The Best Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

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by Whitney //August 28, 2023

Master the art of homemade pizza with this Best Pizza Dough Recipe! This quick pizza dough recipe produces a foolproof, soft pizza crust that can be used for any pizza recipe — perfect to level up your pizza night.

We loving using this pizza dough recipe to make my Pepperoni Pizza Dip, Pesto Arugula Pizza, or my Blackberry Pizza. There are so many delicious options!

Why This Recipe Works

• Makes dough for 2 pizzas. No need to double this homemade dough recipe! You’ll get 2 medium pizzas (I sometimes can get 3 depending on how thin I roll out my crust). Making dinner for a big family easy peasy.
• Best pizza dough recipe. You’ll love how easy this pizza dough recipe is as well as the flavor and texture you get when baked! It’s a family favorite recipe.
• Easy pizza dough recipe. This easy homemade pizza dough recipe is just what you need, with an easy-to-follow recipe, you’ll get the perfect pizza dough every single time! In fact, this recipe has never failed me.

Ingredient Notes

• Flour: Use all purpose, bread flour, or wheat flour. This recipe uses all purpose flour.
• Yeast: The yeast gives rise and lift to the pizza crust.
• Honey: While not absolutely necessary for a pizza crust, I like to include a small amount of sugar for my active dry yeast to feed on. Yeast loves a bit of sugar and so that will help it activate and give a good rise to your crust. You can use granulated sugar if you’d like to instead of honey.
• Salt: For flavor and tightening the gluten.
• Oil: You’ll want oil to lightly grease the bowl so the dough won’t stick to the bowl and to keep it from drying out as it rises. You can use olive oil for added flavor or vegetable oil or canola oil works great too.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Let the yeast sit. To the bowl of a stand mixer, add 2 cups warm water. Add 1/2 tsp honey and 1 tablespoon yeast. Stir. Let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add flour and salt. Once the yeast is bubbly, add 3 cups flour and 1 tablespoon salt. Using a dough hook, mix until the flour is incorporated. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (it will still stick to the very bottom of the bowl). If overly sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough pulls away from the bowl.
3. Let dough rise. Add 1 tsp oil to a large bowl and rub it around to cover the entire bowl. Place the ball of dough in the bowl and turn the dough ball over so the oil covers both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
4. Roll out. Once the pizza dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Using a rolling pin, roll out each to your desired shape.
5. Baking instructions. Once your pizza is rolled out, transfer the flat pizza dough to a piece of parchment paper. Add your desired sauce and your favorite toppings. Preheat your oven to 500ºF (if using a pizza stone, preheat the stone with your oven). Using a pizza peel, transfer the pizza on the parchment paper onto a baking sheet or directly onto the pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

Make sure to let the yeast sit for the full 10 minutes. Bubbling yeast is a sign of activation, ensuring your dough will rise beautifully.

The dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky.

The amount of flour will differ depending on your climate, humidity, elevation, etc. Add flour in increments to prevent over-drying the dough. Adjust the final flour amount as needed to achieve the desired consistency.

Using oil to grease the bowl and coat the dough prevents sticking, aids in a smooth rise, and keeps the dough from drying out.

Find a warm, draft-free spot for your dough to rise—it should double in size within the specified time frame.

Looking for a homemade pizza sauce? Try my Pizza Sauce with Tomato Paste!

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

To make ahead of time, store the dough in the fridge for a day or two, then roll out when ready to bake.

For storing, you can make the pizza dough, let it rise and make the pizzas right away, or you can make the pizza dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container until you need it.

Pizza dough will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To freeze, divide the dough into do balls and lightly coat with oil. Place in a freezer bag an seal fully, removing all the air. Place in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To thaw frozen dough, I like Taste of Home’s directions: Let the dough sit in the fridge overnight, then in the morning move the pizza dough from the fridge to the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before rolling it out.

Recipe FAQs

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published on August 28, 2023 // 12 Comments

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