Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
on Jul 20, 2017, Updated Oct 09, 2024
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Wondering how to make Easy Homemade Pizza Dough? This is my go-to recipe. You only need 6 ingredients and 10 minutes to make this easy, versatile dough!
For all of my pizza options, this is the super easy pizza dough that I use. You can’t go wrong with a simple dough that works every time. It only has 6 simple ingredients, and it’s very forgiving (you really can’t ruin this dough, trust me!).
For this recipe I have also included my favorite pizza baking method (because those two things go together). It’s very pizzeria in style. The dough is a medium thickness, the bottom gets nice and brown, and the cheese around the edge gets crusty, edging on burnt. Mmmm…that crusty dark cheese!
I got you covered when it comes to pizza; a few of my favorites are deep dish pizza, Stromboli, no-knead refrigerator pizza dough, supreme pizza recipe and 30 minute meaty Margherita pizza.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The dough uses just a few pantry staples, and the process is straightforward, making it easy for any level of home cook.
- You can custom tailor the pizza to your taste with a variety of toppings, cheeses, and sauces.
- The dough only needs a short rise time, making it convenient for busy weeknights.
- This recipe is versatile and works for different pizza styles (mini pizzas, sheet pan pizzas) or even breadsticks.
Recipe Ingredients
- Yeast
- Sugar – Granulated
- Salt
- Olive Oil
- Flour – All-purpose
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
Step #1. Mix warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil; let sit for 5 minutes. Gradually add flour and knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
Step #2. Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 15-60 minutes.
Step #3. Preheat oven to 500°F with a stone or baking sheet inside. Roll dough into a circle, top with sauce, cheese, and desired toppings.
Step #4. Slide pizza onto the heated stone or sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Recipe FAQs
I have added my recommendations on how to cook the pizza but you can really cook this however you like. Press it in a sheet pan, in a pizza pan, in a cast iron skillet,or however you like to make pizza.
If you don’t want 2 large pizzas, make 1 large pizza and a batch of breadsticks with the second half of the dough.
Use this dough to make mini or individual pizzas. Let the kids do the rolling and top with what they like. My kids love DIY pizza night.
The rising time if very flexible. The longer it rises, the more fluffy/bready the baked dough; the shorter it rises, the more chewy/dense it will be. I just let it rise as long as it takes me to prep my veggies, cheese, and sauce.
Feel free to use half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour, so delicious. This is my favorite 100% whole wheat pizza dough recipe if you are in the market.
Looking for the best (and easiest) pizza sauce recipe? You’ll need 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes. In a small sauce pan, cook the oil and garlic together over medium heat until the garlic starts to smell good. Add the tomatoes and simmer until it thickens a bit, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. DONE! Really. Three ingredients and it tastes amazing!
Fill up a small measuring cup with a little warm water. Add 1/4 teaspoon of your yeast and then add a pinch of sugar and lightly stir it together. Wait for 5 minutes. If the yeast is still active you will see little bubble along the top of the water and it will start to “foam”. I think the date on the yeast package is a good guide, and I like to store my yeast in the fridge to help keep it fresh. When in doubt, get new yeast. Nothing is worse than a unrisen loaf of bread because of old yeast!
Expert Tips
- Lightly flour your work surface to prevent sticking while rolling the dough.
- Use a preheated baking stone to give your pizza a crispy, restaurant-quality crust.
- Check dough consistency, it should be slightly sticky but workable.
- Don’t be tempted to overload on cheese and toppings. With pizza, more is not always better. The crust won’t cook through if you get too crazy, and very few things are grosser than doughy pizza.
- If you don’t need two pizzas, freeze half of the dough after the rise for quick future meals.
How to Serve and Store Homemade Pizza Dough
Caesar salad or a house salad topped with one of my 9 homemade salad dressing recipes is perfect a fresh, crunchy balance to the richness of the pizza. A light side dish of roasted broccoli or zucchini also complements the pizza.
Leftover pizza can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. For best results, reheat leftover pizza in a preheated oven at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, or in a skillet to crisp up the crust. Avoid microwaving, as it can make the crust soggy. After the dough has risen, divide it in half, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
More Pizza Recipes to Consider
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Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
For the easy pizza dough
- 2 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 to 6 1/2 cups flour
For the Pizza
- 2 cups Pizza sauce, see post for a super simple recipe
- 4 cups Cheese
- Toppings
Instructions
- To make the dough
- In a large mixing bowl, add the water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Allow mixture to stand for 5 minutes.
- Add one cup of flour, and mix to combine. Add another cup of flour and mix through. Mix by hand for 1 or 2 minutes. The dough should be the consistency of cake batter. Add another cup of flour and mix until well combined. Add flour until you can’t mix it by hand very well.
