If you're not writing an article or something where you have to follow their instructions exactly, don't worry about making changes. It's your recipe now. I don't subscribe to CI, so I can only see the very top of your links, so won't comment on what they say.

My best pizza dough is a three day ferment, with the second day being the liveliest. It isn't a crackery thin crust. It's yeasty but not a big rise. Standard thin in the middle, puffier at the edges when baked with toppings. After one day, you can bake it and get pizza. After two days in the fridge, it's perfect. After three days, there's less of a rise, but still good. After four, you may as well want thin crust, because that's what you get. :) It rises a bit but no puff. I've frozen it right after making the dough balls. It has to thaw in the fridge, but I don't make big crusts. Probably under 10". The dough balls aren't huge and do defrost well enough. It's crucial to put the dough that has been frozen out on the counter for at least an hour, and longer is better, to warm up, relax and wake the yeast before baking, whereas if they've only been in the fridge, they gamely try even if they're still pretty cold. I haven't tried freezing them already shaped.

I haven't tried freezing after two days in the fridge. You have an interesting idea there, since day two is the best day for me.

So, a suggestion rather than an answer: Why not sacrifice a batch to the glory of experimentation. Divide a big batch of your dough. Do the same ferment you usually do on one piece, two days then freeze on one, freeze after one day and thaw-ferment for a couple. Do it again with the ones that seemed best and try different thawing methods. Take pictures of the height of the rise, and structure of the crumb cross section. Make notes about flavor and any other factor that seems to be different from one to the next. Then you'll know.

Good luck with it!

ETA: Reading Linda's post, I realized that in editing as I wrote this, I lost the the part that said that my pizza dough is 100% whole wheat. It gets played out faster than white does.

Another experiment is to get the dough the way you like it, even a double batch, then par-bake 3-5 minutes and freeze. Two 10 inch par-baked crusts fit in a gallon freezer zip-lock. We do that in the summer months for the grill.

I have a half dozen commercial 12 inch pizza pans and in the winter months I go ahead and make at least 6 10inch pies. We split the first one and DH usually goes for the second one but freeze the rest, usually at least 4. The ones for the freezer I bake just a few minutes under-done. Quick meal/snack. Goes in a hot oven frozen. Or DH takes one frozen to work and heats up in a toaster oven.

While I'm prepping the toppings for pizza night I find it just as easy to prep for more. We like thin crust and thin toppings. Tbsp homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella, artichoke hearts, caramelized onion, olives, halved cherry toms, prosciutto, parm. They freeze really well.

I don't notice any decrease in the yeast activity after even 4 days in the refrigerator....I sometimes make bread or rolls after the dough has been 5 days and may be more in the refrigerator. Might take a little while to wake up but ultimately it rises like any other dough....but tastes better!

CI doesn't let you see the recipes unless you join. Please post recipe.

Thank you all! I only started making this recipe about one month ago. Yeast dough intimidates me and this is the only recipe I've been brave enough to tackle. So I have virtually no experience and very much appreciate the knowledge you all share. It is good to know yeast dough is forgiving so experimenting might be in my future. Sounds like I have my work cut out for me but the upside is we'll be in pizza heaven!

Here is the recipe and freezing instructions at the end. The original recipe includes making tomato sauce from scratch but I'm lazy and use Rao's pizza sauce.

Thin-Crust Pizza

makes two 13" pizzas

DOUGH
3 cups (16 1/2 ounces) bread flour, plus more for work surface (see note)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/3 cups ice water (about 10 1/2 ounces) (see note)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for work surface
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

SAUCE
1 jar Rao's Pizza Sauce

CHEESE
1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
8 ounces whole milk mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)

NOTE: If you don't have a baking stone, bake the pizzas on an overturned and preheated rimmed baking sheet. It is important to use ice water in the dough to prevent overheating the dough while in the food processor. Semolina flour is ideal for dusting the peel; use it in place of bread flour if you have it.

1. FOR THE DOUGH: In food processor fitted with metal blade, process flour, sugar, and yeast until combined, about 2 seconds. With machine running, slowly add water through feed tube; process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds. Let dough stand 10 minutes.

2. Add oil and salt to dough and process until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of workbowl, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove dough from bowl and knead briefly on lightly oiled countertop until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape dough into tight ball and place in large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
   
   3. FOR THE SAUCE: Open jar.
   
   4. TO BAKE THE PIZZA: One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to second highest position (rack should be about 4 to 5 inches below broiler), set pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. Shape each half into smooth, tight ball. Place on lightly oiled baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart; cover loosely with plastic wrap coated with nonstick cooking spray; let stand for 1 hour.
   
3. Coat 1 ball of dough generously with flour and place on well-floured countertop. Using fingertips, gently flatten into 8-inch disk, leaving 1 inch of outer edge slightly thicker than center. Using hands, gently stretch disk into 12-inch round, working along edges and giving disk quarter turns as you stretch. Transfer dough to well-floured peel and stretch into 13-inch round.
   
   Using back of spoon or ladle, spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce in thin layer over surface of dough, leaving 1/4-inch border around edge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan evenly over sauce, followed by 1 cup mozzarella.
   
   Slide pizza carefully onto stone and bake until crust is well browned and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating pizza halfway through. Remove pizza and place on wire rack for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
   
   TOPPING TIPS: Overloading leads to soggy bottoms.
   
   HEARTY VEGETABLES: Vegetables such as onions, peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus and mushrooms should be thinly sliced and lightly sautéed (or microwaved for a minute or two along with a little olive oil) or roasted before using. I like to dry saute mushrooms for best results.
   
