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
If you enjoy watching these videos, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel to be notified every time I publish a video!
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)
Recommended Equipment
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.
Sherry
Hi just wondering if you have tried pre-baking the crust then freezing to have on hand for a later date. If so was it just as good? Thanks
Sam
Hi, Sherry. I have not tried it. I’m sorry. 🙁
Gina Espaldon
Can I use vegetable oil in making pizza dough?
Sam
Hi, Gina. I think that would work just fine. 🙂
Janice Sarnecki
I just tried this recipe tonight. Each person in the family got there own dough. So I made 6 of them it only took me 20 minutes, and by the time I was done with the last one to let rise the first one doubled in size and was ready to go. We made them super thick about 9 inches each. They turned out wonderful. Everyone was raving about how much better this was than ordering out. This is our forever recipie now…every Friday. Thank you so much!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear that it was a hit with the whole family! Thank you for commenting, Janice, I appreciate it! <3
Kelsey Golden
I’ve used this recipe three Fridays in a row now. I roll it a little larger than 12″ and braid the crust then drizzle butter on it before baking. It’s excellent!
Sam
That sounds not only delicious but beautiful! I’ve never braided my crust before. So glad you enjoyed, Kelsey!! <3
Brenda
How do you braid the crust?
Mary Beth Einerson
I’ve made a fair share of pizza dough and would agree that this is one of the best when time and effort are considered (I do love the 3 day Sicilian Dough from “The Pizza Bible”. I did use King Arthur Bread flour and because I have it on my counter a stand mixer with a dough hook (but can totally see that making by hand would be fine). Also baked it on a pre-heated pizza stone. Loved the addition of garlic powder to the dough-why hadn’t I thought of this before. I made it mid-day, put it directly into the refrigerator and then took it out approximately 30 minutes before forming and baking. The dough was a joy to work with and yielded a beautiful “hand tossed” type crust-not to thin to hold up to a topping of caramelized onion, sausage, roasted peppers and goat cheese and not too bready. It will definite become my go to when I need a quick single crust
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the pizza dough! That sounds like an amazing pizza with all of those toppings. I am starting to drool just reading it right now! 🙂
Rajes
Hey! I tried it earlier and it turned out really well. The recipe was easy to follow and excel:) thanks
Sam
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed, Rajes! Thank you for commenting!! 🙂
Rajes
And my Husband loved it. Thanks.
Carole
Good pizza dough. I will use bread flour instead of self rising flour next time. I wd like a little more crispy.
Shilo Mccoy
I’m making some pizzas up tomorrow for the family and wondering if this can be refrigerated overnight for use the next day? I’ve read some recipes stating it adds some good texture elements to the dough to refrigerate it a day or two and also it would make assembly the next day a little easier.
Sam
Hi, Shilo. It should be ok to leave in the refrigerator overnight. Let it rise then cover it so the air can’t get to it and dry it out. 🙂
Tina
I want to store my dough for a few days, I did see the previous reply. My questions is when do I put it in the air tight container, before the 30 minute rise or after?
Thank you.
Sam
Hi, Tina. You would want to do it after the rise. 🙂
Christina
Gonna try the recipe this weekend! Can’t wait!
Sam
I hope you love it! 🙂
Ashley
This is very good! Followed the recipe exactly. I bet you wish others would before commenting! I used bread flour. Only needed 3 cups. I’ll use this recipe again, but I’ll use dried oregano instead of basil because I really love oregano. I think I would up the salt by a half tsp. Again, it’s great. I made a 10” thick crust pizza and it was perfect! Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Ashley! 🙂
Michele
Making this now and I will let you know how we like it.
Sam
I hope you love it! 🙂
Ralph Craig
Bread flour is not “fancy”, a baking stone is highly recommended, and this is a nice recipe that is easy to handle, anyone should be able to do. I’ve been baking for over 50 years, worked at a pizza shop along the way, bake bread at least 3 times a week. Putting my experience to work, I used regular yeast, mixed with the warm water, oil and sugar to proof for at least 10 whole minutes! After mixing the liquid with the dry, kneaded for about 5 minutes, let rise for an hour and made a delightful pizza. Oh, I used commercial garlic salt, 1 tsp, and, horrors, dried oregano, ha, the proportions were perfect for a medium sized pie. This is now my goto recipe for pizza. See, an old dog CAN learn new tricks. I’ve used other recipes from your site with great results, and I will think of you fondly every time I make pizza. Keep up the good work…
Sam
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe (and are enjoying the rest of the recipes, too!)! Thank you for commenting and letting me know how it turned out for you, I really appreciate it. 🙂
Brittnee Lantz
If not cooking right away what do you recommend for storing it and how long is it good?
Sam
You would want to keep the dough in an air tight container and it should last for a few days. 🙂
Genevieve
Reading through the comments and I can’t wait to try out this recipe over the weekend.
Sam
I hope you love it, Genevieve! 🙂