I knew my son had experimented a lot to arrive at a crisp crust for
their pizza, so I called and asked what they do. I have never done
it, but it works well for them. They like a thick crust to their
pizza, so whether this would be successful for a thin crust, I can not say.
Put about 2 Tablespoons of good olive oil on your pizza stone
(essential), and put the stone in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to
450 F. While the oven is preheating, roll out your crust to the size
you want. Cut slits in the crust, about 1 1/2 " long, all over the
dough. Be sure you have cut all the way through. Put on your sauce,
cheese and toppings. When the oven temperature is reached, your stone
is hot. Remove the hot stone to the top of the stove (burner is not
on). Transfer your crust to the stone that has the very hot oil on
it. You can use one of the very wide spatulas to do the transfer, or
a cookie sheet without sides, or a peel. You should hear immediately
a frying noise, when the dough is exposed to the hot oil. Put the
pizza back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted to the
degree you like---some people want their cheese to begin to brown in
spots, and some don't. When it reaches the stage of doneness you
like, remove the pizza stone with the pizza, to the top of the stove.
Using a wide spatula, or some means, lift the dough part way and with
a paper towel soak up the extra oil. Continue until you have lifted
all of the pizza and mopped up the oil. Let your pizza stay on the
stone to serve, as it will help to keep the pizza hot.
I hope this works as well for you as it does for them. Theirs are
delicious and crispy.