Homemade Pizza Dough

Start a pizza night tradition with my easy homemade pizza dough recipe. This simple recipe uses pantry staples and a home oven to create a pizza crust that is crispy, chewy, and flavorful, and the perfect base for all your favorite pizza toppings without having to order takeout!

I have been making this easy homemade pizza dough recipe dozens of times for family and friends for years now. I love that it uses ingredients that we always have on hand and doesn’t require much hands on work. Even beginners can make this without difficulty and it tastes so much better than the premade store-bought options.

Plus, it rises really quickly (only 30 minutes), so I can get things started and have cheesy, fantastic pizza customized with all of our favorite toppings ready in about an hour. Or it can be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge until you are ready to bake!

It hardly takes any longer than picking up pizza from our favorite pizza place. And it’s definitely WAY less expensive to do a weekly pizza night tradition when you make them at home.

Pizza Dough Recipe Ingredients

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need and how they affect the recipe. Scroll to the printable recipe card below for exact amounts and instructions.

• Water: Regular tap water works just fine. It should be warmed to between 100°F and 110°F (38°C to 43°C). If it is hotter, than you risk killing the yeast.
• Sugar: This helps feed the yeast so you get a nice reaction and puffy crust around the edges.
• Yeast: You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast. If using the former, be sure to proof the yeast in a little warm water for 5 minutes first until foamy before using.
• Bread flour: This type of flour has higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which results in a chewier crust. It’s worth it to keep some on hand in the pantry.
• Olive oil: Adds a little richness and flavor to the dough.
• Salt: If you omit the salt your crust is going to taste like a stale cracker and nobody wants that.

How to Make Pizza Dough

Here is a step-by-step overview of the process of making homemade pizza using my homemade pizza dough recipe.

1. Proof the yeast. Combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar and let it proof for 5 minutes (until it starts to get foamy) before adding the flour, salt, and olive oil. If using instant yeast, you can add the flour, salt, and olive oil right away without proofing.

1. Knead dough. Stir the dough ingredients together just until everything starts to clump up, then knead for 5 minutes using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, or by turning the dough only a lightly floured surface and kneading for 6-7 minutes by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should be tacky, but not so sticky that it is difficult to work with. You can add extra flour as needed, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough is workable.
2. Rise. Transfer the dough to a large clean bowl coated with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil. Give the dough a turn in the oil to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for up to 3 days (if you are making the pizza dough in advance) or let it rise for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 ½ hours until doubled in size.

1. Prep. Preheat the oven to 500°F (or 475 if that’s as hot as your oven will go) for at least 30 minutes to an hour while the dough is rising and while gathering your pizza sauce and topping ingredients.
2. Divide. When the dough has risen, divide it into 2-3 evenly sized balls (or more if you are making personal pizzas). I like to lightly dust the outside of each ball of pizza dough with a little additional flour. If you want to freeze your pizza dough, this is a good time to do it by immediately wrapping each ball in plastic wrap and freezing for up to 2 months.

1. Shape the dough. Pat, stretch, or roll out the balls of pizza dough into circle-ish shapes and place on a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal or a large piece of parchment paper. For a thinner crust pizza, the dough should be rolled about 1/4″ thin.
2. Top. Top each circle of dough with about ¼ to ½ cup of sauce (classic pizza sauce or even just crushed tomatoes with a sprinkle of kosher salt is always a hit, but you can also use your favorite BBQ sauce , pesto sauce , a white alfredo sauce , or skip the sauce entirely if you feel like it). Add cheese and additional toppings to make your pizza however you like it!

1. Bake. Slide your pizza off of the pizza peel or cutting board onto the preheated pizza stone or an upside-down baking sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes. The cheese should be melted and the crust should be turning golden brown around the edges. The amount of time will depend on just how hot your oven is, how many toppings you added to your pizza, and how thick or thin the crust is.

If you are using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, I recommend kneading the dough for about 5 minutes at medium speed. If kneading by hand, add another minute or two longer to develop the gluten in the flour.

Pizza dough should rise until it has doubled in size. Which can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours, depending on how warm it is in your house. That said, I almost always give mine about 30-45 minutes because I don’t like to wait longer and that’s about as much time as it takes me to clean my kitchen and prep everything else. I find this is a really easy, forgiving dough and a more specific rise time really isn’t necessary. If it looks noticeably bigger than when you first put it into the bowl and covered with plastic wrap, you should be good to go ahead and start making your pizzas.

A baking stone doesn’t make a huge difference so it isn’t totally necessary for making really great homemade pizza, but it certainly helps achieve a crispier crust and great results. They aren’t too expensive, so if you find yourself making homemade pizza often, it’s probably worth the investment. But baking sheets work just fine as well.