   DELICATE VEGETABLES AND HERBS: Leafy greens and herbs like spinach and basil are best placed beneath the cheese to protect them or added raw to the fully cooked pizza.
   
   MEATS: Precook and drain to remove excess fat. Poaching in water helps to render the fat.

FREEZING DOUGH: Place prepared dough in refrigerator and allow to proof for 24 hours. Divide and shape dough into balls, then place on baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 3 hours or up to overnight. Wrap frozen dough balls individually in plastic and store in zipper-lock bags in freezer for up to 2 weeks. To thaw, unwrap ball, place in lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and let sit in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours before making pizza.

I would tell you that you can surely keep that dough in the freezer for well longer than 2 weeks....and because it's not meat and likely to spoil, you can defrost it on the counter>
The thing about keeping it in the refrigerator for only 3 days is the yeast will grow even in the cold of the refrigerator and puff in the oven and there goes your "thin crust pizza".
You can do that same recipe and use 4 teaspoons of yeast and make it into 2 baguettes of bread.
Always weigh your flour....that recipe says 3 cups equals 16 12/ oz....I use 3 3/4 cups flour to get 16 oz.
You can also sub 1/3 of the flour for whole wheat if you choose....or a lesser amount for a slightly whole wheat crust.

So far it seems the pizza crusts are quite thin except the edges which are poofy, chewy and crunchy on the outside. But I do try to shape them to get that nice edge as the edges are my favorite part of the pizza!

lindac92, I agree and think their recipe might have a disconnect between cups and ounces of bread flour. I've been using King Arthur bread flour and 16 1/2 oz would be 3.88 cups like you point out. Fortunately I've been weighing the flour rather than using cup measurements. I suspect using only 3 cups flour would make for a very wet, difficult to manage dough? And
good to know the dough would keep longer than 2 weeks in the freezer and can be defrosted on the counter.

sleevendog, I haven't tried par-baking the crusts but did freeze one of these. It reheated beautifully but with a slightly browner, crunchier edge...not necessarily a bad thing!

Stop that!!! Now I need pizza!!

The thing about keeping it in the refrigerator for only 3 days is the yeast will grow even in the cold of the refrigerator and puff in the oven and there goes your "thin crust pizza".

Aha, so that's my problem. I've given up making pizza, because I really prefer a thin crust and have never been able to achieve it.

I tried all combinations and found I like the lazy way the best. I make a double batch of dough, top and bake all 4 pizzas, and freeze the ones we do not eat. These are really good thawed and reheated in a toaster oven directly on the rack in the lowest position...nice crunchy bottom crust. Plus I make a mess in the kitchen only one day. Thanks for all the suggestions!

I keep pizza dough in the freezer all the time.

I know right now that I would not preheat the oven for a full hour just to heat the pizza stone. I'm too stingy to pay the hydro to do that :-)

Jasdip, I don't have a pizza stone and just use heavy gauge cookie sheets which I do preheat but not for an hour. So the bottom crust is sort of crusty but gets very crusty when I reheat the pizza in the toaster oven directly on the rack in the lowest position. This pizza is addictive...love the crust!

We have pizza night at least once a month or 6 weeks. I'll prep ingredients maybe Thursday night....enough ingredients for multiple pies while at the task. Always a pizza party the day/night when family descends from all over. Drive/fly arriving at different times...easy to personalize, make your own kids love.

Rarely use my pizza stones. I get good results with pans. Start one on the middle rack of a very hot oven, another goes below on the lower rack, then moved up when the first comes out. Repeat. Enjoy one or two and the rest 4-5 we freeze. For lunches or a quick snack.

At some point treat yourself to these. 6 for under 20 bucks. Very even cooking with the heat circulating all around but I do have a monster wall oven even if small. 6 pies in under an hour. The last ones for the freezer I take out a few minutes early. No need to thaw...straight from freezer to the oven.

(I have the same ones. it came up as a past purchase). Bought June 2018. They still look near new. No dishwasher as aluminum will tarnish. But a soak and mild scrub they clean up great. Slide to a cutting board for cutting/serving. A knife/pizza wheel will cut groves in aluminum as it tends to be soft. My older ones are a bit 'baked on' and trashy having run through the dishwasher but still work fine though too big for this oven. For a party it is nice to have clean ones.

No need to fix something that works. No need to thaw frozen dough and start the process the day before and not get around to making a pie. Love to cook and love to pull out something I made from the freezer.

I like super thin crust as does most of my friends and family. I use unbaked flour tortillas most often. DH likes to make the dough so we have that also. Not as nice as Ann_t's crust. I don';t need/want all the carb. I get brick oven pizza enough in the city.

sleevendog, does the bottom brown when using pizza dough on those pizza pans? How hot is your oven? I use the same rotation with 10 gauge aluminum cookie sheets at 500F in a double wall oven. But today's pizzas seemed not to get as brown as usual. Reheating in the toaster oven will take care of that but the one we ate directly out of the oven was not the best I've made.

I have a pizza steel and I love it. It really helps getting the bottom on the pizza nice and crispy. I always put the pizza in without toppings for about 3 minutes. I find that the toppings and cheese always brown up before the crust. With this method, it gives the crust a little extra time to crisp up. Last night I made clam pizza (using Mark Bittman's fast crust recipe) and let the crust bake for three minutes. Then baked the pizza with the toppings for another 7 minutes. It came out perfect. The cheese (I used cheddar) was starting to slightly brown and the edges of the pie were properly crispy.