Homemade Pizza Dough
This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.
My tried and true, all-time favorite pizza dough recipe. I’m fairly certain you and your family will prefer making this homemade pizza dough over using store-bought any day.
Soft, chewy, and incredibly delicious! You can enjoy a spicy sausage pizza or buffalo chicken pizza at home in just a little over an hour!
My homemade pizza crust recipe is the easiest because it’s made in a stand mixer. No kneading is required; the mixer will do all the work for you.
You will feel a sense of accomplishment once you’ve made your first pizza with this easy dough recipe. You will also never want to have your pizza any other way.
Another great thing about pizza dough is it can be frozen. You just have to let it thaw the night before and you’ll be able to get dinner on the table in a snap. This is convenient when you’re in the mood for bbq chicken pizza.
I’ll go over freezing pizza down later in the post.
Why this homemade pizza dough recipe works
- The stand mixer does all the work! If you don’t have one, you can knead by hand.
- The recipe yields enough dough to make two 12-inch pizzas
- The right amount of moisture is added to create a soft dough that has a slight chew. The crust will become your new favorite part of the pizza!
- The crust is slightly sweet which makes it extra delicious. Trust me on this one!
- Brush garlic oil over the crust before adding the toppings for even more flavor.
- This dough also makes great breadsticks!
Easy Pizza Dough Recipe Ingredients
This is seriously one of the easiest recipes because the ingredient list is fairly short. They are all staples from the pantry which also make the recipe convenient. Let’s go over all the ingredients:
- Yeast: Use a whole packet of yeast. It’s about 2 and ¼ teaspoons.
- Sugar: Feeds the yeast and adds a very light sweetness to the dough.
- Water: Warm the water to 105-115°F. Don’t go any warmer than 120°F to avoid killing the yeast.
- Flour: When making pizza dough, I prefer unbleached flour. I don’t always have unbleached flour on hand, though. Bleached all-purpose flour will still give great results. It’s been tested and that’s what I used in the video above.
- Salt: Just a teaspoon for flavor.
- Olive oil: A little goes in the dough and a little goes over the dough before the toppings are added.
- Garlic: Completely optional but garlic powder adds so much flavor.
How to make Pizza Dough
If you have a stand mixer, this will be incredibly easy. It’s basically a dump and turn on the mixer type of recipe. You really can’t make any mistakes here. The recipe is practically fool-proof.
The Dough – The dough comes together easily. It doesn’t require any special techniques but a stand mixer is recommended. All the ingredients are added, then the mixer will do the hard work for you!
Step 1: Activate the yeast
Make sure the water is at the right temperature. It needs to be warmed to 105-115°F.
If it’s too cool the yeast won’t activate. If it’s too hot the yeast will die.
Stir the sugar and yeast into the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes. It should look creamy and foamy on the top.
If yours doesn’t look this way, toss it and start again with fresh yeast.
Step 2: Make the dough
Add 1 cup of flour, salt, and olive oil to the bowl of a stand mixer. Give it a stir with a whisk.
Stir the yeast mixture one more time and add it to the bowl with the flour mixture. Use a whisk to stir everything together.
Add the remaining flour and attach the dough hook to the mixer.
Turn the mixer to low speed and let it mix for 20 minutes. It seems like a long time but trust me.
The dough is done when it comes together and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
Don’t rush the mixing process and refrain from adding additional flour. The dough will be slightly tacky when it’s finished but shouldn’t feel wet.
Step 3: Proof the dough
Lightly grease your hands with oil or cooking spray. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a ball.
Place the dough in a large bowl that has been lightly greased with oil. Give the dough a couple of turns so the outside is coated in the oil from the bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free place to rise until it’s doubled in size. This can take up 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 4: Shape the dough
Gently press your fist into the center of the dough to release some of the air then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Cut the dough in half. Cover each half with a lint-free towel and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Letting the dough sit like this for 5 minutes will allow the gluten to relax. This makes it easier to stretch the dough without it shrinking back.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll or gently stretch the dough out into a 12-inch circle. You can do this directly on a pizza pan, or pizza peel. Dust them with a little cornmeal to prevent the dough from sticking.
Step 5: Add topping and bake
I like to brush the top of the crust with garlic oil before adding the toppings. Just mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Brush it evenly over the entire pizza dough.
Spread ½ cup of your favorite pizza sauce over the dough but leave a 1-inch bare rim around the edge.
Sprinkle 1-2 cups of your favorite shredded cheese. I prefer to use mozzarella cheese for a classic pizza topping.
Add up to 2 cups of your favorite toppings. Don’t go overboard with the toppings. Adding too many can cause the crust to become soggy. This is especially so if you are using all vegetables.
