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.
Emily
I have never made homemade pizza dough before and this recipe was so easy and delicious!
Carrie
I am about to try your recipe, but would like to split the dough into individual sized pizzas. Do you know how many one batch would make approximately? Thank you in advance.
Sam
Hi Carrie! It really depends on how big you want to make the pizza. I would say it would probably make 2 individual pizzas, but if you want them smaller you could get more. 🙂
Kitkat
This recipe is delicious thank you!
Elise
Hi! I never have bread flour in the house either, but I got my hands on some Vital Wheat Gluten a few years ago, and ever since I whisk a teaspoon of it into every cup of all purpose flour used when I need bread flour, for things like pizza dough!! Works really well, and I never have to buy bread flour!
And I will absolutely be using your pizza dough recipe this weekend: I love the addition of flavors like garlic!! Question: have you used this to make Chicago or Sicilian pizza?
Sam
Hi Elise! I have not tried making a Sicilian or Chicago style pizza with it.
Nicole
Hello Elise!! The first time I used this recipe, I (unintentionally) made a Chicago style pizza. It turned out great! I’m unsure about Sicilian (apologies if theyre the same thing, I’m very ignorant to pizza types) though.
Lynda
Excellent!
Want to freeze some. I assume you freeze it after the kneading process. Look forward to many more yummy pizzas.
Sam
Hi Lynda! Yes you want to go through the entire process of making the dough then deflate it and wrap tightly to store in the freezer. 🙂
Madison
I’ve tried so many pizza dough recipes over the years and could never quite get it right. This one is my new absolute favorite and will be in our rotation. It’s so quick and easy and the basil and garlic powder in the dough… perfection 👌
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Madison! 🙂
Elspeth
I’m making my third batch right now. I love, love, love working with this dough. The first time it didn’t get done quite enough, but that is probably because I’m using a deep dish pizza stone and I didn’t preheat the stone. The next time I made stuffed crust using string cheese inside and it was fantastic, but I should have cut back on how much dough I used because the crust was huge! LOL Regardless, it’s been easy to work with the dough and it tastes great every time. I’m definitely keeping this recipe!
Ana
Amazing! It’s super easy to make and the dough is just the right consistency. Fluffy and soft 😍
Diane
Fantastic pizza dough! And so fast too! Thanks for sharing!👍🏾😍😋
Charlene Young
My family went crazy over this pizza. It was not hard to make, through it together in no time. Going to try to put in refrigerator but first let rise. I here that doing that adds more flavor.. will let you know, wish I could leave three days to see how the flavor changes but family won’t wait that long .Lol Thanks for great recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Charlene! 🙂
Cheniece
This recipe was a big help for me thanks so much for sharing 😍
Judy
I made 5 batches in the last two days. It was that good!!
Donna
This is my first time making this so I love all these comments of positivity. Can’t wait to try it.
Joan sullivan
Just made pizza dough. Have been making dough for years. This by far easiest! Came together easily. Made awesome fried dough!
Suman
I love how this recipe turns out each time I make my own pizza at home.
I hardly order pizza ever since I got it.
Thank you ❤️
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy it so much, Suman! 🙂
Krystal
I am a Chinese and have zero experience with making pizza. After trying this recipe, I’ve done many times and they are super yummy! My kids love it! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
And I always follow your home-made tomato sauce recipe too! Taste much better than pizza chain stores!
Sam
Thank you so much for trying my recipes, Krystal! I’m so happy to hear that this one and the sauce recipe have been such a hit for you!
Marshall
I always use this recipe and it is great as written. We like thin crust pizza, and this is enough for 4 x 10″. I double the recipe and freeze the excess (freezes well for at least a month). I use a slab of granite for a pizza stone and heat up the oven to 475 F. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy it so much, Marshall! 🙂
Katelyn M Smith
Awesome pizza dough! We cooked ours on the Traeger and it was great! Simple ingredients and great flavor.
Sam
Ooo that’s interesting! I love my Traeger! I will have to try it one day. 🙂
Joan sullivan
Just made pizza dough. Have been making dough for years. This by far easiest! Came together easily. Made awesome fried dough!
LASO
Tried it and it was so good – crispy on the outside and soft inside. I did 2 batches though because 1 recipe only makes a 12in. How would you double the recipe?
Made 2 batches, each but in half so I made 4 smaller pizzas! Delicious! Will def make again!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! You can easily double the recipe, just double all of the ingredients. 🙂