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)
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.
Lauren
Any suggestions on how to make the dough not doughy? I followed the directions and the bottom part of the crust was so doughy. I ended up putting it back in the oven for 20+ minutes and it still didn’t turn out great on the bottom
Sam
Hi Lauren! That is a long time to bake a pizza. I’ve never run into this is. Sometimes if you have a lot of toppings it can be harder to get the crust baked all the way through. You can try rolling the dough thinner or par-baking the crust. I hope that helps! 🙂
Karla McCabe
could you make this ahead of time? if so, how could you store it?
Sam
Hi Karla! I provide steps for making in advance in the notes section below the recipe. 🙂
Cheryl
Best pizza dough ever! Great taste and texture. It is the new house favorite!
Natalia
I measured the flour using a scale, the dough came out much firmer, nothing like in the video. I was using Arthur king patent flour.
Sam
Hi Natalia! You need a range of flour in this recipe. You really just need to add it until you have the proper consistency. I hope that helps! 🙂
Maureen Kendall
This is the easiest most simple pizza dough recipe I have ever made and my family loves my pizzas now! Thank you so much for making this simple for us non-cooks! 🩷
Jeff
This is by far, the easiest and best tasting pizza dough when you’re short on time. I followed the recipe 100% as directed, and I couldn’t have been any happier with the results.
DEBRA
Recipe was amazing, my kids loved it! It was very soft before I cooked it. it was very easy to spread everything on it. I will keep using this recipe EVERYTIME!!
leonie
can i let the dough rise in the fridge for 24 hrs rather than sitting it out to rise then placing in the fridge for later?
Sam
Hi Leonie! I haven’t personally tried this method but I think it could work. 🙂
Angela
This is the very best pizza dough recipe. I use this recipe all the time. A no-fail recipe. I love this recipe!!
Paul
Tried it twice. Must be missing really important info because this is a 0.0 – 100. Absolutely horrible recipe. I’ll go back to Nana’s recipe. Was hoping for something really spectacular.
Sam
Hi Paul! I’m not sure what type of information you are expecting here. It’s a pretty straight forward recipe. I have the ingredients listed and then give you step by step how to do it. I’m happy to help troubleshoot if need be. 🙂
Brittney
Can I freeze this for later? Cuz I wanna use this for cheese bread sticks and probably don’t wanna use all of it lol:)
Sam
Hi Brittney! Many others have done so with success. 🙂
Diana
Have you done this recipe using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment?
Sam
Hi Diana! I don’t find it necessary here, but you certainly could. 🙂
Clifford
Sam, thank you for your hard work putting this recipe together. It’s going to be a wonderful dinner tonight.
Breanna
This made the softest most incredible dough, it had such a great flavor I could honestly eat it without toppings! It is a sticky dough so I had to add more flour but it was perfect
Sarah
Is there a typo in the recipe because this dough was super dry after 1.5 cups total of flour
Sam
Hi Sarah! That is not a typical result. Did you make any substituions? Are you at a different altitude? Did you weigh your flour or use cups? You could be over-measuring your flour if you are using cups. I do give a range because it can vary from kitchen to kitchen but to be dry at 1.5 cups is quite odd. I hope you still enjoyed it. 🙂
Debra
How do you test yeast to know if it is good to use
Sam
Unfortunately there is not a good way to test it other than to use it.
Jennifer
Absolutely delicious! I added 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning and the garlic powder. Made a delicious cast iron pizza.
Patricia
You can try and see if it activates in warm water with some sugar. If it bubbles after 5-10 minutes your yeast is active