Bake the pizza at 475°F for 15-17 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is fully melted.
Tips for freezing homemade pizza dough
- To freeze the dough, portion the dough out and coat it well with olive oil. Slip it into a zip-top freezer bag and seal it while squeezing all the air out. Try to get as much air out of the bag as you can.
- The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months!
- When you are ready to use it, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes just before you’re ready to make the pizza.
Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 packet
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water, warmed to 105-115°F
- 3 ⅔ cups (476 g) all-purpose flour, plus more shaping
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast and set aside for 5 minutes. The yeast mixture should look creamy and foamy on the top.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 cup of the flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
- Stir the yeast once more to make sure it is all dissolved and add it to the flour mixture. Mix together with a hand whisk until lump free. Add the remaining flour and attach the dough hook to the mixer.
- Turn the mixer on low speed and mix for 15 -20 minutes, until the dough comes together and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. It takes time for the dough to come together. Don’t rush it and refrain from adding more flour. The dough should be slightly tacky once it’s finished kneading.
- Lightly coat a bowl with olive oil. With lightly greased hands, scrape the dough out and shape it into a ball. Place the dough into the greased bowl and gently roll it around to coat all sides of the dough ball with oil. Cover with a lint-free towel and place the dough in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- Gently punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal halves. Shape each half into a ball, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle. You can also do this directly on your pizza pan. If you are using a pizza stone, do this step directly on your pizza peel. Spray your pizza pan with non-stick spray and dust lightly with flour or cornmeal. Once you’ve shaped the dough, gently transfer it to your prepared pizza pan.
- Using the remaining Tbs of olive oil, brush the top of the pizza with the oil. (For a more flavorful option, stir 1 tsp of garlic powder into the oil.)
- Top with your favorite toppings and bake at 475°F for 15-17 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is fully melted.
Notes
- Use proper measuring techniques to measure the flour. Don’t scoop the flour out with the measuring cup! Instead, lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup then level it off with the back of a knife. OR weigh the flour.
- The dough freezes well. Prepare through step 6 then brush a light coating of olive oil all over the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and then place it in a resealable freezer bag. Squeeze all of the air out of the bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then let the dough come to room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to using.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
I made this and used the entire dough for an extra thick crust…it was so good! My step daughter had so much fun putting the toppings on. Thank you for a great saturday afternoon family dinner.
Yay for pizza success!
Like a lot of people who have commented, I had issues with the dough being too dry. I’ve made pizza dough before so I’m aware of how to measure my flour but I clearly need to use less flour or more water. I’m honestly not sure which at this point as this is the second time that I’ve tried this recipe. The note about weighing flour would be helpful before I started at the beginning of the recipe and really should be added to the instructions. Really bummed out but will go to my go to recipe instead knowing it will work the first time I try.
I’m sorry you had issues with the dough being too dry. I make pizzas all the time using my recipe and it has never failed me so I know the recipe works. The common mistake is people really don’t know how to properly measure flour. You can’t just scoop it out with the measuring cup because flour compacts and you’ll end up with way more than you need. There is a toggle above the ingredients for metric ingredient amounts so you can use weight measurements. I also have an entire post dedicated to How to Measure Flour properly so you can have success with every one of my recipes.
Would you use bread improver for the pizza dough if you had it?
I’ve never used a bread improver before but I don’t think it’s really necessary unless you are making mass quantities of dough.
Would you use bread improver for the pizza dough if you had it?
Tried this pizza dough recipe tonight and my family and I loved it! It turned out perfectly, thanks for sharing! This will be my new “go-to” recipe for pizza night.
It’s one of our favorites as well! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Tried this pizza dough recipe tonight and my family and I loved it! It turned out perfectly, thanks for sharing! This will be my new “go-to” recipe for pizza night.
This sounds really good. I’m an old 66 yo Italian man who tried making pizza dough for the first time from a recipe I found on line and it came out hard and tasted like cardboard. I read your tip on the measuring of flour and my bad, I just scooped it out of the bag. I’m looking for a good tasting, chewy dough and I hope this is it. I don’t own a mixer so can this be made without a mixer by hand?
Yep, it sure can. Just mix everything together with a wooden spoon and knead the dough by hand. Enjoy!
I have never made home-made pizza dough before. This may sound weird but my dough had a shiny sheen when I removed it from the mixer bowl and it felt elastic. I can only compare it to a synthetic look. Is that expected or did something go wrong. It’s proofing as I write this.
Yep, that’s perfectly normal.
Love the freezing directions. But can this also be kept in the fridge and used the next day?
Yep! Just let it sit out for about 30 minutes before stretching it to shape your pizza.
This turned out perfect for us, great tasting recipe. thanks.
Simon
I’m so glad to hear!