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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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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
JUST WOW! What a great recipe. It was simple and yummy. It more then deserves all the great comments and stars. Almost 7 years since you posted it and still kicking.
We are so happy you loved it so much, Jeffery! Thanks for the review 🥰
I’ve always been daunted by the idea of making pizza dough from home, but this one looks nice and simple and has great reviews! (I can’t wait to try it.) I tend to lean towards liking nice thick pizza crust, so can I double the recipe/not roll it out as much in order to make it thicker (while also retaining the size of the pizza), or would I have to do something else?
Also, on some pizzas I’ve tried, there’s been corn meal on the crust (I assume to prevent sticking), and it gives such a nice texture that I love! Is there any way I can implement it in this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Juniper! It can easily be doubled and rolled out thicker. You could certainly roll it on some corn meal if you’d like. 🙂
Yay! Thank you so much.
My family and I really love the taste and texture of this dough. It is very easy to make, as well!
Thanks for giving it a try, Beth! We are so happy everyone loves it 😊
use this recipe every week. Family loves it! i add in some more garlic and onion powder and brush the dough before I cook it with garlic and butter. honestly doesn’t need anything extra!
We are so happy it’s such a hit for your family, AJ! 🩷
This is my go to recipe for pizza dough. I made it today for Stromboli and it was delicious! I did proof the active yeast.
We are so happy it is such a hit for you, Kate! Enjoy ☺️
Thank you, Sam! Easy and versatile dough. I topped with Italian sausage, mushrooms, and olives. I’m curious what other favorite toppings your readers are choosing!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it so much, Katrin! Those toppings sound delicious!☺️
I am making this dough in the morning, to be ready for dinner time how would I go about storing it from 9am till about 6pm? I have it proofing on top of the oven right now can I just stick it in the fridge and bring it back up to room temp later? Thanks!!
Hi Amber! We provide instructions for making in advance in the recipe notes. We hope everyone loves it!
It’s unclear from the advance instructions in the recipe what should be done when you’re ready to use the dough out of the fridge. Should it be brought back to room temp before rolling out and baking or can everything just proceed straight out of the fridge with no adjustments or wait time?
Hi Regina. Yes, you will need to let the dough come to room temperature before rolling it out. There’s no need to knead or let it rise again though. Enjoy!
I’m trying to get my kiddos to eat more healthy and stir away from fast food. And today was my first time making pizza dough and everything came out amazing definitely will be adding in some more herbs next time.
thank you.
We are so happy you gave our recipe a try, Tee! Enjoy 😊
any way to make this with active dry yeast? it looks so good but don’t have instant yeast.
Hi Claire! Yes you can. Check out the notes section in the recipe card for instructions 😊
I have tried other pizza crust recipes. This one was the easiest to work with.when rolling out and transferring to pizza pan. Our family likes thin crust so I rolled it out to a 16″ and placed it on our pizza pan and followed cooking directions for 15 minutes. Came out perfect!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Michelle!
Made this for a “make your own pizza” night with my husband on a Sunday, doubled the recipe so we have leftover for our work lunches tomorrow. This was perfect, followed the recipe exactly but added some onion powder, oregano, and parsley to the dough because I’m an overachiever. It was soft and fluffy for mine, and my husband who prefers thin crust found it easy to roll out and get thin enough. 10/10, will be coming back to use this recipe again!
So fun! Thanks for letting us know how it went for you, Lindsay 😊
hi we are trying your recipe today I found it very easy and simple to make thanks!!
I followed the directions exactly. I couldn’t get my dough to roll out thinner for Pizza it was really difficult to work with this dough recipe. It’s supposed to be able to stretch Roll easy. It was very difficult. This is the worst recipe.
Hi Debbie! If everything was followed exactly and no ingredients were substituted/no changes were made (you didn’t sub the yeast for active dry, did you?), then you just needed to let the dough relax/rise a bit more so that it’s easier to roll out. Was your kitchen quite cold? This is a pretty solid recipe that I very rarely get complaints on, so I’m pretty confident in it ( I also personally make it as written at least once a week) 🙂
Great recipe! made two batches this evening and both turned out fantastic! easy to follow, perfectly baked and tasty! thanks, bookmarked for use again!
Wonderful! Thanks for giving it a try, Krista 🩷
Been looking for an easy at home pizza dough recipe and this is it. was easy to make i made two and it made four personal pans everyone got to make how they wanted. our family pizza nights are back on. Thank you 💜
Hi Angel! Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed it! We’re so glad it worked out for family pizza night. 🙂
my pizza dough came out dry, ive made before. i did follow directions, anyway I can salvage this.?
Hi Pattie! You could try adding more liquid.
Mine came out dry too. It needs about 1/8 to 1/4 cups more water
I want to make these so bad, BUT I don’t have olive oil. Can I use vegetable or canola oil instead?
Yes that will work just fine.
I use half vegetable oil and half avocado oil, it works perfect!!
Second time making this recipe. Entire family agrees it is the BEST pizza dough ever. Definitely a keeper. This recipe comes together in no time so having pizza for supper last minute is not a problem. Thank you for yet another delicious recipe. Cheers!!!