This is the best pizza dough recipe ever! This quick pizza dough recipe produces a foolproof, soft pizza crust that can be used for any pizza you can image. Whether you’re an expert or a beginner in the kitchen, this recipe comes out perfectly every time.

 

Homemade Pizza dough

So you decided to make pizza for dinner? The kids are excited because you promised them they could make their own individual pizzas and top them with whatever their heart desires. The problem is, you need a basic pizza dough recipe that is quick and easy to make, and most importantly will taste good. …

Phew! It’s a good thing you’re here, then! This pizza dough recipe is just what you need. In fact, this recipe has never failed me.

You can use this pizza dough recipe to make pepperoni pizza dip, nectarine arugula pizza, or my prosciutto blackberry basil pizza. There are so many delicious options!

Now, if you’re a first-time pizza dough maker, take a deep breath and know that pizza dough (and pizza making in general) doesn’t need to be extravagant. In fact, it’s best to keep things simple.

Simple ingredients produce tasty results. For this recipe you’ll need:

Pizza Dough Ingredients

  • Flour — Use all purpose, bread flour, or wheat flour. This recipe uses all purpose flour.
  • Yeast — The yeast gives rise and lift to the pizza crust.
  • Sugar — While not absolutely necessary for a pizza crust, I like to include a small amount of sugar for my active dry yeast to feed on. Yeast loves a bit of sugar and so that will help it activate and give a good rise to your crust.
  • Salt — For flavor and tightening the gluten.
  • Oil — You’ll want oil to lightly grease the bowl so the dough won’t stick to the bowl and to keep it from drying out as it rises. You can use olive oil for added flavor or vegetable oil or canola oil works great too.

A glass bowl with yeast, water, sugar, flour and salt; in preparation to making the best pizza dough recipe.

How to Make Pizza Dough at Home

Mixing the dough:

  1. Place the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
  2. Let the yeast sit for 10 minutes. The yeast should get bubbly, signifying it has been activated.
  3. Once bubbly, add 3 cups of flour and the salt. Mix until the flour has been incorporated.
  4. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, mixing until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is really sticky, add flour ,1 tablespoon at a time until it comes away from the sides of the bowl.
  5. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes with a stand mixer or 10-15 minutes if kneading by hand.

Rising pizza dough and rolling it out:

  1. Add 1 teaspoon of oil (vegetable, canola, or olive oil) to a large bowl, using your hand or a paper towel, make sure the oil is covering the entire bowl.
  2. Place the pizza dough ball in the bowl, turn the dough ball over so that the oil is lightly covering both sides of the dough; this prevents the dough from drying out.
  3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
  4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop. Divide the dough in half, or thirds (depending on the size of pizza you want).
  5. Roll out the dough to your desired shape and thickness. — This is the best time to include your kids and family! They’ll have a great time rolling out their individual pizza 😊
  6. Top with your desired toppings.

Baking Pizza Dough:

  1. When ready to bake, place the pizzas in the oven either on an olive oil greased baking sheet or a pizza stone. 
  2. Bake at 450°F (or even 500°F. You want the oven to be HOT!)
  3. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the crust is cooked all the way through and the cheese is melted and golden in color.

A glass bowl with homemade pizza dough in the bowl, prior to letting the dough rise.

A glass bowl covered with plastic wrap, in the bowl is the best pizza dough recipe after having risen for 1 hour.

FAQS and Recipe Tips

  • What type of flour is used in pizza dough? — Use a flour with high gluten, so all purpose (10%-12% gluten) or bread flour (12%-14% gluten) are great options. Don’t use pastry flour or cake flour for pizza dough as their gluten levels are much lower.
  • What is salt’s role in pizza dough? —  Salts major role is to boost flavor, without it Weekend Bakery says, “Breads will taste flat.” In addition to adding flavor, salt strengthens the dough by tightening gluten structure.
  • Do you have to put salt in pizza dough? — Nope! It isn’t absolutely necessary, although (from the question above) it can aid in gluten development. Ultimately it’s your call, but without salt the pizza dough won’t taste or act the same.
  • Can you make pizza dough by hand? — You can make this pizza dough without a mixer by hand. Simply use a wooden spoon to stir everything.
  • How long does thin crust pizza take to bake? — If you make a thin crust pizza, your bake time might be around 12-14 minutes depending on the thickness of the crust and your oven’s temperature.
  • Can I make pizza dough ahead of time? — Yes! Storing the dough in the fridge for a day or two will help the flavors develop and gives the crust a great texture!
  • How do you store pizza dough? — You have a few options, you can make the pizza dough, let it rise and make the pizzas right away, or you can make the pizza dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until you need it.
  • How long does pizza dough last in the fridge? — Pizza dough will last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  • Can you freeze pizza dough? — Yes! I’m a big proponent of things you can make ahead of time. If you want to free some pizza dough for later, Taste of Home has easy directions to follow: Simply divide the dough into balls that, when rolled out, will make the size of pizza you’d like. Lightly coat the pizza dough balls with olive oil. Put the balls in a sealed freezer bag, removing all the air before putting in the freezer. 
  • How long will pizza dough last in the freezer — Up to 3 months! 
  • How do you thaw frozen pizza dough? — I would recommend following Taste of Home’s directions: Let the dough sit in the fridge overnight, then in the morning move the pizza dough from the fridge to the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before rolling it out.

 

 

 

A mans hands holding a ball of dough.

More Delicious Recipes

The best pizza dough recipe in a glass bowl, risen and ready to use.
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5 from 4 votes

The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

A perfect pizza dough recipe resulting in the BEST homemade pizza dough every single time!
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Total Time: 51 minutes
Servings: 2 pizzas

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 T yeast
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 T. salt
  • oil

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water. Then add the sugar and yeast. Let the yeast sit for 10 minutes or until the yeast is bubbly (signifying it has been activated). 
  • Add 3 cups of flour and the salt to the yeast mixture. Using the dough hook, mix until flour is combined. Add remaining 2 cups of flour. Stir until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is really sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time. You don't want to add too much flour. You want the dough to still have a tacky feel to it. (We just don't want overly sticky)!
  • Add about 1-2 tsp of oil (I use Canola oil) to a bowl. Using your hand or a paper towel, make sure the oil is covering the entire bowl. Place the pizza dough ball in the bowl. Then turn the dough ball over, so that the oil is lightly covering both sides of the dough. 
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. * Let it rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop. Divide the dough in half. Roll out to your desired pizza size. (We like thin crust pizzas so I roll it out fairy thin). 
  • When ready to cook, place in the oven, either on a olive oil greased pan, or a pizza stone, and bake at 450°F for 15-17 minutes. Or until the crust is cooked all the way through, and the cheese is melted and golden in color. 

Notes

This recipe makes about 2 lbs 8 oz of pizza dough.
*After covering the bowl with plastic wrap, I will also cover the bowl with a hot towel. It just helps speed up the rising process. Or if your kitchen isn't very warm, the warm towel helps as well!
This recipe adapted from Chef-In-Training.

Nutrition

Calories: 1161kcal (58%)Carbohydrates: 241g (80%)Protein: 34g (68%)Fat: 3g (5%)Sodium: 215mg (9%)Potassium: 391mg (11%)Fiber: 10g (40%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Calcium: 54mg (5%)Iron: 14.6mg (81%)
author: Whitney Wright
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
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