Homemade Pizza Dough
I know it sounds cheesy, but pizza really is my favorite food. It has endless possibilities and usually includes my favorite things: bread, tomatoes and cheese. And when you make your pizza dough from scratch, pizza is one of the cheapest dinners you can make. The best part? All of the ingredients for pizza dough are pantry staples, so you can make this whenever without planning ahead, AND it’s freezer-friendly so you can always have some stashed and ready to thaw on a moment’s notice.
Make your own homemade pizza sauce to match! Check out my Thick & Rich Pizza Sauce.
Homemade Pizza Dough
What is in Pizza Dough?
While there are several styles of pizza dough out there in the world, this particular recipe is super simple and only includes:
- Water
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Salt
- Flour
- Olive Oil
That’s it! Really! This particular recipe creates a crust that is crispy on the outside, but still tender on the inside. If you use a rolling pin to really compact the dough and roll it thin, you’ll get a result that more closely resembles a crispy thin-crust pizza. Toss the dough by hand, gently stretching the dough and leaving some thickness will give you that crispy-yet-tender finish.
Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 tsp yeast ($0.11)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.01)
- 3/4 cups warm water ($0.00)
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups flour ($0.15)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.05)
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water in a bowl. Stir well to dissolve the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 3-5 minutes to let the yeast bloom (or “wake up”). You’ll see foam on top when it’s awake and ready to go.
- While you’re waiting for the yeast, combine 2 cups of the flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir well to evenly distribute the salt. Add the olive oil (it will get sired/mixed in during kneading). The remaining half cup of flour was an allowance for what might be added during kneading. In actuality, you probably won’t use a whole half cup.
- Once the yeast water is foamy on top (see photos below) stir it into the flour mixture. Stir it with a spoon until it forms a loose ball. Turn it out onto a counter and begin to knead the dough. Knead well for 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour on the countertop sparingly as you knead. If you add too much flour the dough will end up dense (more like a bagel) rather than light like a pizza dough. I found that as long as I kept my hands and the dough moving quickly, it did not stick and did not need more flour. If you have never kneaded dough before, watch this video for help.
- At this point you have three options: use the dough tonight (one hour after kneading), use it tomorrow (allowing it to rise in the refrigerator over night) or within a month (freezing the dough).
- To use the dough the same day, form the kneaded dough into a ball (or cut and form into four small balls for individual pizzas). Spray a bowl with non stick spray, place the dough inside and turn it to coat with oil. Cover the bowl loosely and let it rise in a warm place for one hour. After it has risen, punch it down to release some gasses and stretch it into a 16″ round.
- Many people say that the dough develops a better flavor if allowed to proof (rise) slowly over a day or so, either in the refrigerator. Every pizza establishment that I have worked at also made their dough at least one day ahead of time. Form the dough into a ball and coat with oil the same way as in step 4a but place the dough in the refrigerator. The dough can be used up 8-24 hours later.
- You can also freeze the dough. After forming it into a ball (or multiple smaller balls) coat it with oil, wrap tightly in plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag. When you are ready to use the dough, simply place it on the counter for one hour prior to use. The dough should be at room temperature before you begin to stretch it into shape.
- Once you stretch the dough into shape, place it on a perforated pizza pan coated with non-stick spray and a light dusting of cornmeal. Bake in a preheated (completely preheated, no short cuts here) oven at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are brown and crispy. Making sure the oven is well heated before hand will ensure that the bottom cooks and gets nice and crispy.
Step By Step Photos
Yeast purchased in a jar is a much better value than the individual packets. Keep the jar in the refrigerator and it should stay good for at least a year.
Place the yeast and sugar together in a small bowl.
Pour in 3/4 cup of warm water.
Stir it well to dissolve the yeast and sugar. Make sure no clumps of yeast are stuck to the bottom… it gets really sticky when wet.
Let it sit for 3-5 minutes so that it wakes up and starts to munch on all of that sugar. When it eats the sugar, it produces gases and will form a foam on top (this is also what makes the bread rise).
While the yeast is doing its thing, combine the flour and salt. Stir them well so the salt is evenly distributed. Add the olive oil then the foamy yeast mixture.
Mix the dough with a spoon until it is just combined. Turn the mixture out onto a clean surface and begin to knead. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Add flour if needed but try not to add too much during the kneading process or you’ll end up with a dry, tough dough.
After you have kneaded it for 10 minutes, form it into a ball. It should be nice and smooth. At this point you can either let it rise and use it an hour later, refrigerate it and use it tomorrow or freeze it and use it within a month!
I made mine the night before but if I had let it sit on the counter for an hour it would look like this too. Punch it down to release some of the gasses, pull it out of the bowl and press it down into a circular shape. Stretch the dough until it reaches a 16″ round.
This is actually 1/3 of the dough stretched into a 10 inch circle. For individual portions, dividing the dough into 4 to make 6-8 inch pizzas would probably be best. This was a tad large for a single portion. Place the dough on a pizza pan with non-stick spray and a light dusting of cornmeal. Finish it off with your favorite toppings.
Bake the pizza in an oven that has been fully preheated to 450 degrees (I know you want to put it in before it’s done preheating BUT DON’T). Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are nicely browned and crispy.
See how nice and crispy the bottom got? That is pizza success.
