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!
Hello! I wanted to ask if canloa oil would still work, instead of using olive oil?
That should be fine! I hope you love the pizza dough, Emma!
Hello! I tried your recipe for the 3rd time and it never failed me! Thank you for sharing!!! Since then I never buy/order pizza from the store. I thought it is hard to make pizza dough but your recipe is excellent! :-). I would like to post a picture for you to see it 🙂
Michelle
I am so glad that you enjoy the pizza dough recipe, Michelle! If you’re on Instagram you can tag me at @sugarspun_sam or #sugarspunrun. 🙂
I did tag you👌👍
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing pizza base recipe. It’s so easy to follow and excellent results every time. I think I will be voted Mom / wife of the year by my son and husband thanks to your recipe 😂
I place the oven on pizza mode and bake it on the oven tray upside down and placed on the bottom of the oven. It makes the base nice and crispy.
Thank you 👏💎
What an awesome compliment to receive, thank you so much, Louise. I am so glad that the pizza dough has been such a hit. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi, I just made your dough for the second time and cooked the pizza on my big green egg grill with a pizza stone. It is unbelievable! I will put that pizza against anybody’s! What a great recipe and very simple. Thanks again for a great recipe!
This is so great to hear! Thank YOU for letting me know how it turned out for you, Dave!! 🙂
I’ll never buy premade or premixed crusts ever again! This dough is so easy to make and tastes amazing. I’ve even made stuffed crust with it and it turned out soo good! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much, Shayna! I am so glad that you enjoyed the pizza dough. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
I tried this on Sunday with regular self rise flour and it was delicious. My first time at it and it came out perfect! I love your recipes they are so easy to follow. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, Nike! I am so glad that you enjoyed the pizza dough and you found the recipe easy to follow. 🙂
I have made this recipe one time. Mine also didn’t raise but I think I killed the yeast with hot water. I still made it and it tasted delicious. I can’t wait to make it again with warm water 😂. Thanks for a wonderful pizza dough. I also liked it as much as pizzas you order. Thanks
Hello, Deb! I am sorry that your pizza dough didn’t rise. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Regardless, I am happy that you loved the taste. I hope the next time you make it that it comes out perfectly. 🙂
Hi! Do you think the dough would work if subbing avocado oil for olive oil?
Hello, Liz! I haven’t tried it, so I am not sure. If you do, let me know how it works. I hope that you enjoy the pizza dough. 🙂
Can this dough be used for baking chicken bakes?
Hello, Sandy! I am sorry I am not sure what you mean. I have had people use this pizza dough recipe for Stromboli and Calzone, but not sure about a Chicken Bake. If you can clarify what you’re trying to make, I’d be happy to help best that I can. 🙂
Love this recipe the most out of the many I’ve tried. I made this dough instead of the typical one I use and my boyfriend devoured it…. I only got 2 slices LOL. Saved this page and I will definitely be using it from now on
Thank you so much, Megan! I am so happy that you both enjoyed the pizza dough. Sorry, you only got two slices. lol 🙂
Hi there
I would like to make my Pizza dough in my stand up mixer. How long do I knead the dough?
Thank You
Hi Mary Ann! No kneading necessary with the stand mixer. You will still want to do the brief kneading indicated in step 7 before rolling out, but that’s it. I hope you love the pizza dough!
Hi, Mary? No idea how the stand mixer worked for you but that’s how I did it. Well, I started off by combining with a spoon for the fry ingredients, there’s no kneading required with this because the dough hook takes care of that. But yeah. I used the stand mixer and it worked great.
Has I ask in my last email, I would like to know if I can freeze de dough and at what stage I can do it, probably after the dough is raise. I’m asking the question because it will be easyer for me to do a batch and take one off of the freezer when I need one.
Hello, Gilles! I personally have not frozen the pizza dough, however, others have and have had success. If you want to freeze the pizza dough, I would let it rise completely, then store pizza dough inside a freezer bag. I hope that this helps. 🙂
Thanks very much, I went to my friends last week and I find de pizza very good and easy to do.
Gilles
I am so glad, Gilles. Enjoy! 🙂
I Made this recipe two days in a row using measure for measure Gluten free flour. The first day, I followed the recipe, but the dough was too crumbly using 2cups of flour. The second day, I followed the recipe as indicated with the 1 cup if flour and then slowly started adding 1/2 cup of flour instead of a whole cup. I realized really quickly that the 1/2 was going to result in crumbly dough again, so I added about 1/4 cup more water and then continued to add the remainder of the 1/2 cup – so I only used a total of 1 1/2 cup of measure for measure Gluten free flour and approximately 1cup of warm water total. I then set the dough in warm place to rise. It was moist and able to be gently kneaded. I then spread the dough onto pizza stone with a little bit of corn meal under the dough. It cooked up beautifully. Good recipe even with the modifications.
Thank you so much, Victoria. I am happy that the pizza dough recipe worked so well for you, even with the modifications. Enjoy! 🙂
I have made this 5 or 6 times. The first times were all great. The last two times my dough doesn’t rise. I can’t figure out what has happened. Is it my water? my yeast isn’t old but can it go bad?
Hi Mary! If the water is very hot it could kill the yeast or if it isn’t hot enough the yeast won’t rise. Usually just using “warm” water works well for me, but if you’re running into an issue I might try checking that your water is between 105-115F. The yeast could also possibly be bad even though it isn’t old. Finally, with the weather cooling down it may just be cooler in your kitchen and if the dough isn’t in a warm spot (or worse if it’s in a drafty spot) it could just need more time to rise. These would be my best guesses, I really hope that helps!
Being a pizza cook has always been my backup job whenever times get hard. Times are hard for me right now so I decided to make my own pizza.
First off….Wow! This pizza crust is amazing. I followed the instructions but from a previous commentor I did half AP and half Bread.
I’ve worked for several mom & pop shops and this pizza crust is the bomb!
Slightly crunchy and perfect.
My toppings; smoked sausage, pepperoni, white onion, fresh mozzarella, Oaxaca Mexican melting cheese and graded mozzarella from the store.
Once it came out I added melted butter with garlic salt around the crust and sprinkled that across the top.
It’s bc of your pizza dough recipe that I honestly don’t think I’ll ever again order commercial…
Amazing crust….thank you so much
JG
Thank you so much, John! What an amazing comment! I am so glad that you enjoyed the pizza dough recipe. I love the garlic salt sprinkled on the pizza crust and love the sound of all your delicious pizza toppings. Enjoy! 🙂