The Best Pizza Dough Recipe
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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 1/4 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This pizza dough is perfect and my family loves it
I made a second recipe and wrapped it up to eat tomorrow but it keeps popping out of the plastic wrap
How can I stop it from proofing?
Hi Rachel! You will need to put it in a bowl that allows room for it to rise, if you just wrap the dough tightly with the wrap it will explode. Hope this is helpful 🙂
dont need the history just tell me the recipe
I am always so amused when people complain that they don’t have time to read the blog post, but yet they DO find the time to make their way to the comments section to type out their complaint over something they could have just completely skipped over (did you miss the big “jump to recipe” button?) on a recipe that they are getting for free. I kinda feel like you don’t really deserve the recipe, B Wells, because you’re honestly pretty rude.
Bah Humbug Scrooge b wells
Fantastic dough! My family devoured the pizza in minutes! One minor change I made…let the yeast rise in warm water with sugar for 10mins.
We’re so glad everyone liked it! 😊
This truly is the best pizza I’ve ever had. And I’m really picky. Tried several other recipes and I’m a terrible baker. Used regular and not bread flour. Thick fluffy crust inside but crispy inside and on the bottom. Thank you!!
I like this recipe. I made it using 1/2 “00” and 1/2 all purpose flour. I’m interested in making it with 10 lb of flour. Have you tried scaling this recipe up? If so, does the salt, sugar and yeast scale up properly?
Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Tho,
Bert
Hi Bert! I have not personally tried scaling this up, but I know several others have and yes the ratios will remain the same. 🙂
This is the first recipe I’d ever tried for homemade pizza (about 3 months ago) and I’ll never use anything else! We get perfect pizza every single time. Thank you for this!!
We appreciate you trying our recipe and leaving this review, Kathryn! Enjoy ❤️
Have you tried this with a cheesy stuffed crust before? Wondering how to do this. This pizza was amazing but the way!
Hi Lydia! Yes, we love making a stuffed crust! Just take pull apart string cheese and layer it around the edge right before folding it over. 🙂
I was just reading about a sponge recipe where you let the dough sit about 30 mins or more to develop the sweetness. I think this is an excellent recipe to do just that. You only use half of the flour and the yeast. Mix and then after letting it sit for a bit, add the remaining flour and kneed.
My go-to dough recipe. It’s on point, every time
This was by far the best pizza dough recipe I’ve tried! I used half AP flour and half 00 flour. Instead of oil I splashed crust with water. I also par-baked crust for 5 minutes then brushed with olive oil before adding sauce and cheese. Turned out very lovely. Added 1/4 tsp garlic powder to dough. Had a delicious mild flavor with a slightly crispy crust and great chew. This is a keeper!
It came out great fluffy like facachia bread..A+ of ya ask me..
We’re so glad you liked it, Aaron!
This did not work for me and I’m quite perplexed as to why. I tested/proofed my yeast in warm 112 degree water and sugar, then after it got nice and big and foamy I combined with the flour, salt, oil, and put it in the oiled bowl to rise. I did errands and got home to a barely risen dough that is all of a sudden sticky and flat :(. I added flour and punched it around just to absorb it and put it back in the bowl in my warm kitchen a little sad, ngl.
I think my only way to save it is to roll it out and make garlic knots or breadsticks? I’ve never had problems with my prior dough recipes. Very curious and disappointing.
Hi Brooklyn! It sounds like it may have over-proofed. This recipe doesn’t need the yeast to be proofed before using. How long did you leave it and where did you leave it?
I left it for a few hours in the kitchen. We have steam pipe heating so it’s pretty warm, and yes I agree it over-proofed. It was inedible. I won’t make it that far in advance next time.
How do you handle the dough if you do make it ahead? Do you knead it after it is brought to room temperature?
Hi Julie! You can just roll it out and use it after warmed. 🙂
I used this in my bread maker on dough setting. Perfect!
I have made this crust twice now. It’s easy to work with and is really yummy. Thank you for sharing.
Yeast doesn’t like salt so proofing the yeast can be more reliable than mixing it in with the salted flour; either works if the salt is very well mixed throughout the flour. Oiling bread will nearly always make it soft whereas misting with water will help with crustiness. Because there is oil in the recipe, I am going to try it without the oil. Finally, I have been trying for years to get a pita recipe that doesn’t turn into pockets. I like the pita that is served in restaurants with hummus or tzatziki and am going to try this recipe with the added spices and oiled with garlic butter and parm to see if it will be a good substite. Thanks
I’m making the dough now, refrigerating it for tomorrows lunch. Should I let it come to room temperature before rolling out to form the pie crust?
FYI, I added pizza dough flavor instead of the garlic or dried basil, it smells really good!!
Hi Suzi! It may be a little easier to let it warm a little before trying to roll it out. 🙂
Great crust! I used a pizza stone, but I really wish I would have used a pizza pan with holes just because the crust is so soft… would have been better with a crunchy bottom. But, I’ll be using this recipe again! Yum!
Very good !!! Pillowy and airy
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Isabel! 😊
Absolutely satisfied with this recipe. My first ever homemade pizza crust and it turned out amazing. It was on the softer side but honestly I like it that way!
Is a great recipe, I also use a Pizza stone and worked great, I preheat the oven and stone to 500° ,
Rolled out the dough, topped the dough with my little sauce, cheese and veggies,
Some times (w/some kind of protein,
Placed in the oven and low the temperature down to 400,
Cooked for 20 minutes and turn couple of times in between, bring back the oven up to 500° and cook for about 8 more minutes, your crust will be crunchy and your toppings will not be burn,
( It will longer but your crust will be crunchy and your toppings will not be burn