Crunchy Pizza Dough Crouton Strips

So in the past few months, this little local downtown pizza place in my town has become my go-to place when we don’t know where else we want to eat out. They have thin-crust, wood-fired pizza and my go-to is a kid-sized pizza with a side salad. And basically, I get the salad for their croutons. They’re crunchy, thin strips of what I assume is extra pizza dough and I love them very, very much. I decided to start making my own crunchy pizza dough crouton strips and they’re surprisingly easy! If you’re already making pizza or breadsticks, just use this dough and swipe a handful of it for croutons because unless you’re hosting a huge party or opening your own restaurant, you’re not going to need a ton of croutons.

To make the dough, you’ll need all-purpose flour, water, active dry yeast (bread machine yeast is my favorite), kosher salt, and sugar.

In a 2-cup measuring cup (or the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast.

Give it a quick stir…

Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

If you have a large mixer like a Bosch or a KitchenAid where the bowl slides up and down instead of the head tilting, this recipe will be too small for your mixer and you may want to consider doubling the dough, using half for croutons and the other half for pizza, breadsticks, or calzones.

Place the flour in the  mixing bowl and add the yeast mixture.

Add salt

and oil

and stir. Add 3/4 of a cup of flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 1 1/2-2 cups TOTAL, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Line 2 baking sheet with parchment and spray the parchment with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 450 F.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a surface lightly sprayed with cooking spray (or dusted with flour). Roll the dough until it is as thin as possible without  tearing.

Whisk together the egg and a splash of water and brush over the dough (this will make your croutons very crunchy–if you’d rather them be a little softer, brush with olive oil–try one of our flavored olive oils for an extra flavor!) Sprinkle with Everything Bagel Seasoning

and use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips. Carefully transfer the strips to the prepared baking sheets and place  both sheets into the oven at the same time (if you’d like, you can rotate which one is on top and which is on bottom halfway through, but you don’t have to). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden and crispy. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

Delicious sprinkled on salads but also when served like crackers–feel free to dip them or just eat them like a snack!

Crunchy PIzza Dough Crouton Strips

 

ServingsServings1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag

Print Rate SaveSaved!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup very warm water 105-115 F
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast bread machine yeast works great
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2-2 + cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg + a splash of water or more olive oil for brushing
• Everything bagel seasoning see recipe notes

Instructions

• In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly. If you have a large mixer like a Bosch or a KitchenAid where the bowl slides up and down instead of the head tilting, this recipe will be too small for your mixer and you may want to consider doubling the dough, using half for croutons and the other half for pizza, breadsticks, or calzones.
• Add salt and stir. Add 3/4 of a cup of flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 1 1/2-2 cups TOTAL, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.
• Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
• Line 2 baking sheet with parchment and spray the parchment with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 450 F.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a surface lightly sprayed with cooking spray (or dusted with flour). Roll the dough until it is as thin as possible without  tearing. Whisk together the egg and a splash of water and brush over the dough (this will make your croutons very crunchy--if you'd rather them be a little softer, brush with olive oil). Sprinkle with Everything Bagel Seasoning and use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips. Carefully transfer the strips to the prepared baking sheets and place  both sheets into the oven at the same time (if you'd like, you can rotate which one is on top and which is on bottom halfway through, but you don't have to). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden and crispy. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving. Delicious sprinkled on salads but also when served like crackers--feel free to dip them or just eat them like a snack!

Notes

I bought this Everything Bagel Seasoning at Trader Joe's, but if you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, check the spice aisle of your grocery store for something similar. The spice mixes in a grinder are a great place to start. You can also make your own with a mix of dehydrated garlic, dehydrated garlic, kosher salt, poppy seeds, and white and black sesame seeds.

Author: kate jones

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