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.
Jennifer
Do you think I can make this in my bread machine on the dough cycle and it turn out?
Sam
Hi Jennifer! I don’t have much experience with a bread machine so unfortunately I can’t comment on how it would turn out.
Mark
How many 12” crusts does this make?
Sam
Just 1. 🙂
K
Can I use double 00 flour instead of all purpose flour? Thank you. 😁
Sam
I haven’t tried it myself, but I know other commenters have with success. 🙂
Haley
Made this and it is so good! Used 1 cup bread flour and 1 cup all purpose, with garlic and herbs. Perfect amount of density and flavor!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Haley! 🙂
Isaiah Marteniz
Nice.
Pat
This is my go-to recipe for pizza. We love it! I’ve never prebaked the crust and see no reason to. Sooo good!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Pat! 🙂
shaq
the pizza came out looking so good! i’ve yet to try it but i’m sure it’ll taste amazing because it looks and smells so good ugh
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Jacqueline
AMAZING! Was looking for a good pizza dough recipe for a couple months and came across this recipe. I made it once and have made it every Friday sense. That was six months ago.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jacqueline! 🙂
Kelly
This is the simplest recipe I have found and it was soo delicious! Definitely try it if you want to make pizza dough! I only used 2 cups of flour and it was perfect.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kelly! 🙂
Sam B
Would this dough benefit at all from being pre-baked before adding toppings? Curious why that was left out… I know that’s typical for pizza dough recipe but don’t understand why 🙂
Sam
Hi Sam! I never pre-bake, so it’s “left out” by design. I imagine if you wanted to pre-bake it wouldn’t be an issue, but I just never have seen a need. I hope that helps, and I hope you love the dough! 🙂
Aimee
This makes a perfect crust for my cast iron skillet! It turns out every time. It’s very easy to make. Easy to bake in my air fryer. I used 1 cup bread flour and 1 1/3 all purpose only because I was low on bread flour, No more buying prepackaged pizza dough. Thank you
Sam
That’s so great to hear! I’m glad you enjoy it so much. 🙂
Roger
Just curuous why to prebake? Crispier crust? I’ve wondered about this too…
Sam
Pre-baking is good if you have a lot of toppings, or yes you like a crispier crust. 🙂
Nikki
Love the recipe I have made it multiple times. I got to ask how much calories is one serving because I’m not familiar with kcal.
Sam
Hi Nikki! The kCal thing is just how my recipe card does it. It’s the same as a calorie. 🙂
Emilie Cook
I’m making now for dinner tonight….. Do I deflate and knead it or just deflate- then knead it before making the pizza
Sam
Hi Emilie! You will just want to deflate the dough and knead it briefly. 🙂
Gen
Just made this tonight for the first time, and omygoodness – the dough turned out so good!! This will be my go to pizza dough recipe from now on! Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Lamis Maher
Thank you for the recipe ! I made it last night and it turned out great
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Lamis! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how it turned out for you!
baker by heart
can the garlic powder be optional i want to make this pizza for my family but i don’t have garlic powder at hand,also is this enough for 4 people
Sam
Yes, you can leave it out, and yes it will feed 4. Enjoy 🙂
Shelbs
Your recipe and video both said only using one bowl….. and you proceeded to use two bowls 😂 sure. Well anyways, I’m trying this recipe for the first time and it’s sitting to rise now. Hope it’s good!
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it! The 2 bowls for the video were just to show the different ingredients. 🙂