Vegan Pizza Crust

I’ve been making pizza crust from scratch for years however, most of the time, I just throw everything together without a physical recipe and hope for the best. (Good thing I kinda know what I’m doing…) Lately though, a few people have asked if I had a recipe for pizza crust that I could give them. Obviously, I did not, so I decided to take the time and work up an actual recipe for the crust that I’ve been whipping up on a whim all these years.

Now, I should note that if you’re into super thin, cracker-like crusts, or super chewy crusts, then this is NOT the pizza crust for you. This crust is thicker, soft on the inside, and crisp on the bottom. The crispness on the bottom means that you can load up toppings to your hearts desire! But how does it taste? It’s herbaceous, a little garlicky, and just ever so slightly nutty (thanks to the addition of some flaxseed meal). Don’t be thinking that the flavor of the crust competes with the flavor of your sauce and toppings though because it definitely does not. Rather, the hint of flavor that lives in the crust compliments whatever you decided to put on top.

It all gets started with the activating of the yeast. In a large bowl, warm water gets combined with a packet of active dry yeast, some oil, and a little sugar. This mixture then is allowed to rest for 5 minutes. In this time you should see the yeast start to bloom, aka expand. After 5 minutes has passed, flour, flaxseed meal, and our seasonings get added and then the whole thing gets a good stir.

We now have our dough formed! The next step is to place the bowl in your microwave, or some other warm place in your kitchen, and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, plop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour onto the top of the dough to prevent it from sticking to your hands and then begin kneading. Knead for 3 minutes.

Once you’ve kneaded your dough, put a little oil into the large bowl you made the dough in, and return the dough to that bowl.

Put the bowl back in the warm place where it was before and let the dough rest this final time for about 30-40 minutes. (You’re looking for the ball of dough to double in size.)

Now it’s time to make a pizza! On a large pan that has some oil on it, press the dough out flat using your knuckles or fingers to create a circle that’s about 14 inches across. (I used a sheet pan but you could use a round pizza pan if you wish!) Once you’ve got it to the right size, go ahead and add your sauce and your toppings.

Bake your pizza in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-23 minutes, or until the edges have become richly golden brown in color, and then enjoy!