Yes, you can replace the bread flour in this pizza dough recipe with 00 flour, although it might require slightly more flour so the dough isn’t too sticky. This is also known as double zero flour which is a finely ground Italian flour used for making pizza or pasta dough available online or at well-stocked grocery stores. Because of it’s lower gluten content than regular flour and fine texture, it is said to make the best pizza dough with a chewy texture and crisp crust on the edges. You will likely need an extra 100 grams of 00 flour (usually between ½ to 1 cup) if using it in this pizza dough recipe to replace the bread flour.

Use this recipe for more than just pizza!

Use this recipe to go beyond just making a classic pizza crust for your family.

• Breadsticks – Use this pizza dough to make cheesy garlic breadsticks by brushing it with garlic butter and sprinkling with mozzarella cheese before baking. Once it’s done slice it into sticks and serve with some marinara sauce for dipping!
• Stromboli or calzone – Wrap up your favorite pizza fillings inside the crust to create your own delicious calzone or stromboli to create your own homemade pizza pockets.
• Make dessert – Try frying chunks of dough in hot oil then toss them in a bag of powdered sugar to coat for zeppole, which is like an Italian fried donut. I used to get these from my favorite corner pizza place in New Jersey when I lived there!

How to Shape Pizza Dough (2 Methods That Work!)

A rolling pin work to get uniform thinness, but I actually like a little bit of a thicker crust around the edges and thinner center, which also helps the pizza cook more evenly as well. That isn’t something you can easily achieve with a rolling pin. Here are two ways I have found for achieving this by hand. If you find that your dough keeps shrinking back as you are trying to stretch it out, let it rest for 5 minutes so the gluten can relax, then try again.

Method 1: Drape the dough over your fists

Start with a ball of dough and pat it out into a disc. Then make sure you aren’t wearing any rings and lay the dough on top of your balled fists, using them to rotate and gently stretch the dough. Go ahead and try giving it a little toss even! This is going to cause the dough to thin more in the center while leaving a slightly thicker ring around the edges.

Method 2: Steering wheel approach

My other technique starts the same way with flattening a ball of pizza dough into a disc. Then hold it like a steering wheel with your hands at the top. The weight of the dough will cause it to naturally start to stretch on its own. Keep turning and rotating the “wheel” of pizza dough, holding it a couple inches in from the top, until it has stretched out into a large thin circle.

Amy’s Recipe Tips

• Get your oven hot! Professional pizzerias use really hot ovens, which gives their crusts the signature crispy texture that can be hard to achieve at home. I recommend preheating your oven for AT LEAST 30 minutes, even up to an hour, at 500°F (or 475 if that’s as high as your oven will go). If you are using a pizza stone, put it in the oven before turning the heat on so it has plenty of time to get hot as well.
• Don’t overdo the toppings. You can top your pizza however you like, but keep in mind that because pizza cooks so quickly at such a high temperature, the ingredients won’t have a lot of extra time to cook.
• Precook or thinly slice toppings. Toppings like sausage or bacon need to be cooked in advance, and it’s best to slice veggies on the thin side, or even roast them first.

Topping Your Pizza

We change up pizza flavors all the time and it’s fun to pull out a bunch of different toppings so everyone can make their own. Here are some of our go-to pizza toppings:

• Cheese: freshly grated mozzarella cheese (it melts so much better than the pre-shredded kind) or sliced fresh mozzarella, ricotta or burrata cheese (if you want to get all fancy), freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino romano
• Meats: pepperoni (forever and always), cooked sausage, Canadian bacon, crumbled cooked bacon, sliced Italian meatballs, leftover grilled chicken
• Veggies: sliced green, red, or yellow peppers, chopped red onions, sliced olives, sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced Roma tomatoes, roasted red peppers (so good!), minced garlic, artichoke hearts, roasted broccoli, thinly sliced zucchini, caramelized onions
• Fruit: pineapple tidbits (drained well), blackberries, or even pear (especially good with a balsamic drizzle and arugula) are all excellent on pizza (sorry, Italians!)
• Herbs & spices: fresh basil leaves or other herbs (add these right as the pizza is coming out of the oven) or dried Italian seasoning, parsley, or red pepper flakes.
• Olive oil

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Did you make this recipe?

Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.

BEST Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients123

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups warm water (110°F)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast (1 package)
• ▢ 3 ½ to 4 cups bread flour (455g to 520g)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

• Place a pizza stone in the oven if you have one. Preheat oven to 500°F (or 475 if that’s as high as your oven will go) while preparing the pizza dough so it can be completely hot when you are ready to bake the pizzas.
• Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. If using active dry yeast, let it proof for 5 minutes until foamy. If using instant yeast, there is no need to wait for the yeast to proof. 1 ½ cups warm water, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast
• Add flour, olive oil, and salt and stir well with a wooden spoon or mix in a stand mixer with a dough hook until combined. 3 ½ to 4 cups bread flour, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt
• Knead for 5 minutes using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment or 6-7 minutes by hand until smooth and elastic. The dough will be tacky and slightly sticky, but should still be manageable to work with.
• Drizzle a clean bowl with a little olive oil, then place the ball of dough in the bowl and turn it to coat in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean cloth and let rise for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 ½ hours) until doubled in size.
• Divide the dough into 2 or 3 balls (or more if you want to make personal-size pizzas).
• Roll, pat, or stretch the dough out until it is roughly 1/4" thick, then top with 1/4-½ cup of pizza sauce, freshly grated mozzarella cheese, and other toppings.
• Bake for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown and crispy around the edges.
• Cool slightly before cutting and serving.

