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.
Lesley
Hello! I am trying a low carb version of your pizza base, using yeast…but very low carb flour! I think I need to bake the base first before putting on toppings. You have mentioned prebaking, Can you tell me how long you prebake to avoid the crust being overdone when it has the second bake with toppings on? Also, do you use baking beans or anything to keep the base nice and flat? Thank you! Love from Scotland!
Sam
Hi Lesley! I haven’t done this myself, but others have pre-baked the crust anywhere from 5-10 minutes so it’s really a matter of personal preference. You won’t need any sort of beans or anything like that. 🙂
Kari
I am not a fan of olive oil. Can something else be used to substitute?
Sam
Hi Kari! Vegetable or canola oil will work fine here. 🙂
H
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I had never made my own dough before.. but its sooo easy! We make your pizza sauce aswell..its delicious 😋… I usually make this every Friday now.. the kids absolutely love it..even my non pizza eating husband! Seriously its better then takeout pizza! Thank you for the recipe
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys it so much! 🙂
Jennifer Shiggs
The pickiest eater of all our kids loved this pizza!!! Great recipe!!! The best one I’ve ever found!!! Thank you so much!!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Jennifer! 🙂
Michele
Your a rock star 🌟
Peter
When cooking the toppings were very much done but the base was raw in the middle what do you think I did wrong?
I gave it an extra 10 minutes as well
Sam
Hi Peter! if you have a lot of toppings it’s going to be best to pre-bake your crust to make sure the crust finishes as well. 🙂
Cheryl Bonsell
This is so easy to prepare. It makes a super thin crust which is exactly what I’ve been searching for and I’m so glad that I found your recipe. It hasn’t failed yet.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Cheryl! 🙂
Steve
I’ve made this a few times now. The crust always comes in undercooked. Any suggestions?
Sam
Hi Steve! You can try baking the crust by itself before adding any toppings. If you have a good bit of topping it can be difficult for the crust to cook. I hope it goes better next time. 🙂
Chad
I use a pizza pan that has holes in the bottom, and it works great. If you don’t change your pan maybe bake a little longer at a lessor temperature.
Chelsea
after refrigerating for storage, what do you do with the dough? Let it come to room temperature and knead before rolling into crust?
Sam
Hi Chelsea! You should be able to just take it from the refrigerator and roll it out. If it doesn’t roll out easily you can let it warm up a little bit. 🙂
Kristy Boettcher
Delicious! I’ve been making this pizza dough for months, it’s our go to. What are your favorite toppings?
Sam
I’m so glad you have enjoyed it so much, Kristy! I loooovvveee pineapple and jalapeno on top of mine. I would love some onion too but my husband says he’ll be able to taste the onion and he hates onion, but he also tells me pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. He just doesn’t know what he’s talking about. 🤣
Teresa Campbell
Can this dough be frozen?
Sam
Hi Teresa! This dough freezes well. 🙂
HL
Thanks for the recipe.
Do I just use less dough and roll it thinner to make a thin crust pizza?
Sam
That will work just fine. 🙂
Jeff
This is my new favorite. Made it last night with the optional ingredients and no crust was left. One correction though… this recipe doesn’t make 12 servings, it makes two. 🙂
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jeff! 🙂
Joy
Aw ya! This recipe is amazing. It is super hard to mess up. I added oil, water and flour when it didn’t seem quite right and it got back to what it was supposed to look like. Cooked up delish! Definitely will be my go-to, loved the suggestion of garlic powder and basil in the crust.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Joy! 🙂
Tasha
We absolutely LOVED how this recipe came out, and we also had a blast making this a family affair with our 2 year old! We ended up putting garlic powder and oregano with the crust and just WOW the flavor and aroma of this crust was such a compliment to the homemade creamy vodka tomato sauce we paired it with. 10/10 will be making this again!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Tasha! 🙂
Gina
Hi! This sounds like a great recipe but I don’t have any sugar. Would honey work instead?
Sam
Hi Gina! That should work just fine. 🙂