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.
Beth Morton
I have been trying to make pizza crust most off my life. This is DELICIOUS! THANK YOU!
Caleb
Very very awesome! Doubled this recipe made 4 pizzas! Huge hit! Thanks a ton! God bless!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Caleb!
Doug
Best pizza crust recipe ever!! I end up using only 2 cups of flour for this recipe and I usually add garlic powder, onion powder, and herbs to the crust flour base as suggested.
Misty
This was my first time making homemade pizza dough! It was incredibly easy! I actually decided to grill the dough & pizza and it was the best pizza I’ve ever had! Thank you for the easy recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Misty! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 💙
piper
how many people does this serve?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
It depends; you can make one larger (10-12″) or two smaller (5-6″) pizzas. Depending on how hungry you are, it could feed between 1-3 people. Hope that helps! 😊
Michael Newberry
Wow. That was amazing. I have avoided making doughy things, because it rarely worked or required too much time. This was quick and perfect. Thank you so much.
Brii
Hiii i just wanted to know if you could use active dry yeast instead of instant for this recipe?
Sam
Hi Brii! It can be made using active dry yeast. It will just take a bit longer to rise. 🙂
Jeena
Hi 👋 this is my fav recipe for pizza dough and i am so glad i found it. Thank you for sharing 😊
Kae
I made this last night and doubled the recipe. It came out perfect and everyone raved about how good the crust was. I did add garlic powder, onion powder, basil and parsley.I started with 4 cups flour, mixed the spices and instant yeast in using the paddle on my Kitchenaid mixer on lowest setting then added the liquids in and mixed till dough came together. It was very sticky. Then I switched to the dough hook and started to gradually add additional flour till I had the soft dough still slightly sticky. I let the machine knead the dough for about a minute. I formed the dough into a ball in same bowl and coated the dough with oil as instructed. Dough raised more than double in 30 minutes. We had a fun family night with each of us making individual size pizzas and everyone choosing and adding their own toppings. I will definitely use this recipe again! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jennifer
Haven’t made this yet, but have no doubt it’ll be great.
Question for you…
Can I prepare the pizza dough in the morning to use/cook that same evening? Would I need to refrigerate as if I was planning to make the dough way ahead of time (days)?
Sam
Hi Jennifer! You will want to refrigerate it if keeping it that long. 🙂
Jen
I rarely if ever post a comment, I prepared this pizza dough recipe for lunch today and it’s outstanding! I did use AP flour King Arthur of course. Crispy and delicious. I made a couple naked pizzas with roasted cherry tomatoes and basil salsa, fantastic! Thank you for a super simple recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wow, your pizzas sound divine Jen! Thanks so much for trying our recipe and leaving a review ❤
Karen
Very good recipe. Dough easy to work with and delicious. Very light. it will be my new favorite. Thanks for sharing it.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for your review, Karen! We’re so happy the recipe was a success for you.
James
Do I cook the pizza on the pan with the parchment paper?
Sam
Yup. 🙂
Mercy Paul
Delighted!!Your recipe worked out really well for me and will bookmark it now👍.
Just a query,if working out with Bread flour,which one would you recommend?
I’v read it’s more healthier?
Sam
Hi Mercy! I haven’t used bread flour too often so I wouldn’t have a great recommendation here. 🙁
max
i really liked the suggestion of adding the spices to the yeast but i found this dough to be pretty dry and had a hard time getting it to come together despite having to use a good bit of oil. had a nice buttery flavor though.
Ken
I had to up the water to about 1 cup added extra flour while kneading the dough, whatever you do don’t skip the salt! I did, not very flavorful, even with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder….
I divided the dough into 4 calzones and put them in the air fryer for 3 minutes on each side then added some spaghetti sauce to the outside and air fried for 2 more minutes, absolutely perfect crust, not hard at all, very good texture, just would have been better if I had added salt to the dough.
I will definitely make more dough, thanks.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes, the salt is key for the best flavor 😊 We’re glad you still enjoyed it overall!
Lee
On the contrary I found the dough to be wet and ended up using the whole 295 gr of flour. I proved the yeast in water before hand as suggested in the notes. It turned out really fluffy and light!
Ashley
I tried this recipe tonight and really loved the dough. Thank you for sharing this with me. I liked it much better than the last pizza crust I tried out from another video. Big hit, I’ll be bookmarking this site.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try, Ashley! We’re so happy you loved it 😊
Lee
Made this for the first time and it turned out great! I used all the flour mentioned in the recipe and was frightened it would still be too wet (I proved the dried yeast in water and sugar in advance as suggested in the notes). The pizza was light and fluffy like focaccia bread. Also made the suggested tomato sauce which was really tasty (I used fresh basil not dried). Will certainly be making this again and experiment with different toppings. Thank you so much!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad it turned out for you, Lee! Thanks for trusting our recipes and coming back to leave a review–we appreciate it 😊
Lee
I’m going to be making this again tonight. I will prove the yeast in water before hand and keep to 3/4 cup water. Maybe I won’t have to top up the flour to the full amount this time! Fingers crossed!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Let us know how it goes for you, Lee! 😊