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.
Lena
This is my go-to recipe for pizza dough. So good and easy to make.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy it so much, Lena! 🙂
Snoober Welch
Can you make with active dry yeast.
Sam
You can make it with active dry yeast. You may want to proof your yeast before adding though. 🙂
Rowan
This is the fourth or fifth time I’m making this recipe, it’s a huge hit in my house and I even enjoy it (I tend to not like pizza too much). I add some dried oregano and garlic powder in with all the dry and it pushes this even further.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Rowan! 🙂
Lexy
This is a wonderful American pizza crust! I like using half bread flour, half ap flour! I do the dough with dry active yeast activated in the warm water, and mix it with my dough hook in a kitchen aid. I bump it up to a full 2tsp of sugar. So dang delicious. I will hold onto this recipe for life!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy it so much, Lexy! 🙂
Kathleen
Great Recipe — perfect every time. I usually make 1/2 at a time and make another pizza 2 days later. I never used to eat pizza very often now I’m finding I’m making it once a month. It makes great travel food (Kayaking picnic’s).
It inspired me to buy a pizza stone. Any suggestions for what to use as a pizza peel? Sliding it off my cookie sheet onto the hot stone was .. t .. r .. i .. c… k .. y… !!
ONE question .. sometimes the dough is a little squishy in the middle (undercooked) or is this just a factor of the sauce? Any suggestions?
Thanks
Sam
Hi Kathleen! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! I haven’t actually tried transferring it this way so I can’t be much help here. Maybe someone else has a trick they use and could chime in. If the dough is slightly undercooked in the center it’s most likely due to the toppings and could use a minute longer in the oven or you could pre-bake your crust if you like lots of toppings. 🙂
Kathleen
I used parchment paper and slide it onto the stone with no trouble. You mention pre-baking the crust.. How long would you suggest to keep it in the oven before putting the toppings on?? 1/2 the full bake time? Thanks
Sam
It really depends on how thick or thin you make your crust. I would probably go a little bit longer than half the time. 🙂
Diana
Pizzeria have a tendency to use a little cornmeal underneath to help from sticking. Or use cooking parchment….
Amanda
Yes, I was also going to suggest cornmeal. Parchment paper works too but my first suggestion would be cornmeal. It works well. So, seconding the previous comment!
Ash
I loved this recipe and it was very simple and easy to make.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Ash! 🙂
Elizabeth
My first time making a pizza. Delicious recipe. Thank you.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elizabeth! 🙂
Shell
I’m not very experienced with this sort of thing. Already tried with both bread flour and all purpose. Both turned out very good. I will definitely use this recipe a bunch.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Jeanne
I love this recipe for pizza dough! I didn’t think that I/me could make pizza dough, because of the yeast. I always had the water too hot, which killed the yeast. Once I learned the temp for the water, not hot, not cold. The pizza dough was a success!! Everyone in my family loves the pizza, no matter what topping is on it. Thank you for teaching me how to make a Great Pizza!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jeanne! 🙂
Cheryl Kowing
I’m a newbie to this site, but I’m super impressed with your attention to detail!!! Ive been trying new recipes lately, this is a welcome addition! Thanks!!!
Sam
I am so glad you have been enjoying everything, Cheryl! 🙂
susan
I tried the dough for a second time — with the suggested 425 oven and baking time–and the inside surface of the crust was still very wet and undercooked. I’m puzzled. What could be the problem?
Sam
Hi Susan! How much topping are you putting on the pizza? It sounds like it just needs to bake a little bit longer. You could roll it thinner or pre-bake the crust to get it started cooking if you are adding lots of toppings. 🙂
Vincci
First homemade pizza was a success! It’s so good my husband ate the whole pizza himself. No sharing 🙂 I guess I will have one all to myself tomorrow.
Love how simple this recipe is. Thanks!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Vincci! 🙂
Sheena Smith
This recipe was perfect! I happened to proof my yeast separately and used only all-purpose, a soft fantastic result. I’m making it again right now, trying 50/50 all-purpose and bread flours, I think I like a tiny more crunch than just all purpose. Some reason the dough seemed to use less flour this time and I had doubled the recipe, so I just went w ideal consistency and bagged the remaining cup for next time
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sheena! 🙂
LM
Made this tonight and we loved it. I would prefer it being a little chewier than it was. It was a little crispy. I used all purpose flour. Do you have any suggestions for tweaks to make it a little chewier or what I may have done wrong? I fully admit I may have messed some part of it up. -Thanks!
Sam
You could try not rolling it out quite as thin, or cooking it for slightly less time. 🙂
Kim
Try kneading the dough
Diana
Gluten is what helps create the chewy-ness. If using all-purpose flour, you will knead it longer to develop the gluten. Bread flour has higher gluten but will also creates the “crusty bread” and you wouldn’t need to knead it as long. Note: If you pull the dough apart and it tares instead of stretching then the gluten aren’t developed enough for that chewy-ness you are looking for. But if you over-knead, it will become tough. Good luck and have fun. 🙂
LM
So knead it longer but not too long – got it. 😉
Thank you all for the tips. I’ll continue to work on it. What’s the worst that can happen, I’ll have to eat more delicious pizza? 🙂
Erika
I’ve used this recipe many times and we love it so much. I’ve made pan pizza using an iron skillet and it’s amazing! I wanted to make homemade bread and I tried other recipes and failed so I thought why not try with this recipe. I used a dutch oven, 425° for 35 minutes covered, I was going to take the lid off to crisp for 5 minutes but it wasn’t necessary. It came out absolutely amazing. Crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. Thanks so much for this recipe ☺️
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Erika! 🙂
Diana
I was considering trying this recipe as a bread because it is so delicious. Now I see someone has tried and successful. I have to try it now.
katie king
Mine ball keeps turning out not as sticky. Im following the recipe exactly. I dont know what im doing wrong. I didnt have to add the extra flour because with the 2 cups it is not that sticky. Help!
Sam
Hi Katie! With a yeast dough you add flour until the proper consistency is reached. You may just need to add less flour. 🙂
Yellee
I added a tiny bit more water, and it became stickier for me! I had the same issue, that 2 cups of flour was just a little too much
Sam
When making a yeast recipe you really need to add flour until the proper consistency is reached. Sometimes you may need slightly less flour, sometimes you may need slightly more.
Jesse
I know this may be to late but humidity and elevation play a roll in flour to water ratio. Dont automatically assume it’s wrong because its dry. Try adding little more liquid small amounts until consistency is reached or use less flour.
Terry Bockmann
mine did the same thing, very dry just waiting to see if it rises!
Diana
I use a kitchen scale to get the right amount. I have the same issue when i don’t. (still do with biscuits lol). I have found this is way more accurate than taking 2 cups of flour. If the flour is packed in the cup (unintentionally) you could be adding too much flour. And of course humidity and altitude does play a part like a previous commenter said. I have learned when in doubt use a scale. 🙂