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.
Kate B
Everything I make from your website has been so delicious! This is no exception! I made a pickle and ham pizza using this crust and it was excellent! Thanks for another stellar recipe!
Christine Huynh
Great recipe. First time making pizza and instant success. Thank you!
Mama2kd4
Love this recipe because it’s easy and the dough comes out great always!! I use the
King Arthur bread flour and it’s great.
Kate
Can this recipe be doubled? I’m needing to make a larger pizza and need more dough than for one 12 inch pizza.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Kate! Yes, this recipe doubles easily. 🙂
Kate
Sorry I didn’t see the other posts where you had already answered this… 🙂
This dough was really awesome. Very delicious! Thank you!
Patt Merriam
If you prefer a thin crust, what adjustments would you recommend? Less yeast? Less flour?
Thanks.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Patt! If you prefer a thin crispy crust I would recommend using bread flour and rolling the dough to your preferred, desired thickness. 😉
Paula
I want to make 4 pizzas with only making 1 batch of the pizza crust, can you tell me how much yeast I should use?
Sam
Hi Paula! You need to increase everything by the same proportions. 🙂
Anusha
Hi what is bread flour? I have all purpose flour. What should I add to it to make bread flour? Can these bases be made and kept chin refrigerator?
Thanks
Sam
Bread flour is a type of flour that has a higher protein level. The recipe is designed to work with all-purpose flour. See the notes below the recipe on making it in advance. 🙂
Nickel
I made this tonight going by the directions, very easy. However the time for cooking was way off, 425 for 15 was not enough to crisp the bottom of the pie, I didn’t even use the full amount of dough. Rolled out about 2/3 of the dough ball. I ended up increasing the oven temperature to 450 and baked it another 10 minutes and another 3 minutes under broil.
The flavour of the dough is wonderful though with the garlic, I added Italian oregano,I will definitely make it again and cut the dough in half for a 12”
Cord
So easy and so tasty! Can’t believe I’ve waited so long to make my own pizza crust! I used bread flour and it was perfect! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Mosje
If making in advance then what is the procedure when taking it out of the refrigerator or freezer? Does it need to get to room temperature and then rise? Please let me know
Sam
You should be able to take it right from the refrigerator and roll it out. If coming from the freezer you will want to let it thaw first. 🙂
Anson
I managed a local pizza place for many years and we made dough daily. This is pretty much the same recipe on an individual level. We would generally use it straight out of the cooler if it had enough time to proof before going in the fridge. If the balls are too small or don’t rise, you either killed the yeast or have too much salt. If the dough is cold it does bubble when it cooks, so make sure to dock cold dough.
Anne
My 37 year old daughter came to visit today. I made two pizzas: one with the dough recipe that I made while she was growing up, and your recipe. We all agreed that your dough recipe was the best. Thank you for sharing.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Anne! 🙂
D
First time making it was lots of fun. I definitely will be making again. The recipe was easy to follow
Joss
This is a wonderfully simple recipe that works well and is so tasty! After the first try, which was awesome, I tried adding a combo of olive oil + melted garlic butter to the dough and it made for a great garlicky flavor. Thank you for the recipe!
Gurpreet
I have made this several times now and my family likes it. But my question is why the dough has the yeasty flavor so pronounced . I used 1 whole packet like the recipe calls for and follow the rest of the directions . Could I add some extra flour to offset the flavor ? I know the pizza restaurants don’t have such a strong flavor . I don’t mind the flavor but was trying to perfect my pizza . Thanks in Advance.
Sam
Hmm that’s very strange. Could you tell me how much was in that packet/how much it weighed?
Rob
Quick is nice, but a 3-day rest in an oiled gallon zip bag in the refrigerator develops a great flavor….and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil in the dough adds a subtle but nice flavor.