Beer Pizza Dough

This is one of my favorite pizza dough / crust recipes. It is from allrecipes. It makes a soft dough that is a little tricky to handle, but is absolutely worth the trouble once it is done baking. I've made this dough at least a dozen times with different beers and it always turns out perfectly.

Beer Pizza Dough

from allrecipes

1 cup warm beer -- I have just warmed it up in the microwave, original recipes uses flat beer
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Put beer, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting, and press Start. I've always used my bread machine for this one but I bet it would also work well in a KA mixer or by hand.

Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Roll or press dough to cover a prepared pizza pan. I like to use a pizza screen and bake on a preheated pizza stone but I've also used this recipe with a regular pizza pan or cookie sheet without the stone.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F -- If you are using a pizza stone you could up this to 500 or your highest oven temperature, it bakes faster, but also gives a great crispy outside chewy inside crust.

Spread sauce and toppings on top of dough. Bake until crust is lightly brown and crispy on the outside, about 17-24 minutes. -- If you are using the higher oven temperature with pizza stone your pizza will be done in under 10 minutes, I'd start checking it after baking for 5 minutes, it gets done very quickly.

Here is a photo of the nice crispy bottom thanks to a pizza screen and pizza stone. This crust always gives nice "pizza bubbles" too!

I topped this pizza with freshly shredded mozzarella and sliced mushrooms and homemade pizza sauce. I always sprinkle the tops of my pizzas with a touch of Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan before baking them. It really gives them that pizza parlour flavor.

This recipes doubles well, I almost always make a double recipe so we can have one veggie pizza and one with pepperoni for picky husband. The kids usually have a little of both pizzas and really look forward to homemade pizza night :)