute” book
550 degrees! That’s a really hot oven! Pizza’s on the menu for this Friday so maybe I’ll give the cracker crust a try. 🙂
Pizza in five minutes? And it’s homemade fresh? I can’t justify carry out! Thank you for sharing this–it looks delicious, and I can’t wait to try it!
I like to prebake my crusts sometimes before adding toppings. Would that work with this type of crust?
Thanks!
That looks delicious! And I’ve always wanted a french rolling pin…
I just got the book “New Artisan Bread in Five minutes a Day” as a gift…can’t wait to try this cracker-crus pizza with goat chesse!
This looks absolutely divine!!! I can’t wait to try!! My favorite pizza is the margarita pizza and I bet this would make an incredible crust for that. My dad always talks about the pizzas in Italy and it would be fun to try and recreate them, this looks just like true Italian pizza!!!
A crisp thin crust pizza made at home….fantastic!!
My hubby loves thin crust. This will be a nice treat for him. I am a BreadinFive addict, I have two loaves cloaked and resting while the oven is pre-heating: fresh bread at dinner and toast for brekky. I would love to win the French rolling pin. Thanks for all the great sharing, your book and blog are appreciated.
Just purchased your book tonight. I will make a matter recipe tomorrow. I love thin crust pizza so this will be one out my first efforts.
Would love to experiment with that rolling pin and attempt a super-thin pizza crust!
Anyone here tried the Baking Steel for these super-thins?
https://bakingsteel.com/
Hi Robert,
I use my baking steel for just about all my baking, it is just parked in my oven.
Thanks, Zoë
That crust looks so good! Thin crust is really hard to find and btw, I just got your cookbook and it is a game changer. Thanks!
My husband would be thrilled if I could make this.
Thanks for the cracker crust tutorial! My husband would love this kind of pizza! I am going to try it this weekend.
I’ve been making pizza from your Master Dough (HBin5) for years. I use a standard rolling pin, but this French pin would be a wonderful addition to my kitchen!
Love making pizza with your master recipe from the pizza and flatbread book. The olive oil variation is my family’s favorite and I even use that recipe to make Pain d’Epi, or “pull-apart bread” as my kids call it. will have to try the smaller balls and using a little whole wheat flour to get them even thinner. Thanks for al your recipes and engagement on this site!
With Lent coming up, this looks especially great to try on one or lots of the Fridays!
Looks delish! I would love one of those great rolling pins!
Looks delicious – my favorite kind of pizza! I’d love to try making this for my family.
Holy cow! Just what I’ve been looking for! I make ABin5’s usual pizza recipe every single Friday night. I have the recipe memorized! Everyone in my family knows that the “dough bucket” is always ready to go, whether with pizza crust, breadsticks or foccacia bread.
Whenever I watch a cooking show they always use this style of pin. We have always just used the regular pins with handles on each side, but it may be time for the switch.
Been looking for a super-thin cracker crust like this! Thank you…
Always looking for a nice crispy thin crust can’t wait to try it
This crispy crust reminds me of a lavosh recipe…crispy goodness! I look forward to trying the gluten-free version!
I received your latest book for Christmas. i’m looking at this adventure as a hobby. Just found your site so I will now be a regular viewer. thanks for all of your hard work to make it easier on us.
thank you! I’ve been using an old IKEA rolling pin with no handles, it does a decent job but now I realize i should have done the “resting” trick in between rolling sessions. And roll it even thinner!
The technique that seems to work OK is to stretch it out by hand, letting the weight of the dough stretch it around my hands which are bunched up in loose fists. Sort of like pizza restaurant style. I can’t get it evenly thin, and it definitely takes a lot of practice!
I can never get it that thin – but I’ll keep trying!