NOTE: I don’t have a pizza stone despite the fact that they really do make a HUGE difference in how the pizza bakes. I just think it’s a rip off to pay $30 for a piece of stone. BUT, while I was doing recipe research for this post, I got a little tip from the wonderful Mr. Alton Brown. In his pizza episode he disclosed that he just uses a 12″ x 12″ piece of unglazed quarry tile which can be purchased for about 99 cents. I will definitely be checking into that!
A couple of weeks ago I also stumbled upon a link to a site that describes how an upside down cast iron skillet can also be used as a pizza stone. If you aren’t a fan of my facebook page and missed it, here is the link.
Happy pizza making everyone!
So I just want to make sure I am understanding this right – if you want to freeze the dough you don’t let it rise first, just freeze right after kneading?
Also, just curious what happened to another recipe of yours, summer succotash. I made it once before but it appears it’s been deleted from the site. Thanks.
You actually freeze it just after kneading. :) The dough will kind of go through its rise as it thaws later, so you don’t want it to over rise. I cleaned out some of the older recipes, but I can email the pdf of the summer succotash. I’ll email it to the address you used to make the comment, but if you want it sent somewhere else, just let me know!
Thanks!
NEVER add flour to knead dough for Pizza or Most Breads (really wet dough’s like sweet enriched are an exception then just keep it moving fast with a Bench Scraper) simply rub a bit of olive oil on your surface. add a bit more oil as need but very little at a time. You’ll find that you get a better rise and more tender crumb. Even for Crust Artisan Breads just be sure to spray a bit of water on to it when your put it in the oven or set a pan on the lower rack with Boiling water for that crisp crust
Hi there,
When you pop in the fridge, do you wrap or cover the dough first?
Yes, definitely cover it tightly with plastic or place it in a zip top bag. A thin coating of oil will help keep the dough from sticking to the plastic, if you’re using a bag.
Thanks for the recipe, it’s become a staple in my house. A couple of questions though:
When you double the recipe, should you double the yeast quantity also?
I often use whole wheat flour but find the dough denser, any tips for making it a bit fluffier?
I’m so glad your’e enjoying it! Yes, if you double the recipe, double all of the ingredients including the yeast. Whole wheat flour will always produce a more dense end product, so I suggest only substituting up to 50% of the flour to maintain a lighter texture. Some people add extra gluten to help with this, but I’ve never tried that method.
I agree. Pizza dough can be extremely cheap to make. Flour, water, salt, and yeast are all dirt cheap depending on what you buy.
This is a great recipe I will be using it again soon. One note though if you use a pizza stone you want to lower the cook time a little bit .
Cleanup question: How to do clean the counter after kneading the dough? I have gone through a few sponges trying to clean off the countertop after. Love the pizza!!!
I have a tool called a “bench scraper” or “dough scraper” they come in both metal and plastic and are great for scraping the film off the counter and for use as a cutting tool when dividing dough. :)
Life changing recipe for sure! I have tried making pizza dough in the past and could never get it right. The directions and pictures were very helpful! I have made quite a few of your bread recipes successfully. I always knead in my kitchen-aid mixer with the dough hook which works like a charm. I did make the dough the day before. My first time I tried cooking in a perforated pizza pan but the bottom of the crust did not get brown. Second time I decided to try my pizza stone. I have never been able to figure out how to shape the dough and transfer it to the hot stone successfully, nothing I tried worked. I read on the King Arthur flour website to use parchment on the stone. Finally, success! I shaped the dough on a piece of parchment on my counter and added all my toppings then just lifted the sheet to the hot stone and literally turned out perfect, bottom of crust was perfectly browned! So happy to finally have figured this out after all these years! Thanks again for an awesome recipe.
I’ve never been very good with yeast dough, so coming into this, I was a bit skeptical. Even after cutting this recipe down to only serve one, my singular mini pizza came out beautifully golden! It did rise in the oven a lot more than I was expecting, so next time I’ll try rolling out the dough a lot thinner. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I plan to use it plenty more in the future!
Hands down the best pizza dough recipe from your collection. I left it in the fridge to make the next day and made two personal pizzas. Perfect for both dd’s and I. 💜
Oh my gosh!!! I can’t thank you enough!! I made this tonight with your pizza sauce and could cry with happiness! I’m just starting to get out of my comfort zone and making more difficult recipes (like bread). This came out so so good! Literally as good as anything we can order! I was so nervous to spend so much time on something but this is going to be a regular thing! I put the rest of the sauce in the freezer and maybe when we get done eating I’ll throw the rest of the pepperoni in a freezer bag, then make a few more batches of dough so I can have this anytime pretty quickly! I did make the dough in my bread machine but added flour as it was kneading (cleaned the kitchen at the same time) and couldn’t be happier!! My husband was even super impressed that I pulled out a pizza that looked professional!
I just think you’re a hidden gem. Thank you for this.
Used this recipe tonight, and our crust is the best we’ve been able to make! Great!
I’ve been using this recipe regularly for several years now. I usually quadruple it and freeze half. It has achieved Holy Grail status in our family. Best pizza crust ever.
I made this the other week and LOVED IT! I’m a beginner when it comes to bread in general. Couple questions? Am I understanding it right that my frozen bread ball will thaw and be ready to use in about and hour? And with fresh dough, how long can it sit out past the initial hour? Could it be made hour ahead?
Thanks for all the great recipes :)
The answer to both questions is that it really just depends on the ambient room temperature. The dough should thaw in about an hour, but you may need to test it to know for sure with your usual indoor air temp. For the fresh dough, I’d pop it in the fridge if you know it’s going to be more than an hour.