Homemade Pizza Dough
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Why settle for store-bought when you can make your own pizza dough in just 20 minutes? This foolproof pizza dough recipe delivers a crispy, chewy crust every time—plus, it’s freezer-friendly for whenever the craving strikes!
If you’re looking for the perfect crust for homemade pizza, making your own dough is the way to go. With just five simple ingredients, you can whip up a batch in just 20 minutes. The key is to plan ahead—you’ll need to allow at at least 90 minutes for the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free spot before using it.
This recipe makes two pounds of dough, enough for two large pizzas, four individual ones, two stromboli, or four calzones. You can prepare it up to two days ahead, and it freezes beautifully for future meals!
“I’ve made many pizza doughs and this is by far the easiest yet tastiest dough ever!”
What you’ll need to make Homemade pizza dough
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the dough.
- Extra-virgin Olive Oil: Adds richness to the dough and helps it crisp up in the oven.
- Salt: A healthy dose is added for flavor.
- Cornmeal: Used to dust the baking sheet and keep the dough from sticking as it bakes; it also gives the crust a bit of extra crispiness and flavor.
- Yeast: It’s what makes the dough rise! I like to use instant yeast, which you might also see labeled as rapid-rise, quick-rise, or even bread machine yeast (I know, it’s confusing—but they’re all the same thing). If you only have active dry yeast, also known as regular yeast, that works too—just keep in mind it’ll take about 50% longer for the dough to rise.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Stir with a spoon to combine, and then add the oil and warm water.
Stir until the dough comes together into a shaggy mass.
Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand.)
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
There are plenty of great spots to let your dough rise—try a sunny spot, near a heating vent in colder months, or even on top of a warm appliance like your fridge. If your oven has a proof setting, use it! No proof setting? Just turn on the oven light; it creates just enough warmth for a perfect rise.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut it in half and roll each piece into a ball. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
If you’re not using the dough right away, lightly coat the balls with olive oil, place them in freezer bags, and squeeze out all the air before sealing. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use the dough, thaw if necessary, and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
When it comes time to shape the pizza dough for baking, you can stretch it into any shape, size, or thickness you like (just keep in mind that a thicker crust will take longer to bake). Simply press and stretch the dough using your hands, dusting with more flour if necessary.
Baking Instructions
Every pizza recipe is a little different, but as a general guideline:
- Preheat the oven to 500°F and set an oven rack in the bottom position. Dust a 13×18-inch baking sheet lightly with cornmeal.
- Place the stretched dough on the baking sheet, and gently stretch it out again so that it maintains its shape.
- Spread your sauce over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the crust is partially cooked. Remove from the oven and scatter the cheese and toppings over the sauce. Slide the pan back into the oven and cook until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling, 4 to 6 minutes more.
Video Tutorial
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Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off, plus more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon instant/quick-rise yeast
- 2¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons warm water (see note)
- Cornmeal, for dusting the pan before baking
Instructions
- Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir with a spoon to combine. Add the oil and water and stir until the dough comes together into a shaggy mass. Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand.) The dough should be slightly tacky and cling just to the bottom of the bowl; if it seems too dry during the kneading process, add 1 tablespoon of water. If it seems too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Dust your hands with flour, then gather the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down and place on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half and roll each piece into a ball. (If you're not planning to use the dough right away, see the make-ahead/freezing instructions below.)
- Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes (the dough will rise a bit). Using your hands, stretch the dough to the desired shape. Proceed with your pizza recipe, or follow the general baking instructions below.
General Baking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) and set an oven rack in the bottom position. Dust a 13 x 18-in (33 x 46-cm) baking sheet lightly with cornmeal. Place the stretched dough on the baking sheet, and gently stretch it out again so that it maintains its shape. Spread your sauce over the dough, leaving a ½-in (13-mm) border around the edges. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the crust is partially cooked. Remove from the oven and scatter the cheese and toppings over the sauce. Slide the pan back into the oven and cook until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling, 4 to 6 minutes more. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Slice and serve.
Notes
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Once upon a time, when I saw yeast on a recipe it sent me running for the hills! The temperature of the water, what if it doesn’t rise, the amount of time it takes, all left me not confident in tackling the ingredient. Not this time! This weekend we made your pizza dough and the margherita pizza and it was absolutely amazing, and just like you said it would rival our favorite pizzeria! This recipe is so really well put together, love the photos, and it was a success! Now I’ll be making this once a month! Thank you for sharing!
Hello Jenn, hope you and your family are well.
Question 1: can the dough be rolled and then frozen or is it best to freeze the dough in balls?
Question 2: can I make a complete pizza and freeze it unbaked to pull out later?
Thanks!
Hi Ellen, while you could roll out the dough and freeze it, it’s likely to lose its shape a bit when thawing and will need some reshaping (so not sure you’ll save much time there). And while I’ve never done it, I do think you could make a complete pizza and freeze it unbaked. If you do that, I bake it directly from the freezer. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi Jenn,
I’m excited to make this recipe and was wondering if I can use the same measurements of flour if I use Caputo’s Pizza flour 00? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tried it so can’t say for sure but I think it’s worth a try. I’d follow the measurements in the recipe but add more water or flour if necessary to get to the right consistency (smooth and elastic). I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
Hi, Jenn, any thoughts as to if this dough could work for individual grilled pizzas? Thanks!
