Best Homemade Pizza Dough
This is the Best Homemade Pizza Dough. It is definitely the only Pizza Recipe you will ever need. Make it by hand or in your stand mixer. No need for take out, it will make your pizza night even more special. Any topping goes!
Some of our favorite topped pizzas are an Italian Sausage and Artichoke Cheese Pizza to one of the Italian’s favorites, Grilled Zucchini Pizza. But if you want to try something different why not give this Potato Pizza a try!
Authentic Italian Pizza never tasted so good. Everything you need to know to make this your family’s new favourite Pizza Recipe. In your house what day is pizza day? If you are like us it could mean any day!
Why you will love this pizza dough recipe
- Easy – the recipe can be made the same day or left to rise overnight in the fridge, the longer it is left to rise the more delicious it is. Perfect either way. Make a Fresh Tomato Pizza or a popular Pizza Bianca, and of course you can make your preferred thin or thick pizza crust!
- Versaitile – the dough is perfect for making a traditional pizza, mini pizzas or calzone, some readers have even used it to make bread!
- The Best – I can and so can everyone that has tried it say that it is the best pizza dough they have ever tried!
Ingredients needed
- Water – Always use lukewarm water, make sure the temperature is between 98-105F (36-40C). Never use hot or you will kill the yeast and with cold water the yeast will take forever to rise.
- Yeast – I like to use active dry yeast but you could also use instant yeast, for every teaspoon of active dry yeast substitute with 3/4 teaspoon of instant.
- Sugar -It is considered food for the yeast, which converts it to carbon dioxide and alcohol. It also helps enhance the flavour of the pizza.
- Olive Oil – It helps to tenderize the dough and add a wonderful flavour.
- Flour – I usually use all purpose or bread flour, you will need a flour that has at least 12% protein. Bread flour will produce a chewier crust.
- Salt – Is necessary to add flavour to the dough.
How to make the Best Pizza Dough
This is a very simple recipe that can be made by machine or by hand, scroll down to the bottom of the page for the to find the recipe card.
In the bowl of your stand up mixer (or a large bowl if you knead by hand) add the warm water and sugar, sprinkle the yeast on top, let sit, then stir to combine.
Add the olive oil, flour and salt, with the hook attachment start to combine on low speed, scrape the hook and then raise to medium speed, knead until you have a smooth elastic dough. Or if making by hand, combine the ingredients with a fork and knead by hand.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, roll the dough to cover lightly with the oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a large clean kitchen towel, leave in a warm draft free area until doubled in bulk.
Pre-heat oven. Punch the dough down a few times and divide into 1-3 balls, let the dough rest. Place the dough in the desired prepared pizza or baking sheets and shape the dough into the desired shapes. Top with your favourite toppings, bake until crust is golden and cheese has melted.
Variations
With this Pizza Dough Recipe I made two large and one small pizza. Sometimes I will make an all veggie one, with fresh, halved, cherry tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and onions. Or I will sauté a couple of Italian sausage (casing removed) with sliced mushrooms, peppers and a small onion and place the mixture on a pureed tomato sauce (with just a few spices and a little olive oil). For the third pizza I top with chopped fresh tomatoes and sliced black olives and of course all the pizzas are topped with shredded firm mozzarella.
In Italy it is so easy to get a good pizza dough. Sometimes I would stop at my local bakery (forno) and pick up a pound or two of dough. But when I tasted a pizza made with this dough, I thought no matter how good the bakery dough was, it was now a thing of the past for me. That pizza made me determined to make my own pizza dough from then on.
Needless to say this pizza dough was one of those recipes that was passed down for I can’t tell you how many years. And trust me it is the best Pizza Dough. You can make it thin crust or thick crust whatever suits you, then you can top it with whatever fresh ingredients you want.
Recipe Tip
Be sure to let the dough rest before forming it in the pan, resting will keep it from springing back. And use your hand to gently stretch the dough to fit the dough in the pan and not a rolling pin, using your hands preserves the gas bubbles formed during fermentation and keeps the dough from deflating.
Since there are very few ingredients in Pizza Dough it is important that all the ingredients are good quality and active.
More Pizza Dough Recipes you can try
- No Yeast Pizza Dough – out of yeast? But still want pizza!
- Beer Pizza Dough – adding some beer gives it an extra taste boost
- Lievito Madre Pizza Dough – the Italian sourdough starter way
- No Knead Pizza Dough – no kneading or machine necessary
So however you like your pizza, thick crust, thin crust, double cheese, vegetarian or with pepperoni, I hope you make it with this Pizza dough recipe! Buon appetito.
Best Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 pinch sugar
- 1½ tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5¼ cups all purpose flour or bread flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand up mixer (or a large bowl if you knead by hand) add the warm water and sugar, sprinkle the yeast on top, let sit for 5-10 minutes, then stir to combine. Continue with Machine or Hand.
