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.
Bev
Delicious tender chewy pizza dough. I proofed the yeast prior to adding to flour mixture. Also added basil.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Mackenzie
I make this dough last night and it was great! So great, in fact, that I’m making it again today. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and I’m wondering if I need to throw this batch out and start again…
I forgot to add the olive oil to the dry mix with the warm water and didn’t realize this until I was coating the second bowl with olive oil. I then added the olive oil to the dough and kneaded it in in a pitiful attempt to fix my mistake.
Have I made a fatal error?
Sam
🤣 Honestly I have done the exact same thing myself and it turns out well. 🙂 I hope you love it!
Deb
Can I make the pizza a couple hours before I bake it?
Sam
That will work fine here. 🙂
Owen Kaider
Im 12 and I was able to make this pizza for my family. They LOVED it. I will definitely use this many more times
Sam
That is so awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Owen! 🙂
Anna
Dough went together exactly as you said. Very good pizza dough. Thanks.
Sheila
This is my go-to pizza crust recipe. Our family loves it! Thanks for sharing!
Kitty
Made this last week and it was perfect. First time making pizza and this recipe made it so easy! Thank you.
I would like to use spelt or millet flour this time around. Would that work too?
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that it came out perfectly for you, Kitty! As far as spelt or millet flour, I am not sure how it will do. You will have to keep me posted if you try it. 🙂
Dan
I very much like recipe. I’ve made it and your pizza sauce multiple times and they are both my go-to recipes for pizza. My local pizza places are losing business because of this recipe!!!
Just wanted to add I make pizza on a Kamado Joe grill at 650ish F. I use parchment under the dough between the stone (double stone with an air-gap created with iron pipe fittings for spacers). Wait three minutes, pull parchment, wait 3-6 (varies with dough thickness, and “wetness” of toppings) minutes and it’s done.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Dan! Do be careful though as the parchment can catch fire at that temperature. I’d love to be try it on a grill one day. 🙂
Mike
Great pizza for Saturday night dinner.
THANKS
Sylvie L
I loveee this dough, to make a mock dominoes cheesy bread with it i spread it in a big rectangle, put mozzarella and cheddar down one half lengthwise, mix 3 tablespoons of melted butter, a clove of garlic, italian steak seasoning (trust me), salt and some red pepper flakes, pour 2/3 onto the cheese and mix it in. Then fold it lengthwise (hotdog style) and squish the edges together, top it with the rest of the butter mix and a little extra mozz & cheddar. pop it in at the temp in this recipe for 15 minutes, I swear it’s gone faster than you can bake it lol.
Sam
That sounds so delicious! 🙂
Marybeth Hiebert
This recipe is excellent! I did not have basil, so I used Italian herbs! This worked out very well! The flavor of the crust is amazing!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Marybeth! 🙂
Ketch
I made this dough for the first time last night. I quadrupled the recipe to make 4 pizzas and it came out great! The crust was very fluffy and light. It will make great focaccia bread as well! I cooked them on a pizza stone in my Traeger pellet grill. For me one of the keys is to use corn meal on top of the flour when I roll out the dough. The corn meal acts like little ball bearings to let the pizza slide off easily. I also put corn meal on the pizza stone. Thank you for the recipe I’ll be using it again!
Sam
That’s a lot of pizza! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Debbie
Best homemade crust I’ve ever made. My granddaughter is a Pizza Hut fan, and she said it tasted a lot like Pizza Hut! She did pepperoni, cheese and sauce on one side and garlic butter and mozzarella cheese and Parm on the other side!
Excellent! Thanks for sharing. It’s already written in my cookbook!
Sugar Spun Run
Yay! I am so glad that you both enjoyed it! Thanks so much for trying my recipe. 🙂
Mickey
I’m in college and don’t have a pizza pan. can i just use a foil pan i ick up at the grocery store? with parchment of course
Sam
Hi Mickey! The foil pan should work just fine here. 🙂
Mary Dickey
I use this recipe all the time. I have a pizza ready to go in the oven right now adding mushrooms, green onions, and pepperoni to the basic recipe. That little dash of garlic powder in the crust adds a lot.
Thanks!
Mary D
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy it so much, Mary! 🙂