This is the easiest, best pizza dough recipe. With just 6 ingredients and no fancy flours required (I’ve included instructions for using all-purpose or bread flour), this pizza crust requires just one bowl (no stand mixer, though you can use one if you’d like), about 3 seconds of kneading, and just 30 minutes to rise.
If you’re uncomfortable working with yeast or making your own pizza dough at home, I’ll walk you through every step of the process in my video just below the recipe. You’ve got this!
It’s a little silly how excited I am to share this recipe with you today. It’s pizza dough, not exactly glamorous or sexy and it was honestly pretty boring to photograph (how do you make a ball of dough look fun and appealing in pictures, please tell me!).
But as someone who has struggled with baking even the most simple recipes with yeast, perfecting this pizza dough was definitely a triumph for me and I’m really happy to announce that there’s nothing to be afraid of! Yeast baking isn’t all that scary or hard, and you too can make your own super simple pizza crust at home in a matter of minutes, no fancy ingredients required.
I kept this pizza dough recipe as simple and approachable as possible. It’s made with all-purpose flour (and notes on how to substitute that flour, in case you want to get fancy 😉), no stand mixer needed, and only the most minimal amount of kneading required.
Below I’ve tried to ask some of the most frequently asked questions about making your own pizza dough. Let’s get to it.
What is the best flour for making homemade pizza dough?
Many pizza-making-pros will likely argue that bread flour is best for making homemade pizza. However, I rarely keep any flours in my pantry that are more exotic than all-purpose flour, so when I was working on this recipe I first and foremost made sure that it worked perfectly with regular old all-purpose flour.
I did make a point to test this recipe (repeatedly, we ate a lot of pizza last week) with bread flour and it works very well when made that way, too. I find that the biggest difference is that using bread flour gives my pizza dough a crispier crust, while the all purpose flour yields a softer one.
Can I flavor my Pizza Dough?
Pizza dough on its own is obviously important as a base for your favorite pizza, but it’s also kind of… bland. Shockingly, something made primarily of flour and water isn’t super exciting to the taste buds, and most of the flavor will come from whatever toppings you add.
I do usually try to spice up my crust just a bit, though, by adding a dash of garlic powder (usually around a ¼ teaspoon) and sometimes dried basil leaves (dried oregano could also work for you but I absolutely loathe oregano) into the dough before you add your oil and water.
How do you stretch out pizza dough?
You can use a rolling pin or you can use your hands. If you’re especially skilled, you can toss it up in the air and spin your dough like an Italian pizza artist, but I definitely lack the ability to tell you how to do that one.
I prefer to use a rolling pin and roll the dough out into a circle (or more like an amoeba-shape, since I can’t roll a perfect circle to save my life). Alternatively you can use your hands to flatten and stretch the dough until it reaches the desired width.
Then use your hands to pinch the edges to make a crust or fold over the edges (I always fold mine over because it gives me a thicker crust, which I love), brush the entire surface of the pizza generously with olive oil, and then use a fork to poke holes over the center of the dough to prevent any bubbles from forming while it bakes.
How do you make Homemade Pizza?
You can use this pizza dough recipe to make your own homemade pizza using any toppings you’d like (I love making Margherita pizza and have even made a BBQ chicken version using my BBQ pulled chicken).
I included instructions in the recipe, but once you’ve prepared your pizza dough, just add your favorite toppings and bake in a 425F oven for about 15 minutes (you may need longer if you add a lot of toppings). Do make sure you let your oven preheat properly and use an oven thermometer as possible, my oven takes a while to reach that temperature and usually “tells” me it’s ready when it’s not even close.
OK, are you guys sick of hearing about my beloved pizza dough recipe yet? In case you just can’t get enough, I also made a video just below that you can watch so you can see exactly how your dough should look in every step.
How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough
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The Best Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour OR bread flour¹ divided (250-295g)
- 1 packet instant yeast² (2 ¼ teaspoon)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon garlic powder and/or dried basil leaves optional
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil + additional
- ¾ cup warm water³ (175ml)
Instructions
- Combine 1 cup (125g) of flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. If desired, add garlic powder and dried basil at this point as well.
- Add olive oil and warm water and use a wooden spoon to stir well very well.
- Gradually add another 1 cup (125g) of flour. Add any additional flour as needed (I've found that sometimes I need as much as an additional ⅓ cup), stirring until the dough is forming into a cohesive, elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl (see video above recipe for visual cue). The dough will still be slightly sticky but still should be manageable with your hands.