MIXING BY MACHINE
- Add the olive oil, flour and salt, with the hook attachment start to combine on low speed #1, scrape the hook and then raise to medium speed #2 and knead for approximately 5-7 minutes or until you have a smooth elastic dough (scrape the hook halfway through kneading).
MIXING BY HAND
- Add the olive oil, flour and salt, then with a fork mix until the dough starts to come together. On a lightly floured surface remove dough from the bowl and knead until dough is smooth and elastic approximately 10 minutes (if dough is really sticky add a little extra flour).
NEXT STEPS
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl, roll the dough to cover lightly with the oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a large clean kitchen towel, leave in a warm draft free area until doubled in bulk, approximately 2 hours.**
- Pre heat oven to 450° (250° celsius). Punch dough down a few times and divide into 1-3 balls, let dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Place the dough in the desired pizza or cookie sheets (lightly oiled) and shape the dough into the desired shapes (using your clean hands).
- Top with your favourite toppings, bake for approximately 15-20 minutes until crust is golden and cheese has melted. Enjoy!
- **At this point, dough can also be refrigerated, place in plastic bag, remove air and tie securely up to 24 hours.
EASY PIZZA SAUCE
- In a medium bowl add a can of diced or pureed tomatoes, add 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, a sprinkle of salt, tablespoon or two of olive oil and stir to combine. Top pizza dough.
FRESH TOMATO SAUCE
- Chop fresh tomatoes (15-20 grape or cherry or 3-4 roma tomatoes)if you use roma tomatoes then remove the seeds, toss with 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon basil (or even 5-6 fresh basil leaves chopped) 1-2 pinches salt and a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil.
STIRRED FRIED VEGGIES & ITALIAN SAUSAGE
- In a medium frying pan add Italian sausage (casing removed and chopped) and fry until starting to brown, add thinly sliced, onion, pepper and mushrooms and a drizzle of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste, cook on medium for approximately 10 minutes. Use as topping for pizza (on the sauce and then bake).
Notes
Substitute instant dry yeast for active dry yeast
If using instant yeast instead of active dry use 3 teaspoons of instant yeast. In the bowl of the mixer add the flour, yeast and sugar and combine, then add the water and oil, start to mix with the dough hook and add the salt, continue to knead for about 8-10 and continue with the recipe. When using active dry yeast your dough may rise a little quicker so keep your eye on it.How To Flavor The Dough
If you like to give your dough a bit of extra flavour then you can certainly add a couple of dashes of garlic or onion powder, or even oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning or basil or if the Italian had is way a couple of good pinches of hot pepper flakes. Whisk them into the flour before adding to the yeast mixture.How Do You Know When The Pizza Dough Has Risen Enough?
With your knuckles or a couple of fingers make an indentation in the dough, If the indentation disappears, the dough needs more time to rise. If the dent remains, the bread is ready to bake.What Weight Should The Pizza Dough Weigh?
If you are looking for a pizza such as pizza Napoletana then I would go with 250-255 gram (9 ounces) dough ball if you want a thicker crust then 280-285 grams (10 ounces) would be the weight, this if for a pizza approximately 28-32 cm (12 inches).Can the dough be made in advance?
The dough can rise in the fridge, overnight works perfectly. Prepare the dough, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight in the refrigerator, leaving the dough to rise in the fridge from 12-24 hours is considered the best amount of time. Although the dough can remain in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. If the dough smells sour it has probably gone bad and should be discarded. Remove the dough from the fridge and bring it to room temperature, about 30-60 minutes, punch it down, then divide it into 2 or 3 parts, again let it rest for about 20 minutes, form into your preferred shape and top as desired.How to freeze the dough
Let the dough rise before freezing, then divide the dough into your desired pizza portions, place in airtight freezer bags and freeze. Dough will last up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw the frozen dough overnight (8 hours) in the refrigerator. When ready to use, remove it from the fridge and bring it to room temperature, approximately 30-60 minutes on the counter will do. Continue with the recipe from step 4. Or remove the frozen dough from the bag or container, then place it in a bowl with enough room to allow it to expand, cover it with plastic wrap. Let it sit for a couple of hours, giving it time to thaw and rise. Then it is ready to use.How to store the pizza
Any leftover pizza, as long as it hasn’t been left out for more than two hours, should be placed in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic wrap or foil and placed in the refrigerator, it will last up to four days in the fridge. Cold pizza for breakfast anyone?!Nutrition
Republished from January 6, 2016.
Finally! This is the pizza dough recipe that I have been searching for! Easy to follow instructions for a great tasting crust with the texture that I prefer. I followed the recipe exactly, but used two foil packets (1/4 oz each) of yeast with great results. Thank you!
