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)
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.
Echo
I have a question. I don’t have a pizza pan. Will this work rolled out onto a large stainless steel pan ? Or will it shrink up when cooking if the dough isn’t on a pan with a lip ?
Sam
I bake mine on a stainless steel round pan frequently so you won’t have any issues. 🙂
Carol from Colorado
I doubled the recipe and the two pizzas I made came out wonderful I may have put to much topping on but the family loved them thank you so much
Melissa
My go to pizza dough receipt.
Morgan
So I’m looking to make a pizza crust and add toppings to keep in the freezer for a quick meal. Pretty much I want to make our own frozen pizza that isn’t store bought lol. So would you recommend I add all of the toppings to the dough and then freeze? Or cook the crust first and then add toppings and then freeze?
Sam
Hi Morgan! Personally I would probably cook the dough first then top it and freeze it. 🙂
Brittany Olivier
If you were wondering as I had, if you have the active dry yeast rather than the instant as I did, I followed directions on the packet to add 1/4 c Luke warm water and sugar and let process 10 minutes then made the rest of the recipe as written (subtracting the 1/4 c water already added) and it worked perfectly.
Kevin
All of directions to the T. 3/4 cup of water was not anywhere near enough ended up, throwing the batch out
Sam
I’m sorry to hear that happened, Kevin! Did you add your flour gradually?
Adesewa
I tried this recipe and my pizza came out sooo nice. Thank you🥰
Cindy Boyett
This is my favorite recipe for pizza crust. I keep my yeast in the freezer because I buy it in bulk, and it stays fresh. Don’t skimp on the rising times. In fact, I let it rise again once I pat it out on my pizza stone – I don’t preheat the stone. Poke holes in the crust, bake 5 minutes – it’s a little puffy at this point. I top it & bake at least 15 minutes. It comes out perfectly every time.
Keeley
Okay so I’ll just say, I MADE THIS WRONG! I added a little over two cups of flour immediately instead of just adding one cup (then adding more later) so I pretty much had to knead the dough just for it to all combine. That being said, I think I did “mix” or “knead” it too much before letting it rise, therefore, the dough really didn’t rise much (if at all) but I went with it and still rolled it out and let me just say, it was delicious!! I will 100% make it again and I don’t know if I’ll do it the right way or if I’ll just stick to the wrong way, haha!
Lisa
There is no better recipe than this one. The only one I use!
Karla McCabe
how would you freeze it? and or that it out?
Sam
Hi Karla! You will want to wrap it tightly, or store in an air tight container and freeze. You can thaw it in the refrigerator or at room temperature. 🙂
Kayla
Followed instructions exactly, dough never rose, couldn’t make the pizza dough. through it all out. make hot dogs instead. what a waste.
Sam
Hi Kayla! I’m sorry to hear this happened! Was your water an ideal temperature? If your water is too cold it won’t activate your yeast. If it’s too warm it will kill the yeast. Make sure it’s in the 105-115F range listed. Did you use instant yeast, or active dry yeast? While active dry yeast will work it will take much longer to activate. If neither of these were an issue I would recommend buying new yeast as yours likely is not good any longer. 🙁
Rich
I followed the recipe twice and it turned out great both times.
Ember
ABSOLUTELY needs more water if you have Canadian flour or other higher protein flour. Even if you mix it in two halves like the instructions. Otherwise works well, just make sure you adjust slightly.
Sam
Hi Ember! You are supposed to mix it gradually, not just in 2 halves. This way you can stop when it’s the right consistency. 🙂
Wissal
Very nice to follow recipe and the results are just great. Thank you 🥰🥰
onorina gargiulo
That is correct! Thank you for it.
Linda
I have taken three pizzas classes, one at the CA Culinary Academy, and I would say your recipes are the best and easiest to follow and that includes your Pizza Sauce recipe. So easy! Both are keepers and regulars in my dinner rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Janet
Excellent recipe!! I doubled and used my stand mixer with dough hook, it made 2 good size pizzas. I wish I could add pics to show you how great they turned out! One question, will cutting back the oil give a crispier crust? This is really good, crispy on edges, nice bite in the center. Thankyou!
Sam
Hi Janet! I haven’t tried it to say for sure.
Vanessa
preheat the pan/stove you’ll cook the pizza on. put the pan in the oven while it’s preheating at 425°.
Monique Thivierge
I don’t know what happened, but my crust is more like a biscuit😭
Sam
I’m so sorry this happened, Monique! Is it possible that your yeast was not good?
onorina gargiulo
I come from Napoli, I have been in America for over 65 years I know how to make pizza very well, but I still like to tray others Idea and appreciate them when I tray something different, I usually enjoy the information and mentally thank the persone that toke the time to input the information. It was just the comparison that was so much exaggerated that made me say something Because there is no comparison. Just try with a little patient or ask someone to show you you will understand why it is worth the work.