- Drizzle a separate, large, clean bowl generously with olive oil and use a pastry brush to brush up the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly dust your hands with flour and form your pizza dough into a round ball and transfer to your olive oil-brushed bowl. Use your hands to roll the pizza dough along the inside of the bowl until it is coated in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place.
- Allow dough to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. If you intend to bake this dough into a pizza, I also recommend preheating your oven to 425F (215C) at this point so that it will have reached temperature once your pizza is ready to bake.
- Once the dough has risen, use your hands to gently deflate it and transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth (about 3-5 times).
- Use either your hands or a rolling pin to work the dough into 12" circle.
- Transfer dough to a parchment paper lined pizza pan and either pinch the edges or fold them over to form a crust.
- Drizzle additional olive oil (about a Tablespoon) over the top of the pizza and use your pastry brush to brush the entire surface of the pizza (including the crust) with olive oil.
- Use a fork to poke holes all over the center of the pizza to keep the dough from bubbling up in the oven.
- Add desired toppings (see the notes for a link to my favorite, 5-minute pizza sauce recipe!) and bake in a 425F (215C) preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until toppings are golden brown. Slice and serve.
Notes
Making in Advance:
To make in advance, let the dough rise covered at room temperature as indicated in the recipe, then deflate it, wrap it tightly so it doesn't dry out, and store in the refrigerator for up to several days or it will freeze for up to a month. Top your pizza off with my favorite, easy, homemade pizza sauce!Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Christen Ambrifi
Delicious and EASY! I used bread flour, garlic, basil, avocado oil to replace olive oil (it’s what I had). Subbed the sugar for monk fruit sweetener. We stuffed the crust with string cheese (halved then halved lengthwise- 3 string cheeses for whole pizza) and made a classic pepperoni pizza with turkey. Fluffy & delicious! I will make again.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That sounds delicious, Christen! We are so happy the crust worked so nicely for you 🩷
David Swale
Excellent crust! great one to adapt to your own by adding some extra spices
Andrea Sweet
Very easy and delicious Doug! Thank you
Elvira
Love this recipe! I’ve made it four times now and my family loves how it turns out.
Tim
Love this recipe! I actually used it to make pigs in a blanket. I also used double zero flour, active yeast which I proofed. cooking times were all the same for the pigs and blanket and I used a leftover dough to make breadsticks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! Thanks for sharing, Tim 😊
Hilary
Our go to in our house.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it’s a hit for your family, Hilary!
Todd
Great pizza dough very easy to work with, will definitely use this again
Jerelyn Smith
This pizza dough was amazing. I tried a lot of different ones. This one is definitely is a keeper. My husband loved it. Nice and light.
Heather
Made this with my daughter, took about an hour and a half start to finish. Proofed active yeast as directed in the package and added in the other ingredients, less the additional sugar, like in the recipe. Our came out fluffy in the middle, medium density, tastes like a cracker with classic home made pizza texture. I will make this again because it’s easy and a perfect basic recipe to build upon/add your own variations! 13 minutes was enough time for me at 425.
Missy
This crust was super easy and tasty! I used 00 flour and made three 10 inch thin crusts. It was perfect for a quick mid week dinner!
Janice McKinnon
Hi Sam. just wondering if you have tried making foccacia bread?
Sam
Hi Janice! I have worked on one, but have not perfected it yet.
Don
This recipe works! Just perfect results, I can’t believe how easy it is.
Pennie
We LOVE this recipe. However, I think the directions aren’t as thorough as they should be and the video doesn’t help at all when trying to see how your dough should look before transferring to the oiled bowl. I have had to do trial and error on this recipe so many times to figure out the perfect consistency. Still 100% recommend though!
Barbara Baldridge
Can I make this using part whole wheat flour? What ratio?
Sam
Hi Barbara! You could incorporate some whole wheat flour, but just be cautious as it is a bit “thirstier” and could require less flour. 🙂
Rex
I used half bread flour half whole wheat with great success!
Mike A
Gonna try this recipe out. With prices going up on everything this is the best way for Friday or Saturday pizza night with the kids. They can choose what they want, get involved and it costs roughly 1/3 the price of take out. Still
Support our local pizza place once a month, it’s a family owned joint and good people, but making our own saves about 40 bucks a week. And from turning the mixer on to eating it is about 10 minutes less wait time. Best part is you can decide how much crust is on it, if you’re like me and have kids that don’t eat the pizza bones.