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.
Britt
Easy recipe to follow. The pizza base turned out great. Thank you.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad it was a hit, Britt! Thanks for the review 🥰
Pamela
This method works great! As a beginner with pizza dough, I found the directions easy to follow. The pizza turned out perfectly. Delicious!
Sarah
It’s the best
Alejandra perez
what can I say they is going to be a new staple at my house 😍 we loved it
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We appreciate the review, Alejandra! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try ❤️
Katie
Loved this!
Sue
Pizza dough was delicious and easy, it just had to be baked longer than 13-15 minutes with parchment paper under it. When I took the parchment paper out, baked 5 minutes, the crust was nice and crispy and brown.
Mitchell Riddle
So easy. Thanks Sam
Suzie
With this recipe, I was able to crack the Bojo’s pizza crust code!!! It cannot get any better than this recipe!!!! I am so hapoy that I found and used THIS recipe!
Sam
So happy to hear this, Suzie! Thank you so much for trying my recipe!! 🙂
Zoey
Worked really well, I stuffed the crust and it turned out nicely, good dough that makes a good pizza 👍
David R.
I have made this recipe six or seven times using different mixes of flours and both round and square pans. This is far and away the best pizza crust recipe I have tried. It comes out perfect every time. Thanks!
Pat King
If a cup of flour is 120g how can 2 1/2 cups be 230g-295g. That would make it 300g.
Sam
Hi Pat! I’m not sure where you are getting those numbers. A cup of flour is 125g and the recipe calls for between 2 and 2 1/3 cups of flour (250-295g). I hope that helps!
doriduz
Excellent recipe. Just the right amount for a toaster oven-sized baking pan. Dough came out soft and elastic; no problem working it into a square for a focaccia. Mahalo!
Lindsay C
Super easy and quick! We proofed in the oven (oven turned off but with the light on) – got a great rise and our pizza was delicious!
Mia
My roommate and I have made this every week for something like 9 months and therefore I feel qualified to say this is a very good recipe. It doesn’t require a whole lot of planning ahead and the very simple list of ingredients means it’s cost-friendly, both of which are convenient things for us as college students. We literally always forget to knead after it rises, but it turns out great anyway 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy the recipe has been such a hit for you, Mia 🥰
Jessy
This is a no knead dough?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jessy! The kneading is very brief. We address this in the post 😊
Rebekah
if you make it ahead of time and refrigerate, do you bring it to room temp? or did it need to rise again? do you knead it? what’s the next step after you take it out of the fridge? send like it would be cold and lose its “rise”
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Rebekah! You will want to let it come back to room temperature before attempting to roll it out. There’s no need to let it rise or knead it again 🙂
Sabira Khatieb
Hi Sam, thank you for this recipe…it’s my ‘go to’ recipe for pizza base and let’s not forget the pizza base sauce. Super easy and delicious. I should write it down or save it to my favourites. It’s always a hit.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like the recipe, Sabira! Thanks for coming back to leave a review ❤️