The Best Pizza Dough Recipe
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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 1/4 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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Best dough recipe I have ever made! Highly recommended.
Excellent and very easy to follow! Question, I’m Making this ahead of timethis time and I’m going to refrigerate it. Do I need to let it rise after I take it out of the refrigerator?
Hi Stephanie! It will likely rise a little bit in the refrigerator. I would just flatten and roll it out. 🙂
Excellent!
I have tried many crust recipes and I finally found “THE ONE.”
This recipe was easy and the picky kids finally came for 2nds on my turn for pizza night.😉
I used bread flour and bloomed my yeast with water and sugar.
Very clear instruction easy to follow along. Will make vegetarian pizza for guests soon. Thanks for video.
This was a fabulous recipe! Extremely easy to follow. The easiest crust to roll out.
Thanks for giving it a try, Debby! 😊
This pizza dough is the best ever!! I’ve used it for thin pizzas and thicker ones, both turned out perfect! Thanks for sharing your recipe. This one is a keeper for sure!
So glad it’s a hit for you, Shannen! 🩷
This dough worked perfectly for cinnamon sticks. I started with 250 g flour and put everything but the oil in the stand mixer by mistake and mixed it up. Then added the oil and about 20 more g of flour and it was the perfect not sticky dough, was so soft and fluffy, absolutely delicious. Also i used 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt.
Thanks for posting the recipe. For my first try it turned out decent with one resulting question. The crust ended being really thick. Almost deep dish thick. I was in a hurry so I’m not sure if rushing it before rising was the problem with a thick crust? Any suggestions for a thinner crust result?
Next time I would allow the dough it’s time to rise then deflate it and roll it out a bit thinner. I’m glad you still enjoyed it! 🙂
Love this pizza dough recipe! It’s a regular in our rotation, delicious and comes out perfect every time! Highly recommended
This turned out amazing! The garlic powder and dried basil added and amazing flavor!
We doubled it and it turned out amazing! I’ll make this dough on a Monday so my kids can hand make peperoni rolls as snacks thru the week. I have this bookmarked.
well…um.. yes best ever 😒
can’t even upload the picture of crumbles in my bread machine. lucky I was doing it in advance
Hi Li! This recipe is not for a bread machine, but regardless it sounds as though something may have been accidentally mis-measured. If you tossed in all the flour at once that could also be your issue.
Simple & easy to follow recipe best ever dough. Thank you so much.
I doubled the recipe and mine turned out so dry, so much loose flour. I didn’t even add the additional 2/3 cups of flour or it will not form at all! I had to keep adding oil and water to mine to make them stick together. The result is a lumpy dough! After half an hour my dough has not double in size. So disappointing!
I’m so sorry to hear this, Zhi! If your dough isn’t rising, your yeast is likely no good. There is a range of flour listed so you gradually incorporate flour as needed. You may need on the lower end or the higher end but you stop when you reach a good consistency in the dough. I hope this helps!
I was able to fix my lumpy dough by letting my Bosch mixer knead the dough until it’s smooth… probably 5mins. Mind you I added quite a bit of water and oil until there were no more loose flour and they started sticking together like it should. It didn’t double in size but it rose enough that I was able to stretch 2 pan sheet pizzas. My yeast was not the issue because I used the same yeast to make breads and my breads came out beautifully.
Just to be fair, we like the taste of it so I will make it again today and will just use the mixer right away instead of mixing it with a wooden spoon.
Amazing . Doing this again for the 4th time! It’s a hit at home 🙂
This is delicious! I added 1/4 tsp Penzey’s mural of flavor spice blend. Using bread flour made for a great chewy crust. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
will it work if I double the recipe?
Sure thing! You will want to add the flour gradually so the dough doesn’t become too dry. 🙂
Your pizza dough recipe was delicious and a perfect proportion for two senior adults.
I served meatballs and sauce as a side so now I have leftovers for a lunch. Appreciate your sharing. Happy cooking!
Excellent pizza crust! Have pinned for sharing
I’ve been making this dough for probably a couple of years now and wouldn’t use any other recipe now. It is indeed the best and has never failed me. Thank you so much.
I agree! 10 out of 10!
This is the absolute BEST pizza dough I have ever made!
It was so easy!
I threw out the recipe that i had and replaced it with this one.
Thank you so much for sharing!
I have tried many but finally found the one I wanted. Better then restaurant pizza…and the sauce is amazing…
this is the best pizza recipe EVER. 10/10. I spread it for a thin crust and it not only got crispy but it tasted wonderful!!!
Made this dough, loved the recipe. Used a 12 inch pizza pan. The dough was so thick that it did not cook all the way through. I would use it again, but roll thinner or pre bake a little bit.
This pizza dough recipe is my go-to. i make this in a 12 inch iron skillet and pre-bake it for 3 to 5 minutes before adding my toppings. It turns out great every time.