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)
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.
Tina
Omg…
Never made pizza dough in my life it came out perfect !!! Made calzones with it hame . Ricotta & Smokey Ham.. made thin amazing dough to work with 10 stars!!! From T
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Your calzones sounds soo delicious Tina! We’re so happy they turned out so well for you 😊
Emily McHale
Iv’e made a lot of pizza dough at home and am a frequent buyer of the Trader Joe’s premade version as well. However, This recipe hands down is the best iv’e ever made. It was so soft and flaky! I will never waste time with another recipe again. I opted to add the garlic and dried basil and it added a nice subtle flavor. 10/10 recommend making this. So easy and so delicious and better than most restaurants.
Michelle
Just made pizza tonight and my husband thought it was great! It was easy to follow your recipe and I appreciated your comments on the bottom of the recipe. I used active yeast and did proof it before adding the flour.I used a rectangle pan and took the sauce and topping all the way to the edge. Tonight it was a pepperoni, onion, green pepper and olives on his side with lots of sauce and mozzarella cheese, YUMMY! I plan on doubling the recipe next time and freezing half of the dough for the evenings when I don’t feel like starting from scratch.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you loved it so much, Michelle! Your pizza sounds delicious 😋
Kevin
This was by far the BEST pizza recipe I have ever had! It was so fluffy and a pleasure to touch! The name was not misleading one bit! Worth the 5 stars.
Joe Jordan
Best Pizza dough I’ve ever made! I followed the recipe correctly using about 2 1/4 cups of pizza flour with garlic powder and oregano in the mix. The reduced water is the key to a tender yet crunchy crust.
Dallas
Simple, easy and I’m impressed! It was my first time making pizza and this recipe worked so well! Thank you 🙏🏻 Crust was perfect:)
Allison
Can you use this in a pizza oven?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Nurisha
Absolutely brilliant recipe. Thank you for providing accurate measurements and easy to follow steps. Best pizza recipe I have tried. 👍👍👍👍👍
P J
EXCELLENT! I have never worked with yeast before but this was so easy. It was simple to make and my husband loved it. I made two pizzas – one was black olives and mushrooms and the other was canadian bacon and pineapple. The crust did not get soggy. The bottom was crispy but not hard and the edges stood up and browned nicely. So glad I tried it. My husband kept telling me to be sure to keep this recipe. Better than the pizza houses.
Holly Potter
I had NEVER made anything bread related from scratch before. Now that I’m homeschooling, I want to teach my sons how to cook and bake so we started with this dough. It is seriously simple. The first two times were awesome, third time I added flour too fast but it turned out okay with a tiny bit of water. I use half all purpose and half golden harvest wheat. I’ve made it with active yeast each time and have done proofed and unproofed. My sons love it so much they’ve asked for it repeatedly. My husband wants to make breadsticks next. It’s going on my fridge forever!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Holly! I’m honored to have a spot on the fridge. 🙂
Cletus Stufflebeener
Sure smells good! Delivery pizza is too expensive for what it is, and not really very good. Just keeping a few ingredients on hand, this recipe will be ready to slice in 45 minutes to an hour. To satisfy your Pizza cravings.
Eric ugiringabire
Wonderful 👍👍
Annie
I add parmesan cheese to the dough along with the herbs. It is one of the best pizza doughs ever. I also use half bread and half AP flour with instant yeast and no proofing.
Ashley
Hi! When I tried to make this, the dough was SO dry! I used the exact measurements but it was shaggy like. I added more what, is that ok?
Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so sorry your dough was so dry, Ashley 🙁 Did you add the flour gradually, or all at once? We recommend adding it gradually and stopping once your dough reaches the right consistency to to prevent this.
Kate
Excellent, quick and easy recipe. Like another reviewer I have never made anything bread related ever. I’m glad I found your recipe. I used the spices and added oregano too. Used all purpose flour and didn’t need more than the two cups. It was quite dry after the two cups were added and didn’t seem to rise or double in size but still the end product was awesome for my homemade barbecue chicken pizza. Can’t wait to make it again!
Randal
Omg, my wife, 3 year old, and I just made this pizza dough and our own toppings… This is what GOD eats!!!
Olivia
I made this and it didn’t rise 🙁 any suggestions?
Sam
I’m so sorry this happened, Olivia! Your yeast may have been dead. 🙁
Cedar
The do have to be somewhere warm to rise because of the yeast and if you don’t have any more warm to rise do a double boiler method with warm water put the ball with the dough in a bowl with warm water and let it rise and don’t forget to cover it over that’s what I had to do
sierra
make sure not use hot water and use warm water because you can kill your yeast this way, life saving hack think baby temp warm.
Sarah
I’ve used this recipe once before and it was excellent! I’m making it again tomorrow but want to triple the recipe. Is it OK to triple and make all at once or would it be better to make it 3 seperate times? Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sarah! You can triple this recipe (all at once) and it will still turn out great. Enjoy 😊
Robin Kealiinohomoku Kerr
I have been making pizza dough for years, 15 years+. This is the best pizza dough recipe. I also use the same dough to make foccaccia bread and fried bread. Thank you!