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.
Charlene
Worked great! Thanks.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy to hear that, Charlene! Thanks for your review 😊
Luiza
I loved the recipe but I had a hard time handling the dough. It was sticky on the first step (before letting it rest) and a bit tricky to use the pin. I’ve ended up using more flour to the surface but wondering if there is any other trick
Sam
Hi Luiza! You may have just needed to stir a little extra flour in while working it together. 🙂
JB
3/4 cup of water is not enough with 2 cups of flour. I found I needed 1/4 cup more or so.
Randy
Love this. I’m still experimenting with the thickness and oven temperature to get the perfect level of crispiness. Can’t believe how easy it is. I started doing this because the good pizza places near my house either went out of business or dropped their quality. I also read an article (google it, it’s funny and interesting) called “pizza delivery is for millionaires” by “MrMoneyMustache”. Next stop: Calzones with your dough recipe!
Jennifer
I decided to try this recipe in my bread machine on the dough cycle, and it worked perfectly. My kids are happy and it cooked beautifully. Just leaving this comment in case anyone else like me is trying to figure out if it can be made in a bread machine. 😀
Sam
Thank you so much for the feedback, Jennifer! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Mary
Made twice now with bread flour Very good recipe. I leave my dough a bit on the sticky side, and shape out a thin crust with my hands, and get a nice crispy crust without prebaking. Going to try to assemble pizza and freeze. Was buying pre-made dough at publix. I find this is so much better, and much easier to work with.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you’re enjoying our recipe, Mary! Thanks for your review ❤
Tyesha
I made this pizza last night and I folded string cheese in the crust and the kids loved it thank you for this recipe ❣️❣️
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
😲 Love that idea, Tyesha! Sounds delicious! Glad to hear it was a hit for your family ❤
Karl-Erik
Excellent allaround recipe!
Increasing salt makes the dough more tender/soft, a little extra sugar can help offset this if salt adverse.
Adding starch can also loosen the dough mimicking cake flour, whereas adding protein like an egg makes a tougher bound dough. Both of these crisp the crust.
Kneading it extra long can also make a chewier dough.
tootie
Ive been looking for a good pizza dough recipe for a long time and i think yours fits the bill. I am going to make this and ill let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe, also i have tried other recipes of yours and they have turned out great, thanks for sharing.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We hope you love this one too, Tootie! ❤
Weaver
This is by far the best pizza dough I’ve made. The only change I made was that I used my bread maker to make the dough!
Tara
Hi:)
I’m excited to try this recipe.
I’m wondering if the pizza (dough) has to be baked prior to adding toppings to prevent getting soggy?
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Tara! If you are adding a larger amount of ingredients you may want to prebake it. I would also suggest pre-baking if you like a little crispier crust. 🙂
Deb Wilson
Quick and easy recipe. It will be my new “go to” for no fuss pizza.
Sulata Coelho
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. This was very easy and it will be my go to recipe henceforth.
Jeremy
Works every time! I’ve been using this recipe for the past two years, when local pizzas were getting pricey. It’s a good recipe and I usually double the recipe and freeze half.
It’s fairly fool proof, and really is a great pizza recipe. Instead of hunting around for different recipes, use this one. You won’t be having any regrets.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for your review, Jeremy! We’re so happy that you like our recipe so much 😊 Enjoy!
Marett M
How much flour? It says 2-2 1/3? Does that mean 4 cups?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Marett! Typically people need around 2 cups of flour, and some need the additional 1/3 cup. It’s best to just add flour until your dough is a cohesive, elastic ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It’s always a good idea to watch the video before getting started 😊
Mark
Crust turned out and was delicious. I baked mine at 500’ oven and the pizza pan I used has little holes so the crust was light and crispy.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! We’re so happy it turned out so well for you Mark 😊
Nichole
Has anyone made a pizza and froze it, would I need to thaw it before I cook or can I preheat the oven and throw it in? I used this dough recipe for my pizza
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Nichole! You should be able to just bake the whole pizza straight from the freezer, although we haven’t tried this yet ourselves. If you do, please let us know how it works for you! Enjoy 😃
Ronita M Sylvester
I’ve been making pizza from scratch for decades. This IS the BEST Pizza Dough Recipe!!
Marko
Totally agree!
Simple and delicious.
Sabrina
Yah i made it, excellent for sure.