- Sprinkle some flour on your table and turn the dough onto the table. Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed. This should take 6 to 10 minutes of kneading. You can also do this part in a stand mixer if you have one.
- Place the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 15 to 60 minutes (This time varies a lot for me – I just let it rise according to how long it is until dinner time).
To make the pizza
- While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to heat, too. I would recommend using a stone for baking this pizza. If you don’t have a stone, you can turn your biggest cookie sheet upside down (so that the flat side is up) or use a rimless sheet. If you are using a stone let the stone heat for 30 minutes. If using a baking sheet, let it heat for 10 minutes.
- When the oven is hot, cut your dough in half. Place half of the dough on a piece of parchment paper that is 18 inches long. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough (on top of the parchment paper) into a 12 to 14 inch circle. The dough should be about a half-inch thick. Top with 1 cup of pizza sauce, 1 1/2 to 2 cups of shredded mozzarella, and toppings of your choice.
- When the pizza is all ready, slide the pizza, which is on the parchment paper, onto a rimless cookie sheet or one that is upside down. This will help you get the pizza to the oven.
- Open the oven and slide the pizza which is still on the parchment paper, from the cookie sheet onto the hot baking stone or hot cookie sheet. I just tug on the edge of the parchment paper with my hands and slide it onto the stone. BE CAREFUL! Your oven is set to 500. It’s super hot, obviously! Make sure the babies are out of the way and be careful when sliding the pizza into the oven.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the top is bubbly and the edges are starting to brown. When the pizza is done, tug the edge of the parchment paper and slide the pizza back onto the cookie sheet you used to transfer it to the oven. Again, be careful!
- Let your stone reheat for 10 minutes. While the stone is heating, repeat the whole thing with the second half of the dough and bake the same way.
- Enjoy, enjoy enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I serve it right off of the parchment paper (which gets all dark and cooked looking) or I’ll tear off a new piece and serve it on a crisp white sheet of parchment. Very pretty!
- This cooking method is my preferred way to make pizza at home but it’s just a suggestion. You can use this pizza dough to make mini pizza, sheet pan pizza, and even bread sticks. Just be sure that no matter what you cook you pizza in/on, the bottom of the crust is golden brown before you remove it from the oven.
- Don’t need two large pizzas? Make one pizza and use the rest of the dough for bread sticks.
Made this for dinner. It was soooo much easier than my usual recipe and tasted great! One batch made 3 cookie sheets worth. Maybe I roll them thin but it was a perfect balance of base to toppings for me! Thanks.
Hi! I just found this recipe and have made it twice, LOVE IT! Thank you! The first time I cut the recipe in half, there are only 2 of us right now, but this second time I made the full batch and used the second dough ball to make dessert sticks! Do you know/think I would be able to make a full batch and store one dough ball in the fridge for a day or two? Or would that mess with the yeast and stuff? thank you!
Oh my gosh! This pizza dough is SO good. I used whole wheat flour and switched the sugar for honey. I’ve never had a better homemade pizza dough. It was soft and perfect. Thanks!
So glad you liked it! I make it about every Friday 🙂 It’s just one of those recipes that never fails.
We tried it this last weekend for my daughter’s birthday gathering. Each girls got to make their own personal pizzas using 8 inch cake pans. They had fun making their own and my daughter said this pizza was better than any that we have bought. It does make a lot, though, so I may try to half it next time when I use it for my family only.
Looking forward to trying this tomorrow. Where do you put the oven rack? Does it make a difference?
Mines just in the middle-ish… I think that’s a pretty safe place to put it! Enjoy friend!
What do you use for pizza sauce? Surely you make your own?
https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/07/whole-wheat-pizza-crust.html
My recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen. So easy and really tasty. I wrote it out in about the 3rd paragraph in the post I linked to here. Hope that helps! M.
I used white flour and whole wheat flour and my dough came out really sticky. What did I do wrong?
The whole wheat flour does soak up a bit more moisture… I’d add maybe another 1/4 cup of white flour. BUT it is a very sticky dough! You’ll use a heavy hand of flour when rolling it out… the moisture makes it extra chewy! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
I looked for a good pizza crust for years.I thought I had found it, but then I discovered this recipe! Thank you!
I just tried your pizza recipe and my family loved it! I split up the second half of the dough and made small portions of cheesy garlic bread sticks and the cinnamon sticks recipe from your site as well. We will definitely be making this again and again! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Making it now! Do you know if you can freeze half?
I know that people freeze dough often but I don’t normally do it! If you are I’d but in the freezer and then let it thaw in the fridge overnight before using again. You’ll have to let me know how it goes! And sorry it took so long to reply… too much snow and no internet 🙂