Brian Sailers
TVWBB Member
Anyone know a good store bought pizza crust to use?
Good store bought pizza crust?
- Thread starter Brian Sailers
- Start date
RichPB (richlife)
TVWBB Wizard
Of course, this is very subjective depending on what kind of pizza crust you like. But with a pre-prepared crust, one thing I REALLY want is fast and easy preparation of my pizza. This crust provides fast, easy and good.
I like a thin, crispy crust. A thin cracker-like crust is fine. But what I've found to be very satisfactory and VERY easy to use, is Pillsbury Pizza Crust Thin Crust (yes, all that is on the tube). Yes, it's in a tube like you might find biscuits in the refrigerated section of any grocery.
How is the crust? Fairly thin, light, with a crispy bottom. Not "perfect" for me, but quite good. I like the flavor (light, doesn't interfere with the pizza flavors). My wife thinks it tastes a little like biscuits, but I don't taste that. Try it and see.
I use a pizza stone on my grill. This pizza crust comes out of the tube and unrolls to about a 14 x 16" rectangle (you can fudge it up or down an inch or two). It even worked on my round 12" stone, but I had to remove some and fight it into shape -- worth doing to try it, but the "fight" was also the reason I got the large rectangular stone. And, yes again, it was because of the ease and goodness of this crust that getting a new stone was worthwhile.
With my new stone (or my old one), I pre-heat the stone to about 450* or higher. I use a like-sized cookie sheet sprinkled lightly with corn flour to roll out the dough (open the tube, roll it out with your hands). Heat the sheet with crust for 5 minutes (per instructions), add the toppings, slide it off onto the stone and cook to taste.
With this size pizza crust and a stone, you also have the option of cutting it in half while on the cookie sheet for two separate pizzas. Cut it across again and you can get four small pizzas which can all be cooked on the same stone at the same time.
I still want to try making my own crust (or perhaps finding a pre-prepared one that I like better), but this crust has ended my active search for crust (but not my experimentation). My focus now is on finding or making a sauce more to my liking.
Rich
I like a thin, crispy crust. A thin cracker-like crust is fine. But what I've found to be very satisfactory and VERY easy to use, is Pillsbury Pizza Crust Thin Crust (yes, all that is on the tube). Yes, it's in a tube like you might find biscuits in the refrigerated section of any grocery.
How is the crust? Fairly thin, light, with a crispy bottom. Not "perfect" for me, but quite good. I like the flavor (light, doesn't interfere with the pizza flavors). My wife thinks it tastes a little like biscuits, but I don't taste that. Try it and see.
I use a pizza stone on my grill. This pizza crust comes out of the tube and unrolls to about a 14 x 16" rectangle (you can fudge it up or down an inch or two). It even worked on my round 12" stone, but I had to remove some and fight it into shape -- worth doing to try it, but the "fight" was also the reason I got the large rectangular stone. And, yes again, it was because of the ease and goodness of this crust that getting a new stone was worthwhile.
With my new stone (or my old one), I pre-heat the stone to about 450* or higher. I use a like-sized cookie sheet sprinkled lightly with corn flour to roll out the dough (open the tube, roll it out with your hands). Heat the sheet with crust for 5 minutes (per instructions), add the toppings, slide it off onto the stone and cook to taste.
With this size pizza crust and a stone, you also have the option of cutting it in half while on the cookie sheet for two separate pizzas. Cut it across again and you can get four small pizzas which can all be cooked on the same stone at the same time.
I still want to try making my own crust (or perhaps finding a pre-prepared one that I like better), but this crust has ended my active search for crust (but not my experimentation). My focus now is on finding or making a sauce more to my liking.
Rich
Steve Petrone
TVWBB Platinum Member
Making pizza dough is not too tough. It is very rewarding. Ain't nothing like home made dough.
One of the masters of pizza is right here in NC...right here in Charlotte as matter of fact.
Peter Reinhart. His book American Pie is a great read.
One of the masters of pizza is right here in NC...right here in Charlotte as matter of fact.
Peter Reinhart. His book American Pie is a great read.
Most of the big supermarkets carry it. Ones around me have different brands. I've heard good things about the dough from Trader Joes. I haven't bought pre made crusts. Tried the store bought dough many years ago. It was OK. Some folks buy pizza dough right from a pizzeria. I've never tried that.
Thing is making the dough, especially if you have a good mixer with a dough hook is pretty easy, not to mention rewarding. Lots of recipes around. I have the book mentioned above (American Pie). Excellent reference.
But have to say my go to is the dough posted here in the recipe section. It's a slow, cold ferment. I've made this a BUNCH of times and everyone likes it. I always get positive comments. I don't buy takeout pizza much any more.
Bryan's Recipe
Lots of other good info there too. It talks more about cooking in the oven, but nothing stopping you from doing it on the WSM.
I've stopped using a stone altogether in the oven. I just take the oven to 500 degrees and bake the pie right on a pizza screen direct on the stove rack and get excellent, crisp crust EVERY TIME, with the toppings done perfectly. I was surprised to find as recommended in Bryan's post that the stone really wasn't necessary. I always have this dough on hand now. I make it up do the long ferment then vac seal and freeze. It thaws quickly and looses nothing from being frozen.
Thing is making the dough, especially if you have a good mixer with a dough hook is pretty easy, not to mention rewarding. Lots of recipes around. I have the book mentioned above (American Pie). Excellent reference.
But have to say my go to is the dough posted here in the recipe section. It's a slow, cold ferment. I've made this a BUNCH of times and everyone likes it. I always get positive comments. I don't buy takeout pizza much any more.
Bryan's Recipe
Lots of other good info there too. It talks more about cooking in the oven, but nothing stopping you from doing it on the WSM.
I've stopped using a stone altogether in the oven. I just take the oven to 500 degrees and bake the pie right on a pizza screen direct on the stove rack and get excellent, crisp crust EVERY TIME, with the toppings done perfectly. I was surprised to find as recommended in Bryan's post that the stone really wasn't necessary. I always have this dough on hand now. I make it up do the long ferment then vac seal and freeze. It thaws quickly and looses nothing from being frozen.
I can't recommend any store bought dough, as I'm in the same camp as Ray. I've been making mine for a number of years and it's very easy. I don't have a mixer
(yet), but I do have a very basic bread maker that has a dough setting on it. Works just fine. If you're interested, check out this Pizza Forum. Tons of recipes and advice dedicated to pizza. My go to recipe came from there and it is literally AP flour, yeast, salt and water.
Paul
Paul