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.
DeeDee
Can I double or triple the recipe?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Julie Rivera
This is my 3rd time using this recipe. It’s amazing. I have found letting the dough rise a little bit after fitting it into the pizza pan, makes delicious breading. I add ham, cooked bacon to the last 5min of baking. 👍
Janet
Great pizza dough recipe! Super easy and fast and tastes delicious!!!
zKat hanner
This was good but not crisp. I use bread flour and very little sauce and baked it at 450 I think it needs to be baked on a stone. I also added quite a bit of garlic and basil to the crust.
Josh Metersky
Made this for a group of 10 people for the first time and they loved it! I strongly recommend pre-baking for 5 minutes, especially if your at a higher altitude, but either way the result was fantastic.
Sophia N
Hi, I made this tonight using 00 flour from King Arthur and it didn’t come out good at all. Could it be because of the flour I used? I followed all the instructions except for poking holes in the dough before baking. The first pie came out undercooked inside and the 2nd pie looked crispy but didn’t taste good.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Sophia! I haven’t personally tried it with 00 flour so I can’t say for sure, but others have reported using it without any issue. The first one may have needed to bake longer and I’m not sure why the second didn’t taste good. 🙁
Jennifer Glynn
I love this pizza recipe. I was wondering if I could successfully double it as I have 4 pizzas to make!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! Enjoy, Jennifer 😊
A t
Mine is so dry!!! Only 3/4 c water???
Sam
Yes you only need 3/4c of water. It’s best to add your flour gradually and stop when you reach the proper consistency. 🙁
Nick
Make sure you aren’t picking the flour into the measuring cup. I find spooning it in and using a knife to level off works perfectly.
zhiheather
This really is the best pizza dough recipe. Only half an hour rise time, and it’s tasty and delightfully crisp.
I usually bake 15 minutes then turn the pan and do an extra 5, but my oven is a bit on the unreliable side.
Leanne
Hi – wondering if you pre-cook the dough first? Recipe seems straight forward and quick, looking forward to tasting.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Leanne! You can do that if you wish–it will yield a crispier crust ☺️
Nicole
Mr Potato Head comes to mind when I think about the dough as a ball being not exciting. You could give it eyes or arms or an outfit, LOL hope this part of smile to your day thanks for the recipe!
Lisa
Hi! Want to try this for calzones – how many do you think I can get out of one batch? When we use store bought- I usually divide dough to get two out of each bag of dough…thanks so much!
Sam
Hi Lisa! It really depends how big you make them. This will yield one 10-12 inch pizza crust so I’d compare that to what your store bought dough typically makes and use that as a guide. 🙂
Maddisen Francis
Can you leave this pizza dough, covered, for more than 2 hours outside of the fridge?
Sam
It will continue to rise as it sits so you may end up over-proofing the dough.
Para
I made this dough today, and it was fantastic! Well received by my guests. The dough was enough to make 2 large pizzas. Thank you for posting.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the review, Para! We’re so happy everyone enjoyed the pizza ❤️
Courtney
Absolutely amazing! This recipe has made a permanent spot in in my cookbook!
Patty
This recipe is a hit with my family! when I did a double batch I did half and half flour. (Half white, half bread) it turned out.great!
MH
At first the recipe seemed complicated, but it was actually fun. The crust was so fluffy and delicious. I added a bit more salt and it was really good. This recipe is amazing!