Bread Machine Pizza Crust

This is the pizza dough recipe for the nights when even a stand-mixer feels like too much work. Throw everything into the bread machine on the dough cycle, press start, and walk away. By the time you’ve prepped toppings, the machine has done all the kneading and the first rise for you.

The cornmeal is what gives this crust its character. A quarter cup folded in adds the same toothy bite you get on a stone-fired pizzeria pie, plus a subtle nutty flavor that plain flour can’t deliver. It also dusts the bottom of the rolled-out crust beautifully if you save a tablespoon for that purpose.

The oil blend is doing something specific. Vegetable oil for tenderness in the crumb, olive oil for the flavor it leaves behind on the crust. Using all of one or the other shifts the texture or kills the aroma; the combination is intentional.

Most bread machines have a specific dough cycle that handles kneading and one rise. Use that, not a full bake cycle. The dough comes out ready to shape, top, and bake in your real oven where pizza belongs.

Let the dough rest 10 minutes after pulling from the machine before stretching. That short relax lets the gluten settle so the dough doesn’t snap back when you try to shape it.

Pro Tips

• Add liquid first, then dry ingredients, then yeast on top. Most bread machines work better with this layering.
• Stretch by hand, not rolling pin. Rolling pins crush the gas bubbles that give pizza crust its character.
• Bake on a preheated pizza stone or steel for 8 to 10 minutes at 500°F (260°C) for the crispest crust.

Variations

• Swap a half cup of all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour for a heartier crust.
• Add a teaspoon of dried oregano or Italian herbs to the dry ingredients.
• Brush the rim with garlic butter the last two minutes of baking for a garlic-crust pizza.