How many pizza recipes are too many?
NADA! Pizza all day son.
Thin crust, deep dish, soft crust, New York, Neapolitan, fusion—we’re here for it all. A couple months ago we published a fast-food style pizza recipe with thick, soft, and fluffy garlic herb crust, and we achieved exactly what we wanted, but… what about thin crust? Thick crust is cool and all, but when we crave pizza, we’re usually on the hunt for that snappy bite, chewy texture, and slightly burnt exterior. Toppings are important, but crust is the element that makes or breaks pizza, so that’s what we’re focusing on today.
It’s not only important that we define what we’re looking for, but it’s important to define what we’re not looking for as well. For us, the worst thin crust pizzas are dry, too thick, and bready. The goal for this recipe is to create a crust that’s elastic, chewy, crispy on the outside, and so thin it’s almost see through. Mission: complete.
P.S. Making it’s a breeze—you don’t need to be half Italian to pull this off.
On this particular pie, we wanted to wow the tastebuds with some unusual, yet familiar flavors that make you think “yep, this is definitely pizza, but there’s some other stuff going on here too.”
The base is a fairly traditional, yet stupid easy tomato sauce spiked with some balsamic vinegar, onion powder, and garlic powder. Nothing too extraordinary there. Moving up a layer, we have cheese, which is where we start to deviate from the norm; instead of the conventional mozzarella or other stretchy cheese, we’re going with full on parmesan, which has a strong, sharp, and salty flavor that lends the pie an extra zing. Continuing up, we have the “meat” of the pizza, which comes in the form of a Beyond Burger patty that’s been crumbled up and sautéed with Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, and a tad bit of nutritional yeast. The burger’s natural flavor is deep, subtly sweet, and all-around different than what you’d find on a normal pizza, which makes this pie pop. For an earthy and crunchy element, walnuts play the part perfectly (a trick we learned in Melbourne, Australia). To top it all off, we’re bringing in a sweet element using a simple tamarind agave reduction, which rounds out the savory flavors, adds some acidity, and enhances the other ingredients without overwhelming them.
All in all, the flavor profile doesn’t extend far beyond the bounds of traditional pizza, but the tamarind, Beyond Burger crumbles, walnuts, and parmesan twist things into a surprisingly satisfying direction.
If you like what your eyes are tasting, then share this recipe with your friends on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest at @noeggsorham! For more flame-emoji photos, geeky food talk, and mouth-watering dishes, subscribe to our email list. Tag us in a photo when you create one of our recipes at home so we can share it!
I’m more pizza pie than apple pie
Paper Thin Pizza with Balsamic Tomato Sauce, Savory Beyond Burger Crumbles, Sharp Parmesan, Walnuts, and Sweet Agave Tamarind Drizzle (vegan)
Traditional thin crust pizza is brought to new heights with elements of new flavors, textures, and cultural influences.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 10 oz all purpose flour
- 7 oz warm water
- 2 tsps instant yeast or 1 packet of active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tsps kosher salt
Pizza Sauce
- 8 oz unsalted tomato sauce*
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp onion & garlic powder
Beyond Beef Crumbles
- 1 Beyond Burger patty
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- medium pinch of salt
Agave Tamarind Reduction
- 3 tbsps agave
- 3 tbsps tamarind paste
Other Toppings
- shredded vegan parmesan (Follow Your Heart or VioLife are best)
- handful of walnut pieces
- garlic powder
- olive oil
- sea salt
Directions
- If using active dry yeast, whisk together warm water, yeast, and sugar in bowl and allow to sit until foamy; about 5 minutes. Whisk together flour and salt in bowl of a standup mixer. Pour yeast mixture into dry ingredients.
- If using instant yeast, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in bowl of standup mixer then add in warm water.
- Use the dough hook attachment to bring the ingredients together on low speed until combined, then boost speed to medium-high until dough forms a ball around dough hook.
- The consistency should be very moist, but not so sticky that it clings to your fingers. If mixture sticks to sides of the bowl, add in enough flour so that the dough can come together. If it’s too dry, add in a splash of water.
- Once it comes together, knead dough on medium-high speed for 12 minutes. Remove dough from hook, form into a ball, and lightly grease mixer bowl. Place dough back in bowl, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and place in a warm spot until doubled in size; about 1 hour.
- While dough rises, prep other toppings: break walnuts into small pieces (quarters), shred parmesan (if using a wedge), and stir together all of the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
- For Beef Crumbles, heat a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, crumble in beef and top with nutritional yeast, onion powder, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is lightly browned; about 6 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and cook until no longer visible; about 30 seconds. Set aside for now.
- For Agave Tamarind Reduction, combine agave syrup and tamarind paste in a small pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until sauce is thick, but pourable. If you dip a spoon into the sauce and swipe the back with your finger, it should remain in place.
- Gently push air out of dough, plop onto a lightly floured counter, and cut into two even pieces. If you want to cook a pizza now and one later, cover one of the halves in plastic wrap and store in fridge for up to three days.
- Roll and stretch one of the halves into a long oval as thin as possible (reference shape of pizza in post). Should be so thin that some spots are almost see through.
- Transfer onto a large baking sheet and spread on a very light layer of sauce. Top with enough parm to cover, followed by a sprinkle of walnut pieces and half the beef crumbles. Brush edges with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder.
- Bake in oven until edges are golden brown; 8-12 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board, drizzle with Agave Tamarind Reduction, cut into six large pieces, and enjoy! Repeat for second pizza dough.
*If using salted tomato sauce, leave out the added 1/2 tsp of salt.
NO EGGS OR HAM 