Video

Notes

• Make-Ahead: You can make the dough up to 3 days in advance and keep in in the fridge covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to make your pizzas. Just combine all the ingredients and knead like normal, then place the dough in a clean bowl with a little oil and transfer to the fridge immediately, skipping the rising time. When you want to make your pizzas, pull the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for one to two hours to come up to room temperature and rise before proceeding like normal. I actually think the flavor and texture of the crust of the pizza is even better when the dough is made at least a day in advance!
• Freezing: You can even freeze pizza dough to always have some one hand. Make the dough like normal and let it rise, then divide it into 2-3 balls. Rub a little extra olive oil around each ball of dough, then place the balls of dough into freezer-safe ziploc bags and freeze completely. You can keep the balls of frozen pizza dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge for at least 12 hours, then let it sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 1 hour before using.
• Par-baked Pizza Crusts: After making the dough and rolling it out into circles, use a fork to pork some holes around the center of the crust to prevent bubbles while baking. Bake at 450°F without toppings for 4–6 minutes, until set, pale, and just starting to puff, but not browned. The goal is to firm up the structure so it won’t collapse when thawed, not to fully cook. Let the crusts cool completely before stacking with sheets of parchment paper in between each crust and transferring to a freezer-safe bag for 2-3 months. When ready to use, remove the frozen crusts and top them (no need to thaw first). Bake for 8-12 minutes at 475°F (246°C), until the crust is golden and cheese is melted.
• This recipe is on page 199 of my cookbook, House of Nash Eats Everyday !

Nutrition

BEST Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110°F)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast (1 package)
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour (455g to 520g)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

• Place a pizza stone in the oven if you have one. Preheat oven to 500°F (or 475 if that’s as high as your oven will go) while preparing the pizza dough so it can be completely hot when you are ready to bake the pizzas.
• Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. If using active dry yeast, let it proof for 5 minutes until foamy. If using instant yeast, there is no need to wait for the yeast to proof. 1 1/2 cups warm water, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast
• Add flour, olive oil, and salt and stir well with a wooden spoon or mix in a stand mixer with a dough hook until combined. 3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt
• Knead for 5 minutes using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment or 6-7 minutes by hand until smooth and elastic. The dough will be tacky and slightly sticky, but should still be manageable to work with.
• Drizzle a clean bowl with a little olive oil, then place the ball of dough in the bowl and turn it to coat in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean cloth and let rise for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 1/2 hours) until doubled in size.
• Divide the dough into 2 or 3 balls (or more if you want to make personal-size pizzas).
• Roll, pat, or stretch the dough out until it is roughly 1/4" thick, then top with 1/4-1/2 cup of pizza sauce, freshly grated mozzarella cheese, and other toppings.
• Bake for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown and crispy around the edges.
• Cool slightly before cutting and serving.

Video

Notes

• Make-Ahead: You can make the dough up to 3 days in advance and keep in in the fridge covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to make your pizzas. Just combine all the ingredients and knead like normal, then place the dough in a clean bowl with a little oil and transfer to the fridge immediately, skipping the rising time. When you want to make your pizzas, pull the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for one to two hours to come up to room temperature and rise before proceeding like normal. I actually think the flavor and texture of the crust of the pizza is even better when the dough is made at least a day in advance!
• Freezing: You can even freeze pizza dough to always have some one hand. Make the dough like normal and let it rise, then divide it into 2-3 balls. Rub a little extra olive oil around each ball of dough, then place the balls of dough into freezer-safe ziploc bags and freeze completely. You can keep the balls of frozen pizza dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge for at least 12 hours, then let it sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 1 hour before using.
• Par-baked Pizza Crusts: After making the dough and rolling it out into circles, use a fork to pork some holes around the center of the crust to prevent bubbles while baking. Bake at 450°F without toppings for 4–6 minutes, until set, pale, and just starting to puff, but not browned. The goal is to firm up the structure so it won’t collapse when thawed, not to fully cook. Let the crusts cool completely before stacking with sheets of parchment paper in between each crust and transferring to a freezer-safe bag for 2-3 months. When ready to use, remove the frozen crusts and top them (no need to thaw first). Bake for 8-12 minutes at 475°F (246°C), until the crust is golden and cheese is melted.
• This recipe is on page 199 of my cookbook, House of Nash Eats Everyday !

Nutrition

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