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.
Corina
Hello! Made this Sunday night, and it was awesome! Only thing is that it was a little small. If I double the recipe to make two pizzas, can I do it all in one bowl/ball and then cut in half, or is it better to keep them separate?
Sam
Hi Corina! You can do it all in one bowl. 🙂
Kelly P
I’m making this today. I use your bicuit recipe often and we love it!
Sam
I hope you love the pizza dough as much as you love the biscuits. 🙂
Sunny
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I love the ability to make our own pizza at home. I am high risk so I can’t order out but my sons really miss pizza. My son and I made this recipe yesterday. We did a couple of things different. The first thing is we immediately put 2 cups of flour in the bowl instead of 1 cup mix and then add 1 more cup. We added 1/4 teaspoon of basil and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano to the dough. We also melted 1 tablespoon of butter and Parmesean cheese and brushed on the dough before putting in the oven. Thank you again for all your recipes and God bless you and your family!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Sunny! It’s also so rewarding when you can make something so delicious from scratch. I love the extra butter and cheese topping. 🙂
Jafit
I absolutely love this pizza dough recipe! It’s my favorite and go to recipe whenever I plan to make pizza! I have been wondering if by chance you have this same recipe for an 18” pizza pan? or do I just double the recipe? (Help! :)) Thank you!
Sam
You can just double the recipe here to make a larger crust. 🙂
Jafit
Thank you so much! :))
Alice
The pizza is delicious it turned out great!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Alice! 🙂
Phill
I’m back for more. Today I’m going to use this recipe today to create a calzone. I have everything I need to make it work. I’ll try to post whatever it turns out to be. Lol
Sam
I hope it turns out awesome! 🙂
Phill
It turned into me creating a pizza again. The toppings were too much to create a calzone.
Sam
That’s fantastic! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Stacy
I had a recipe a few years ago (that I forgot), and it was similar to yours. I’ll definitely use your recipe this week and see if the recipe comes back to me.
Sam
I hope you love it, Stacy! 🙂
Eve
Amazing- for my first pizza it came out great ☺️Thank you
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Eve! 🙂
Laura Robinson
Trying this today! Can I make ahead of time And put in the fridge?
Sam
Hi Laura! That will work fine. 🙂
Kimberley Ireland
This was my first time making pizza from scratch – the recipe was simple, quick and so great! I added a little more flour but it came out so so well! Definitely going to Be using this recipe as my pizza base staple! It was awesome to begin prep and be eating the pizza within an hour and a half!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kimberley! 🙂
Kadillac
I’ve made this several times and it’s baking right now. Taste and texture are really good!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Gayathri
First time making pizza, and it turned out really well! Thank you.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Corie
Hi again,
I’ve made this recipe like a hundreds times now and this is the first time I’ve made a double batch and froze one of the dough balls. I did exactly what your instructions are to freeze and am now wondering what I should do to use the dough for pizza tonight? Do I take it out of the freezer and let thaw all day or shoud I have taken it out yesterday?
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Corie! You probably needed to thaw it starting yesterday. I’m not sure you will be able to roll it out if you take it out now. It will probably still be too frozen. 🙁
joffrey
i am happy about your dough formula, it works well..ive seen and did many mixture about pizza dough..2 of them got millions of views in youtube..but on my experienced not a success. thank you for your tips..i dont have thermometer so i didnt get the right °F of warm water. just estimated..but still happy about your recipe..im doing it again…from philippines..
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that it turned out well for you, Joffrey! Enjoy your pizza! 🙂
Nancy Bosch
Hi, I made 3 batches with proofed active heart and one just by throwing it in to the bowl. After I let it double for 30 mins. I deflated wrapped it and put it in the fridge for two hours. All of them continued to rise and ooze out of the wrap. I deflated and stretched it for toppings, but it the oven they just ballooned and it was like a very thick dense crust. This was my first crust. What happened?
Sam
Hi Nancy! I’m so sorry this has happened. It will tend to continue to rise even in the refrigerator. I like to punch it down, leave it in the bowl and wrap the bowl tightly with the cling wrap. I’m not quite sure why it would ballon up in the oven when baking though? I wonder if it wasn’t rolled out well enough and there was too much air in the dough?
Nancy Bosch
Thanks Sam! I’ll try again. I thought you weren’t suppose to handle dough so much.