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)
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.
Colby
Can you let the dough rise for longer than 30 minutes? Will letting it rise 2 hours compromise the texture of the dough?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Colby! Others have let it rise for 2 hours. Any longer than that, I would reccomend storing it, covered and in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Randi
Two Questions! If I am making the dough in the morning and putting in fridge to use that night, do I deflate the dough AND knead it before putting in the fridge or just deflate it?
And how long should I rest it after taking it out of the fridge before stretching it?
Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Randi! You will want to deflate it and cover it before placing it in the fridge. I reccomend storing it in an airtight container or well covered. You will knead the dough when you get ready to use it. How long will it need before stretching will depend on the temperature of your kitchen… it should be good to go quickly. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Ashley
Since Sunday we have made this dough 5 times! Excellent recipe and so easy! My kids LOVE pizza and they raved about it!
Sam
I am so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Ashley! 🙂
Faria
Hey Sam, could you guide about instsnt yeast in this recipe. Will it be okay? How much quantity should be used. Thanks in advance 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Faria! I have tested this recipe using instant yeast and the amount needed is listed on the ingredient list (1 packet instant yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons). The video shown on the post will walk you through my process and can be used as a reference if needed. Enjoy! 🙂
Cara
This is the best Pizza Dough recipe I have ever tried! Fantastic.
However, is it possible to substitute some or all the flour with wheat flour? I want to make it as healthy as possible so I can make it more often 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Cara! I personally have not substituted using wheat flour, however, someone recently tried it and reported success. I hope that it works for you as well. 🙂
Reg
This may be a silly/basic question, but baking often requires precise measurements because SCIENCE. If I were to increase the amount of salt used (in lieu of other flavorings), would that change the chemical makeup at all- thus resulting in a poor dough- or is the salt level flexible? The dough recipe I usually follow is a bit bland, so I’ve wanted to add more salt. I suppose I could just experiment…Thanks for any tips you have!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Reg! You can experiment with adding additional salt. However, I would be careful because too much can kill the yeast and it will not rise. Keep me posted on what works for you!
Reg
Thank you for your reply! That is precisely what I was worried about. I wonder if there is a known mathematical ratio to consider? Tonight’s toppings: garlic scape pesto, spinach, ‘bella and shiitake mushrooms, mozzarella and havarti cheeses on the grill stone at ~600 degrees. Sorry to admit that I put oregano in the dough. As well as garlic powder. Thanks again!
Sugar Spun Run
Your toppings sound delicious! Unfortunately, without testing I can’t provide you a specific salt ratio. 🙂
Denise lewis
Since your salt,yeast and warm water ratios are the important factors, hold off adding additional salt until you have dough stretched in the pan
Erin
This was my first time making pizza dough and it was a success! I substituted the all-purpose flour with one I purchased at our local Amish store called King Arthur Special Flour. It was delicious and so fun to make! Just one question – do you ever bake your crusts before putting on toppings? I’ve seen other recipes call for that.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Erin! Others have pre-baked their crust 5-10 mins or so before applying toppings and reported success. Keep me posted on how it turns out when you try it. 🙂
LCB
I made this last night, first time making dough. When mixing it it came apart from bowl easily and I thought dough might’ve been too dry. However once it doubled (which took mine closer to an hour in a hot/humid house and I did use the instant yeast) it was very oily and very sticky and soft. Is that how the dough should’ve been? Once cooked it was very dry, the taste was good but I’m going to try again and figure out where I went wrong
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for trying my recipe. I am sorry that you had issues with the dough. It sounds like too much flour was added. Over measuring your flour is the biggest mistake in baking so I have created a guide on how to measure flour properly that can be used as a reference for next time. As far as the dough being oily, you want to just gently brush your bowl with oil. I hope that this helps! Keep me posted on how it turns out next time. 🙂
Jenn
Who knew homemade pizza dough could be so easy?!? Love this recipe. It’s super delicious and easy! We found that we can get two thin crust pizzas with this recipe. Probably 10-inch pizza. Just finished making my second batch.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you found this recipe to easy and delicious, Jenn! Thank you for your review. 🙂
Laura
Hi Sam,
Thanks for this recipe is really delicious.
I noticed that when you add the water in the video, the mix looks much more liquid than when I do it. I use the same cup container for the flour and the water, but in the video the water container looks bigger than my 3/4 cup. I always use around 1 and a half cups of flour as otherwise it gets too dry.
The pizza is still delicious this way, but I wonder why this is happening?
If you have any insights please let me know.
Thanks again!
Laura
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Laura! If your dough is too dry, it could be that you are over measuring your flour. This is the most common mistake in baking so I have created a guide on how to measure flour properly that others have found helpful. I hope this gives you some insight. 🙂
Adrian Anthony
Hi… We really enjoy our pizza because of your dough recipe… Thank you so much… may i also ask if you have the thin crust recipe? Or is it just the same? Thank you again…
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Adrian! To achieve a thinner crust you will use the same recipe, just stretch the dough further to until you achieve your desired thickness. 🙂
Jenny
Your pizza crust is really soft and yummy. It is easy and not required too long a time to make. A good recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Jenny! Thank you so much for commenting. 🙂
Chris T
I am a Diabetic and need to be careful on the carb counts of my meals. Can you be a little more specific on what a serving is? I.e. 1 slice? a certain measurement of a slice? If not no worries just thought I would ask.
Thanks looking forward to making this.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Chris! I wish that I could be of more help to you. Unfortunately, I can not be that specific as every pizza will vary in size. I usually make mine 12″ in diameter and cut it into 12 equal (close to equal) slices. One of those slices is the calories that are listed.
Dani
Chris, if you’ve ever used a good tracking app like My Fitness Pal you could upload this recipe to calculate total carbs per pizza, and then set the serving size to whatever amount you normally eat – like 1/6 of the recipe if you normally slice homemade pizza into sixths.
Donna G.
Excellent recipe! I added the basil and garlic powder and it was perfect! I’ve been looking for a thinner crust that was less greasy and this recipe gave me just that! I have made pizza for many years and this will be my new, “go-to” pizza crust recipe. We typically have veggie pizza and tonight’s was DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing your wonderful and easy recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that you now have a new “go-to” recipe! So glad that you enjoyed it, Donna! 🙂
CJ
Can I substitute the all purpose flour for double 00 flour In this recipe ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, CJ! I have not yet tried the double 00 flour in this recipe so I am not sure how it will do. Looking back at other posts, I don’t believe anyone else has tried it either. If you do, I’d love to know how it turns out. 🙂