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.
Cindy
This is indeed a quick and easy recipe. I’ve made it twice so far, once with AP flour and once with bread flour. For the next batch, I plan to try 1/2 AP and 1/2 bread flour. If you double the batch, can you make one large pizza? Would the cooking time be the same?
Sam
Hi Cindy! You can certainly make one really large pizza if you double the recipe, but the cooking time may change simply because it is so much bigger. I’m glad you enjoy it so much. 🙂
Wanda
Great dough. I prebaked 10 minutes. Used garlic salt and johney seasoning salt and a little red pepper flakes. I like my dough crispy and put cornmeal.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Wanda. 🙂
Megan
My family loves this recipe! If I use my hands when adding the flour is that ok? Or is kneading it at that time bad?
Sam
Hi Megan! That will work just fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Pira
Hi Can I use this recipe for focaccia if you what temperature? Thanks in advance.
Sam
I haven’t tried it, but I’d love to know how it turns out if you do try it. 🙂
Ana
Best pizza dough recipe on the internet rn! I couldn’t get enough of it so we made 1 more pizza! Thank you so much for sharing! P.S thanks for sharing the gram measurements made it so much easier (:
Sam
Thank you so much, Ana! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Emmy Giles
I love this, I make it for so many things I have made pizza pockets, pizza, and pizza bites. I 100% recommend this recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Emmy! 🙂
Maryam
Hi Sam. Thank you so so so much for sharing this amazing recipe. This is THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH EVER!!!! This recipe is easy to make and yields super delicious and light pizza! This is the recipe I was looking for.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Marie Sinacore
Can I use a blender instead of a wooded spoon.
Sam
Hi Marie! Unfortunately a blender probably won’t work here. You really need a spoon of some sort. 🙂
Emily
So so good! This is the ONLY pizza dough recipe we’ll be using from now on! I shared it with my sister who has four kids, and her family plans on having it every Friday-even with four kids, it was ready in half an hour :)! She used all AP flour, and it turned out great. I do half bread/half AP flour, and the crust is absolutely delicious-I also put melted butter and garlic powder on the crust when out of the oven 🙂 The add-in of dried basil and garlic powder is what I think makes this so good! Plus, having it ready in half an hour but it tasting like a 2-day recipe that we can make during a work week is incredible!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Emily! 🙂
Irena
This is a good simple recipe to make a quick pizza dough. I do put more salt and add Italian seasonings to make it more tasty and leave it to rise for an hour. Comes out great every time and bakes through since it’s pretty thin. My family loves my pizza and we never order it from anywhere. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Irena! 🙂
Margaret Coyle
Easy recipe . Nice light dough. I like a smaller amount rather than 3-4 cups of sugar. Made great calzone
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Margaret! 🙂
Sarah
Tried your pizza dough tonight and it was a big success! I also used active dry yeast and it took almost an hour to double in size. I also used less than 2 cups of flour and it was enough. I put fresh basil in the sauce and that added great flavor. Even my husband loved it! Thank you!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Sarah! 🙂
Shon
This is the best dough I have ever made. My entire family lived it!! Thanks
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Shon! 🙂
Meena
Hi just a quick question if you double up on the flour do you have to use 2 packet of yeast or can one packet work. Thank you.
Sam
Hi Meena! Yes you would want to double the yeast if you are doubling the recipe. 🙂
Amy
Yeast scares me but this recipe had great instructions and the dough turned out great. I use my mixer with the paddle to incorporate the ingredients and then switched to dough hook for the final additions of the flour.
My house is cold so I used my Instant Pot on yogurt setting (which is 30 minute rise time). I also doubled this recipe and it turned out terrific once again. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the dough so much, Amy! I have never heard of using the instant pot like that. That is very cool! Thanks for the feedback. 🙂