Hi Sue, Without having tried it, it’s really hard to say — I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful! (If you do try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!)
Well, we just tried this… The recipe works beautifully for the individual grilled pizzas. I followed your instructions but then divided into 4 sections. We grilled the first side over medium /medium high heat. Oiled the grill (canola oil) and both sides of the individual pizzas crusts (EVOO). After grilling on the first side we added the toppings and popped them back on to finish. Now I’m making more and will grill the first side and then freeze so I can pull them out, thaw and then finish topping and grilling later this week. Easy dough to work with – thanks as always. 😊 And, it’s mighty good just grilled on both sides and eaten warm! That isn’t helping my supposed low carb diet, though. 😏
Thanks so much for reporting back – sounds like they worked out great! I’m sure other readers who are considering grilling them will appreciate your detailed follow-up. 🙂
Hi Jenn!
This is going to be one of the first recipes we try in our new kitchen when it’s done next week! We have a variety of olive oils, some of which are flavoured, and we were wondering if we used one with a garlic or harissa flavour, would that change the texture or would it only add flavour to the crust?
Happy Canada Day and 4th of July!
Tina
Hi Tina, it shouldn’t change the texture at all — just add a different flavor. Hope you enjoy (and enjoy your new kitchen)!!
I really liked this recipe ! The only thing I changed was adding some sugar to my yeast. I only had instant yeast, so I did what was recommended and put it in warm water for ten minutes. I’ve had some issues with my yeast rising recently, so I added about 1.5 teaspoons of sugar to the one cup of water and yeast mixture. It rose super well after that ! I also really enjoyed the idea of baking the pizza for a bit first, and then adding the toppings after. That definitely affected how well it was cooked through, and I’ll be doing it again with my pizza dough to make sure it’s not doughy or undercooked while the top is getting overdone. As a tip, if you have the dough a little thicker it helps to brush the crust will olive oil at the same time you put the toppings on. But, if it’s on the thinner side, it’ll burn, so be cautious. Also, the crumb of the dough was great and a little crumbly, and it had a good taste from the salt and olive oil. I wouldn’t use this recipe if I’m looking for a thicker pizza crust like Sicilian since I don’t think it’s rich enough, but for thinner, ‘regular’ pizza I’m definitely going to make this recipe again !
Hi Jenn,
We tried this and the flavor was really good but we like a very chewy crust. I want it to bend but not snap in half. I got really great bubbles in the crust but they were firm and cracked; I want them to be softer and deflate a little coming out of the oven. How can I tweak the recipe? I thought maybe adding 2 or 3 more tablespoons of oil? I would appreciate any tips because I really like the flavor of this recipe. Thanks Jenn!
Hi Turtle, I think adding more oil would actually make the crust crispier, not chewier. If you’re using my baking instructions, when the crust goes in the oven for the first round of baking, I’d cut the baking time in half, leaving it in for about 3 minutes and 30 seconds instead of 7. Hope that helps!
Perfect dough. I made it exactly as directed–the pictures and narrative are always such a help on a recipe like this. I’d always made dough in my food processor, so this was a great reason to switch to the KA mixer. Rave reviews from my family! Another keeper! Next time, I’ll double it–with teens, this pizza went fast!!!
Hi Jen,
I’m looking forward to trying this pizza. Would you recommend cooking in a cast iron pan?
Thank you.
Jan
Sure, Jan – that would work well. Enjoy!
I enjoyed the pizza dough, thanks. Since I did not have a use for a second pizza crust, I planned ahead to use the other half for rolls. My topping for the rolls was coarse salt and caraway seeds, a combo I rarely have, but have enjoyed since I was a kid. One crust and a dozen rolls.
The second time I made the dough, I used the other half rolled very thin for crackers with assorted toppings.
Very easy and delicious.
Actually, this is very similar to my bread recipe, sans sugar, so really glad to hear your idea for buns. It’s always great to have buns in the freezer when I make Jen’s beef and carrot stew. Thanks – Andrea
Everything I make of yours has been a hit so far…want to try this pizza dough today. Hungry teenage boys in the house…can this recipe be doubled for 2 large pizzas? Can I make it at one time in the Kitchen Aid and follow your instructions but just divide accordingly?
Sure, Jennifer – so long as your KitchenAid is large enough. 🙂
Thanks Jenn. After I couldn’t find my dough hook and had to start it with the paddle and finish by hand, I decided to do 2 quick separate batches. Turned out perfectly! Family raved! Now what will I make today…;)
Glad it worked out well and that everyone enjoyed! 🙂
Perfect pizza dough! I made garlic fingers and pepperoni pizza.. it was delicious. I made pizza dough by hand, it stretched so easily and never broke.
Your pizza sauce is lovely too!