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.
Nikki
I have always been intimidated by making dough. But we’ve tried your recipe and love it! We have now made pizza twice this week!!
We will be coming back to the recipe from now on!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Nikki! 🙂
Matt
Any recommendations on tweaking for calzone style?
Sam
Hi Matt! You shouldn’t have to make any alterations. 🙂
Kharis
Love the recipe! My only frustration is that I can’t seem to figure out how to keep the dough from busting through the wrap? I tried to make it ahead of time for dinner and to have it sit in the fridge, but every time I’ve gone to make it, the dough keeps expanding and busts through the cling wrap. Is there a solution for that? I thought I deflated it pretty good and still the same situation! Would love the help!
Sam
Hi Kharis! Is it more than doubling in size?
kharis
Yes! And I let it sit like the recipe said, for about 30 minutes, and then I deflate it and try to wrap it as tightly as I can and place in the fridge. It will actually bust holes in the cling wrap. 😂
Sam
So this is probably a silly question but is the bowl just too small for the dough? Is there enough space for it to (a little more than) double in size?
kharis
No, it’s after I’ve removed the dough from the bowl. The bowl I put it in is quite large to give it plenty of room, but the problem is after it’s finished the 30 minutes and I’ve deflated it and wrapped the dough to store in the fridge. It just continues to grow. I’m just not sure how people can prepare the dough a day in advance or truthfully freeze it if it does what it’s been doing to me, unless you just keep it in the bowl until it’s ready to use? This could be a very silly thing that I’m missing, but I’m quite the novice with dough.
Sam
Oh yes, keep it in the bowl!
Lesley
Just finished making the dough, smells delicious already. Will post again when done. Have made so many dough recipes none really turned out the way we like, i hope this one does 😉
Greta
This recipe is truly THE BEST! I use garlic infused olive oil. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for your wonderful recipes! Best, Greta
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Greta! 🙂
Stephanie
Amazing! First time making pizza dough. So good and easy to make. Thank you 😊
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Stephanie! 🙂
Samantha
I love this recipe! It’s easy to make and delicious. Sometimes I like to add soymilk powder to it as well (I do 2 tbsp per recipe) so it kind of like a vegan Pizza Hut crust 🤤
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy it so much, Samantha! 🙂
Redneck John
Very beautiful dough , I made a double batch using half all purpose flour and hald 00 flour . I’ve yet to bake them off. Dough is very nice . When I roll mine out I will roll with cornmeal for a little extra crunch once pizzas are baked off.
I will be raising the Temp as hot as my oven goes but cutting the length they cook.
By far the nicest pizza doughs ice ever made and I’ve made 100’s of pounds of pizza dough. Very user friendly.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, John! 🙂
Alicia Connelly
I put this in my bread machine on the dough cycle. It was very tasty!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Alicia! 🙂
Ron Murphy
Excellent pizza crust. Followed your recipe & directions exactly as you wrote them including a bit of garlic powder in the dough mix. Used all purpose flour. It was great !
All ovens bake differently so I always monitor a new recipe. 25 minutes in our oven was perfect.
Thanks for sharing. It’s a keeper.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Ron! 🙂
Cheryl Reinders
This recipe is fantastic! My husband, who is usually very picky, raved over my homemade meat lovers pizza! I didnt cook it long enough, the crust was not crispy enough, but all I have to do is add 3 minutes as I took it out at 12 minutes. Oh,, and I added a little warm water and did not put the 2 TBSP of olive oil in the dough mix.
Thank you so much for the great recipe and I did copy and save it for future use.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Cheryl! 🙂
Tyler
Your recipe is great, very close to mine. I mix the yeast and sugar into the warm water, and ad it in once it’s started to foam.
Amina
The recipe is definitely a keeper for me the crust was light and soo soft made the pizza much more enjoyable thank you so much for sharing
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Amina! 🙂
Kim
I have tried making this recipe several times, I have found that adding a full cup of warm water instead of 3/4 c actually makes the dough soft with a little crunch and tastes soooo good. I have done this twice and the pizzas came out amazing. Also cooking it for 20-25 mins instead of the actual time makes a difference. Thank you for this recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kim! 🙂
Lexy
We tried this last night and loved it. It was a project my son was able to help with unsupervised. My husband said its the Goldilocks of pizza dough. Not too thick, not too thin. Next time we will try it with the bread flour as you suggest for a more crisp crust. Best part was, it was able to handle the many toppings we used. Thanks for the share!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Lexy! 🙂
Lion
do you know if this recipe works with almond flour
Sam
Unfortunately I do not know. 🙁