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.
Ann
So easy and so good! Love this pizza dough!
Leabbe
I love this recipe it brings peace with the family
Annie
Came out great. Will use again
Jade
I made this pizza dough tonight and this is by far the best pizza I have ever made. This recipe is a keeper-so delicious and super easy! Thank you!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed, Jade! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and letting me know how it turned out, I really appreciate it!
Pat
Made this Pizza Doug with my 4 year old grandaughter. Itcame out Perfect and deliciosa. Very easy to make.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear that you and your granddaughter enjoyed, Pat! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and letting me know how it turned out for you, I hope you find even more recipes on my website that you love just as much!
Alex
If I want to triple this recipe do I also triple the yeast?
Sam
Yes. 🙂
Noel Coughtry
Great recipe. I’ll use it tonight.
Everett
Sigma
Isabel
This dough had a nice crust on the outside and soft bite inside. Very delicious and quick and easy to make!
Bob
Ingredients are incorrect. Don’t put 3/4 of water in the recipe if in the comments you say oh just add water as needed, how about you say exactly the amount, even in your vid you used more than 3/4 cp water. The dough comes out dry and hard using your recipe, get rid of the fake comment generator for your site and have real comments. Nobody made this using the recipe you provided.
Sam
Hi Bob! Working with dough is not an exact science which is why you could potentially need a range of wet or dry ingredients. You will see this in just about any good dough recipe. I’m not sure how you can say that I use more than 3/4c water in the video, that’s a 1 cup measuring cup in the video. I’m sorry you had a bad time. I would suggest re-reading the instructions and trying again. You will see that they are not fake comments, and this is actually a great recipe. I hope your day gets a little better! 🙂
Iris
Can you still use the dough if you accidentally over proofed it?
Sam
It can still be used. It will change the texture a bit.
Jasmine
Humidity and altitude change the amount of water needed for a recipe. Baking is chemistry so the environment changes everything. Someone in Florida wouldn’t use the same recipe as someone in Utah, for example.
D e vil
dude, you’re the robot fake reviewer. if you don’t know the first thing about dough and baking, just go away. All dough is made by eye or feel, whatever you want to call it. there is no exact ingredient amounts.
Gabrielle
I’ll admit, I was super disappointed by this recipe. It’s super dense and bready and does not taste like pizza dough. I will not be using it again.
Sam
Hi Gabrielle! Did the dough rise properly for you? It sounds like it may not have risen enough before you used it.
Constance Bailey
I’m not a big pizza fan, but my husband is. I made this easy recipe tonight (doubled the recipe because my pizza pan is 16″. The dough was so easy to work with and it was easy to hand stretch using gravity. Hubby says it was the best pizza crust he’s ever had.
Megan Pyles
Did you use flour or bread flour?
Sam
Hi Megan! This calls for all purpose flour. 🙂
Megan Pyles
Thank you!
Katie
Hello, I wanted to double check, this recipe is enough for 12 servings? As in 12 individual 10 inch pizzas?
Sam
No, this means you’ll be able to get 12 slices out of each pizza.
Michelle
Super easy very versatile pizza crust recipe this is my go to! Thank you, Sam for great and easy recipes.
Alison Bentle
Thoughts on substituting the flour for gluten free bread flour or gluten free all purpose flour?
Sam
Hi Alison! I haven’t personally tried it, but others have commented using 1 for 1 gluten free flour with success. 🙂
Laurel Bobbitt
I’ve made this so many times! Definitely a favorite! I mill fresh wheat berries for my flour and this is the best recipe I’ve tried even though it’s not written specifically for whole wheat! (I weigh my ingredients and use a blend of hard white and soft white if there are any other fresh whole wheat people reading!)
Naomi
I am so excited to hear this.. I am always looking for fmf pizza dough recipe. can’t wait to try it!
Abby
Just starting to mill my own grain! Can you tell me what ratio you used of hard vs soft?? Thanks!
Laurel Bobbitt
I used half hard and half soft, both white, and milled on the finest setting my mill can do.