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
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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.
Deborah Christensen
Would this dough work for a calzone on the BBQ? I usually buy my dough at the restaurant but they were out. The pizza stone i use on the BBQ create a brick oven style pizza.
Sam
Hi Deborah! It will definitely work for a calzone in the BBQ. 🙂
Kellie
The parchment paper trick was so helpful! Having no cornmeal for the bottom of the pizza, I was hesitant to use just flour because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be sticky or not. Thank you so much for the video! 🙂 You were very pleasant to watch. A tip for you, now, if you’d like: cut the stems of your flowers and place them in a lower vase. It will make a smaller bouquet look more expensive and it will also fit on your countertop nicely, without distracting viewers. They were lovely, and so were you, though, and I plan to watch more of your cooking videos! ❤️
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the dough so much, Kellie! Thank you for the tip with the flowers. This was a much older video and I didn’t really have an eye for what I was doing with these kinds of things. I had to go back and look at the video, they were definitely too tall. 🤦♀️
Kellie
But still beautiful. The dough was great. I ended up using ricotta and sun dried tomato pesto with fresh cherry tomatoes, minced garlic and shredded mozzarella cheese. It took a while to master stretching the dough by hand (and when I say master, I mean barely able to make a circle😅). Have a great day and thanks again for sharing!
Sam
That sounds like an excellent pizza! 🙂
Houston Long
Great recipe! Easy to pull together & bakes up nicely. I generally make a double batch & use it for 2 large traditional crust pizzas or sometimes switch to 3 medium to large thin crust pizzas.
Extra nerdy cooking tip: In case this hasn’t been mentioned if you double the recipe you can use one 1/2 tsp measuring spoon for all your dry ingredients since the yeast, sugar & salt (as well as garlic powder & basil) will all go to 1/2 tsp increments.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Houston! 🙂
Valeria Nguyen
It’s super easy to follow your recipe and it turns out to be the best dough that I have ever made!
Thank you so much!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Valeria! 🙂
Mariko
My husband loves pizza. I have not made a pizza from scratch for 20 years. Oh my God, this one was perfect. I used a pizza pan with holes. Came out just right. I used Prego sauce without sugar added kind.
Add red peppers, green olives, and cheese. These are the only thing I had in my fridge tonight that I can use for my pizza. I usually don’t eat pizza except for crest parts cause most of them are very oily. But not this one. This is such a great find for our family. I will keep making this one rest of my life. Thank you, thank you so much. 20 years ago I used Cuisinart to make pizza dough, it was such a hassle to clean up. I did not have a dishwasher in my Japanese house. Tonight the clean-up was so easy. Just wash the bowl and the silicon spatula 🙂 Stay safe and wish you a happy thanksgiving and everyone, too!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Mariko! 🙂
Tom
I just found this recipe and tried it tonight it was freaking amazing. I made a pepperoni mushroom xtra cheese with a red sauce and a chicken spinach with an Alfredo sauce. The family went crazy over the pizza crust. Thank you.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Tom! 🙂
Sarah
I use this recipe allllll the time, but I recently had to switch to gluten free flour. I’m using Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1. Do you think it will work with this flour??
Sam
Hi Sarah! I haven’t personally tried it but I know others have with success. 🙂
Richie
Made this on a whim and it turned out great! Only thing I’d change is to use a pizza stone next time because it was a little moist underneath towards the center. Or maybe parbake it for 5 or 10 min and then add the toppings. But overall so pleased with how this worked out. I’m not a regular yeast baker either, and there was a real good rise on my crust.
Sam
I’m so glad to hear it turned out so well, Richie! Thank you for commenting. Pizza stone sounds like a great idea 🙂
Michelle
Is this enough dough to make 2 smaller personal pizzas? My daughter and I have very different tastes when it comes to toppings! 🙂
Sam
Hi Michelle! I would say this is definitely enough for 2 small pizzas. My husband won’t eat anything I eat so we make a half and half pizza all the time. 🙂
KATHY
O MY GOD!!! Awesome I will use this recepie all the time. THANK YOU SO MUCH❤
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kathy! 🙂
Marcelle
OMG!!! This is the only pizza recipe I have ever tried and I assure you it will be
the only one! It is so good, my family loved it and I am 10!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Marcelle! 🙂
Ivana
I made the dough and then shaped it into little circles and filled them with cheese then fried them.
And let me tell you… IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER AND IT WAS MY FIRST TIME MAKING DOUGH!! THIS RECIPE IS HONESTLY THE BEST! THANK YOU SO MUCHH! YUMMMMMM
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Ivana! 🙂
Jennifer Styre
Is it possible to use canola oil instead of olive oil?
Sam
Hi Jennifer! That will work just fine. 🙂
Shaleah
What about using a pizza stone?
Sam
You could use a pizza stone if you’d like. I’m not familiar with using one so I can’t give guidance on it. Enjoy! 🙂
Pamela DJ Castro
Did a first try and it was a success!
Thank you.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Pamela! 🙂
Mike
Good recipe. Easy to make and very tasty. I substituted the garlic and basil with a mixed Italian blend that I fresh grated (almost a TBL) and did the dry mix style of 2 cups mixed flour, putting all the dry ingredients into a bowl then added the combined warm water and olive oil last.
Perfect for one pizza on a pizza pan.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Mike! 🙂
Gianni
Best pizza recipe- hands down!!! This recipe is so easy to make! I used active dry yeast instead so I heated water at 110 degrees , mixed it with 1/4 cup water and one teaspoon of sugar first. Then I followed the recipe exactly, however did not have oil at the house at the time. Butter works!!! Did the whole recipe with butter 1:1 ratio and it came out so delicious. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Gianni! 🙂