Hi Jennifer thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Have a great weekend.
This has a huge hydration rate, about 76%. Is that right? A version with baker’s percentage and grams would be nice.
Hi Doug, I’m sorry but I don’t have time to get into Baker’s percentage. And if you click on metric beside US Customary, grams will show. Thanks.
Help! In one area you mention that 1 tsp active dry yeast = 3/4 tsp instant yeast
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 T of active dry yeast which is 4.5 tsp. 3/4 of 4.5 = 3 3/8 tsp.
In another area you say we should use 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast in this recipe.
What am is doing wrong? I really want to get this right! Thanks!
Hi Dianne, sorry it should be 3 teaspoons of active dry yeast although 2 1/4 (I calculated this on 1 tablespoon) would also work, it just might take longer to rise. Hope that helps. Let me know how it goes.
less yeast just means a slower rise which really isnt a problem unless you are in a hurry. I always prefer the flavor of a long slow fermentation which allows more fermentation by products to develop. Yeast recipes are not hard and fast. Last year when all the yeast was sold out in stores and I was running a little low after giving a lot of my stash to friends everything i baked was either sourdough or a pre ferment with 1/8 t of yeast and then 1/8 t of yeast with the final dough. I just doubled the rise time for all of them
this is pretty much the recipe i have been using for pizza for the last 20 years. The only differences are i add 1T of honey to the dough which gives a nice flavor and I do a short first rise and long second rise which makes shaping the dough much easier. My kids were raised on this recipe and they loved bringing their friends over for movie and pizza night. One other veggie pizza trick is to put very thinly sliced veggies (zucchini, onions, eggplant, spinach between the sauce and the cheese and they will cook nicely under the cheese. Love your blog,
Thanks Chet, pizza night with kids is the best! Oh I’m going to try that with the veggies, thanks. Have a great week.
Absolutely easy and awesome…who needs takeout? I did a nice thick crust and pre baked about 8 minutes..layered ricotta cheese..then sauce..fresh mozzarella ( my husband works at a cheese factory) pepperoni..capers..fresh tomatoes..and a few sauteed onions and peppers…dough recipe made the pizza though..thank you!!
Hi Susan, thanks so much, I love the idea of ricotta cheese. Have a great weekend.
During the last year there were two things I made quite a bit during Covid. I overcame my fear of yeast and began making breads and pizza dough. This is the most amazing pizza dough I have made all year. My family raved about it and told me to make sure I save this and discard all the others I tried during lockdown.
I have to admit, this was the real pizza dough for which I have been searching! Next time I will include pictures! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hi Cori, thanks so much, so glad you and your family like the pizza dough. Have a great week.
I would like to know how to make just one ball of dough as its only 1 person eating it. I dont want to make three. Can you provide a recipe for this amount?
Hi Michelle all you have to do is go down to the recipe card and change the amount (using the slider) to the amount you want, probably 2 servings would work, although pizza dough freezes really well also. Hope that helps.
Absolutly briliant pizza base recipe! these are to die for!! making my second batch of them now.
Hi James, thanks so much, so glad you like the pizza! Have a great weekend.
which is better a p flour or bread flour
Hi Judith, either one, as long as it has a protein count of around 12% and higher, although bread flour will give you a chewier crust. I usually use bread flour. Hope that helps.
I have questions about the nutrition values attached to this recipe.
How many slices are included in a serving. How many servings are in one ball of dough?
Are the serving values based on the dough only or on the dough with toppings?
If with toppings, which ones give these values?
Hi Betty-Lou, it’s calculated with just the pizza dough, divided into 2 parts, each part made into a pizza (without topping) divided by 5 is a serving. Hope that helps.
There is no mention of doing a Thin Crust Pizza Base. Please advise. Thanks
Hi Matthew, thin crust pizza is just the dough rolled thinner. 🙂
Teaspoons of yeast, not tablespoons, correct?
Hi Jenny, no tablespoons is correct. 🙂
Brava. The second time I made this dough and it came out perfectly again. My mother really likes this as although it gets crunchy on top it remains nice and soft in the middle.
Hi Angela, thanks so much, so glad your mother enjoys it. Have a great week.
The recipe sounds relatively simple. Quick question:
* Can this recipe be used for wood-fire and gas outdoor pizza ovens?
Presumably this recipe can be reduced (halved) when preparing dough for two individual pizzas?
Thank you.
Hi Hugh, I know quite a few people have baked it in a pizza oven (wood fire or gas), and yes the recipe can definitely be halved. Hope you enjoy it.
Wow! this is the best pizza dough recipe I’ve tried yet. crust is nice and crunchy, inside is soft yet chewy. I made myself a thin crust pizza and made my husband a think crust with this dough and both turned out beautifully!
Hi Kristin, thanks so much so glad you both enjoyed it. Take care.