Perfect Thick or Thin Pizza Crust

For a thick crust: Makes 1 16" pizza crust

For a medium crust: Makes 2 16" pizza crusts
For a thin crust: Makes 3 16" pizza crusts

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
Garlic salt, basil, and oregano to taste.

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.

Thick or medium crust:
Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out.
Thin crust:
Roll the dough out and cover with plastic wrap. If you are baking the crust within the next half hour, place in the freezer. Otherwise, place in the refrigerator until time to bake.


Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (or as hot as your oven will go). Thoroughly oil your pizza pan and  generously sprinkle the pan with garlic salt, oregano, and basil. Transfer your rolled out dough to the pan, poke several holes in the dough with a fork (prevents bubbles) and prebake for 7-10 minutes or until just starting to turn brown on the bottom.
Load, then bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.