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)
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.
Alisha
This recipe worked out so well I almost kept it to myself to brag to my friends and family about!! Then I realized something as good as this should definitely be know by everyone! Quick question, do you know if you would be able to substitute the all-purpose flour with whole wheat?
Sam
Hi Alisha! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Whole wheat flour is a bit “thirstier” so your dough could turn out a bit dry. You could probably do a mix of all purpose and wheat, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for sure how it would go.
Jay
Absolutely delish! I used the dough to make pizza de papa… Olive oil for the sauce, and sliced potatoes tossed with rosemary, salt, pepper, and more olive oil. Insanely good!
January
Crazy good!!! Fluffy, crispy, chewy in the inside. Amazingly delicious. We use it in our oonie…. Take 1 minute to turn out the most amazing pizza. Toppings included mushroom, onion, sauce, nitrate free pepperoni from trader Jo…. Amazing. Never buying grocery store dough again.
Miŕra
This is far the best easy pizza ever. I do half All Purpose Flour and half Bread Flour. I let it rise in the fridge over night after the counter rise. Definitely beats the pizzas in my area. I also use this recipe for the most delicious Calzones.
This is my favorite recipe ever!
Thank you very much for sharing.
Danielle Schrader
I wanted to wait a bit to leave a review until I had done the freezer method of this dough and I have to say that I am glad I did. The dough is amazing!!. I wanted to make personal homemade pizzas to freeze as my grandkids are always wanting homemade pizza. The first time making this dough I made 2 medium sized pizzas and they came out wonderful. So I decided to make smaller versions. I doubled the recipe which made about 16 personal sized pizzas. I parbaked each one, let them cool, then topped them. Wrapped them individually in plastic wrap the put them in gallon sized zip lock bags and placed in the freezer. When ready to cook I preheated the oven to 400 popped a few on a baking sheet and baked for 10 to 15 minutes. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. This recipe will be handed down to many generations with a credit note to you. Thank you!!
Roger Flores
Can I use regular yeast??
Thanks!
Sam
Hi Roger! Active dry yeast will work. See the notes below the recipe for how others have used it. 🙂
Ani
Perfect recipe, tasty and very easy to prepare. Didn’t even manage to take a picture, it was over too soon 🥰
KingersSister
I Googled ‘easy pizza dough and scrolled until I found this gem! As I type, my oven is coming up to temp so I can pop this pizza pan in! This recipe is easy to follow and breaks each step down perfectly. The dough is tender and easy to handle.. I can’t wait to taste it!
Roy
Absolutely love this dough recipe! My house is usually very cold, so I turn my oven on to 350 while I mix this dough. Once the dough is mixed, I turn off the oven and stick this bad boy in there to proof and the dough is ready within 30-45 minutes! This is by far the easiest dough I’ve ever worked with, stretches incredibly easy and bakes beautifully! I use garlic olive oil for the oil part and I also add garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, and chili powder to the dough! Highly recommend this dough!
Brian S Wasman
Here is another great easy way to rise any kind of dough. take a microwave safe bowl/mug run tap water till hot as it gets fill . place in microwave for 1 minute. leave in then put covered dough in microwave off for recommended time.
you have just created your own professional proof box. for any all baked goods that require rising.
cathy houser
Absolutely love this recipe, it is the only one I will use and I’ve used it a lot!
Emily
I use bread and/or pizza flour and it turns out beautiful everytime with no fuss.
Debra Houle
This was a great Pizza dough recipe…I added garlic granules, Italian seasoning to the dough. the olive oil in the dough gave it a wonderful rich flavorful texture along with the seasonings. I doubled the recipe and baked my pizzas on preheated baking stones. While the dough was rising I prepped all the toppings ready for baking….,this will be my go to pizza crust….it had a nice firm crispy bottom crust but soft and chewy interior….so so good! ..thank you!
angie nachbaur
this is simple, and delicious. Thanks !
Angie in Ontario Canada
charlene H
I’ve made homemade dough for a few decades. learned from a very big Italian family in fact. my typical recipe takes about 2 to 3 hours. thought I would try this recipe to make a quick Alfredo artichoke pizza and was not disappointed. love this recipe. dough had great lift, was easy to make into a thinner crust and it held up. thanks for the recipe! this is a keeper
Sarah
If I wanted to double it, would I double the yeast, too?
Sam
Yes. 🙂
Julian P Swistak
I’m making this for the first time and did not see any kneading time in the instructions. So, I did knead until it became elastic and nice. It wasn’t ready to let rise without working the dough!
Katrina
Can you use this dough recipe in an outdoor pizza oven such as Ooni?
Sam
Hi Katrina! I haven’t tried it, but I think it could work. 🙂
Katie Ingison
I have been using this recipe since 2018! I’ll never use another. This makes such a delicious crust that every time I make it for company or family all they can talk about is that!! I’ve always used active dry yeast, mixed as directed, and always is successful. I use a pizza stone, preheated it makes a nice crispy bottom even with regular unbleached flour. Thank you for this recipe!! I’ll always be a dedicated follower.
Carolyn
Have you tried to double the recipe? Also, do you have any additional tips?
Sam
Hi Carolyn! This recipe doubles well. I don’t have any particular tips just double all of the ingredients and follow the same steps. 🙂
John & Mary Haley
Sam,
Wow! Excellent pizza dough recipe! We can make our own pizza at home now!! Thank you for sharing! Best recipe and fairly simple as you said. Thank you Maam!!
Bob
spending most of my time sailing, currently in St Lucia, and looking for simple effective recipes as can be at sea for months on end. I tried this today. Totally lovely and simple to make, I will keep this for the future. Thanks
Jeremy
Best recipe by far!
I have this one bookmarked and way keep coming back. One day l pass this recipe down to my kids and have them know it as Sam’s pizza recipe
Years later everyone will ask their great grandkids who is Sam? The answer? A great baker!
Sam
Thank you so much, Jeremy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Brenda
Can you make the dough assemble the toppings and freeze for later use?
Sam
I haven’t done it personally, but I think that could work. 🙂