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.
Angela
I made it and it was so delicious! I did add the garlic powder and oregano, gave it such great flavor!
I do have a question though. How many carbs for the whole recipe?
Sam
Hi Angela! I’m so sorry I didn’t have it listed. I have updated the recipe to include more nutrition info. The pizza makes 12 servings and each serving has 19 carbs. 🙂
Jill
Such an easy recipe and hot diggity the crust is DELICIOUS. I normally don’t like pizza crust, but this one is awesome. I used all purpose flour, so it was nice and soft, and the flavour was delicious (and I didn’t add any other spices/flavours – just olive oil!). Really awesome.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jill! 🙂
Jj
Hi, can you tell me please what is all purpose flour?
Sam
Hi Jj, outside of the US it is often referred to as “plain” flour. I hope that helps!
Christopher
Amazing!! Thanks for the recipe. Made some great Pizza for the family for Saturday night!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Christopher! 🙂
Wendy
Love this recipe…make it once a week. Trying it in a Stromboli recipe tonight. I have found that regular all purpose flour makes the dough much more manageable. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Wendy! 🙂
Cathy
Awesome and delicious. Very easy to follow instructions. Will definitely keep this recipe for future Pizzas.
DEB HOWARD
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant?
Sam
Hi Deb! Yes you can use active dry yeast for this recipe. The rise time will be a little bit longer. 🙂
Harley
Truly the best pizza recipe! I’ve used different recipes and have never found the perfect one but this one is it! My whole family loved it; even my picky two year old. This is now my go to recipe for pizza.
Sam
Thank you so much, Harley! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much. 🙂
Mark
could you please tell me if the proportions are for 1 pizza dough? Or roughly 2?
Sam
Hi Mark! This will make 1 10-12″ pizza, or you could make several smaller pizzas if you want. 🙂
Chakravarthy Chakravarthy
Hey
If I was to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, do I just extend the rise times by say, 10-20 mins?
Sam
Active dry yeast will work. I haven’t done it myself to be sure how long it takes, but just let it rise until the dough doubles in size. 🙂
Elizabeth
I used what I had on hand which is instant dry yeast and followed the steps the exact way listed on the recipe. The dough is wonderful!
Christine Becker
Great recipe! However, being a NYer and having my share of pizza regularly, I decided to switch ap flour for semolina. It was delicious!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Christine. 🙂
JennieRose
Really great pizza dough recipe. Easy to follow and execute. Delicious. Will definitely be making this every time I make pizza.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Abby
Can you freeze half to use later?
Sam
Hi Abby! The dough will make about 1 10-12″ pizza so if you’d like a couple of smaller pizzas you can certainly divide the dough and freeze half of it. 🙂
Catherine
Very good crust. Doughs easy to work.. I put it in oven 3 minutes before adding toppings. It held up well with lots of toppings! I will use again,
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Catherine! 🙂
Rachel Amorose
I only have about 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and then I have all purpose and self rising flour, do you think that would work?
BTW I love your blog! I have never used just one bog for all recipes but I basically only use yours now when trying new recipes I have had so much luck!
Sam
Hi Rachel! Unfortunately I don’t think it would work with that little bit of yeast. You would have to scale down the ingredients and make a super mini pizza. 🙁
B.Lawson
I just deleted all of my other pizza dough recipe bookmarks. I will only be using this recipe from now on. I never comment or rate recipes but just had to after making this tonight.
Sam
I am so glad you have enjoyed it so much! I am honored to be the only dough recipe in your bookmarks. 🙂