Fantastic Chewy Crispy Homemade Mushroom and Cheese Pizza

This is a modified version of the recipe you'll find at Annie's Eats called "Thin Crust Pizza". The version we ended up with was SO good - we all loved it, and I will definitely use this recipe again, and again! My meat lover boys were totally satisfied with just cheese and mushrooms; it is flavorful, a little chewy, a little crispy, and absolutely perfect homemade pizza! At Annie's Eats you'll find a recipe for homemade sauce that everyone who tried raved about as well - I wanted to try it, but was pretty worn out by the time dinner rolled around the other night and went with some of our favorite Garlic & Herbs canned sauce. The original recipe calls assembling your pizza, then using a pizza peel to move it to a pre-heated pizza stone. I don't have a peel, so I moved my crust to the hot stone, then finished topping it once it was on the stone. The original poster of this recipe urges using a pizza stone and not a regular pizza pan. I'm not sure how different the recipe would come out if you don't have a stone - I'm sure it would still be good, but a pizza stone will give you a very specific texture that you probably won't be able to achieve with a metal pan. The dough must be made at least 24 hours in advance, and can be made up to 3-days in advance. Also, I pulled my dough out of the refrigerator about 3 hours before I planned to use it and gave it PLENTY of time to rise - this worked beautifully and it more than doubled in size after I pulled it out of the refrigerator by the time I was ready to use it. I left the original instructions of at least one hour prior to baking to remove from refrigerator in the directions below, but if you have the additional time I'd suggest pulling it out at least 2-3 hours in advance. Our pizza was golden brown and completely bubbly within about 10 minutes, so make sure to keep an eye on yours - it will cook quickly at that temperature and being close to the heating element.

Chewy, Crispy Cheese and Mushroom Pizza slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

Yield: 1 16-inch pizza

Ingredients

For the crust:

3 cups bread flour

2 tsp sugar

½ tsp instant yeast

1 1/3 cups ice water

1 TBS vegetable oil

1½ tsp salt

For topping:

Olive oil, for brushing

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (fresh is best)

2-3 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella

5 large fresh mushrooms, rinsed and sliced thin
1/2 cup pizza sauce (homemade or your favorite jarred or canned)

Directions

1. To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of the Kitchen Aid with the dough hook. Pulse a few times to combine. With the machine running on medium, add the ice water and process just until the dough is combined and all dry ingredients are incorporated, about 10 seconds. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. 
2. Add the oil and salt to the dough. Process until the dough forms a smooth, tacky ball that clears the sides of the bowl, about 30-60 seconds. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead briefly on a lightly oiled work surface, about 1 minute. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. (After the period of refrigeration, the dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for later use if desired.) 
3. At least one hour before you are planning to bake, pull the dough out of the refrigerator and place in a draft free, room temperature place to rise - such as on the stove top. Leave it in the bowl, and leave the plastic wrap cover over it.
4. 30 minutes before baking the pizza, adjust an oven rack to the second highest position and place a baking stone on the rack to preheat. Preheat the oven to 500˚ F.
5. When you are read to assemble the pizza, transfer the dough ball to a well-floured work surface. Gently stretch and roll (using a well floured rolling pin) the dough into a 16-inch circle, leaving a slightly thicker edge. Be gentle. When you have your dough prepared, and all your topping ingredients prepped to go, pull the pre-heated pizza stone from the oven and place it on the stove top. Carefully lay your prepared pizza dough onto the stone and adjust the edges as needed.
6. Lightly brush the thicker edge of the dough round with olive oil. Spread ½ cup of the pizza sauce over the dough. Sprinkle evenly with the grated Parmesan, mushrooms, and top with the shredded mozzarella (start with 2 cups and add more if desired). Move the stone carefully back to the oven and bake until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.