This easy pizza dough recipe is great for beginners and produces 2 soft and chewy homemade pizza crusts. Skip the pizza delivery because you only need 6 basic ingredients to begin!
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast. Originally published in 2013, this pizza dough recipe is a massive fan favorite and you’ll also find it in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Every great pizza begins with a great pizza crust. Some like it thin and crispy, while others prefer a thick and soft crust. This homemade pizza crust has it all: soft & chewy with a delicious crisp and AWESOME flavor. It’s my go-to pizza dough recipe and just a glance at the hundreds of reviews in the comments section tells me that it’s a favorite for many others too. In fact…
Easy Dough for Bread Beginners
This is a no-fuss dough recipe for beginners. You need just 6 basic ingredients, plus a little cornmeal for preparing the pan. (You can skip that if needed.) Most of the time is hands off as the dough rises. You might wonder… why waste the time when you can just buy frozen pizza dough? Frozen pizza dough is certainly convenient, but from-scratch crust has unbeatable flavor and texture that only comes from fresh dough. And you can use the dough for cheese breadsticks, too!
If you’ve ever made homemade bagels or sandwich bread, you can easily make pizza dough because it’s quicker, easier, and requires fewer steps.
Reader, Andy, commented: “Super easy, super fast, super good! I don’t like doughy thick pizzas and I find with this recipe that I can make them thin and crunchy, I love how easy it is. I make pizza once or twice a month! Haven’t bought one for quite some time now! ★★★★★“
Overview: Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients
All pizza dough starts with the same basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, salt, and olive oil.
- Yeast: I use Platinum Yeast from Red Star. I have the best results when I use this instant yeast. The Platinum yeast is fantastic because its careful formula strengthens your dough and makes working with yeast simple. You only need 1 standard packet of yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) to get the job done.
- Water: I tested this pizza dough recipe with different amounts of water. 1 and 1/3 cups is the perfect amount. Use warm water to cut down on rise time, about 100-110°F. Anything over 130ºF kills the yeast.
- Flour: Use unbleached all-purpose white flour in this recipe. Bleaching the flour strips away some of the protein, which will affect how much water the flour absorbs. You can substitute bread flour for a chewier pizza crust. If you love whole grain bread, try this whole wheat pizza dough instead.
- Oil: A couple Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil adds wonderful flavor to the dough. Don’t forget to brush the dough with olive oil before adding the toppings, which prevents the crust from tasting soggy.
- Salt: Salt adds necessary flavor.
- Sugar: 1 Tablespoon of sugar increases the yeast’s activity and tenderizes the dough, especially when paired with a little olive oil.
- Cornmeal: Cornmeal isn’t in the dough, but it’s used to dust the pizza pan. Cornmeal gives the pizza crust a little extra flavor and crisp. Most delivery pizzas you enjoy have cornmeal on the bottom crust!
You could also add 1 teaspoon each garlic powder and Italian seasoning blend to the dough when you add the flour.
One reader, Shane, commented: “Excellent pizza dough. I add about 1 tbs of garlic powder and Italian herbs to give the dough more flavor as well as 40 grams of cornmeal for a little crunch. It freezes well and makes a nice thin crust. ★★★★★“
This is a Lean Bread Dough
Pizza crust, like homemade bagels, artisan bread, and focaccia, requires a lean dough. A lean dough doesn’t use eggs or butter. Without the extra fat to make the dough soft, you’re promised a crusty pizza crust. (However, I recommend using some olive oil for flavor and to keep the interior on the softer side.) Recipes like dinner rolls & sweet potato dinner rolls, homemade breadsticks, and overnight cinnamon rolls require fat to yield a “rich dough,” which creates a softer and more dessert-like bread.
Overview: How to Make Easy Pizza Dough
- Make the dough: Mix the dough ingredients together by hand or use a hand-held or stand mixer. Do this in steps as described in the written recipe below.
- Knead: Knead by hand or with your mixer. I like doing this by hand. If you’re new to yeasted doughs, my How to Knead Dough post and video can help with this step.
- Rise: Place dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover tightly, and set aside to rise for about 90 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Punch & shape: Punch down risen dough to release air bubbles. Divide in 2. Roll dough out into a 12-inch circle. Cover and rest as you prep the pizza toppings.
- Top it: Top with favorite pizza toppings.
- Bake: Bake pizza at a very high temperature for only about 15 minutes.
Young bakers can lend a hand AND have fun in the process. Let the kids help you press down the dough and shape into a circle. They can add their cheeses and make pepperoni faces on top of the pie. Who doesn’t love a smiley pizza? 🙂
Favorite Pizza Pans
Let me share my top choices for pizza pans just in case you’re shopping for a new one. I use and love (affiliate links) this one and this one. If you like baking your homemade pizzas on pizza stones, I’ve used this one before and it’s wonderful.
If you don’t have a pizza pan, use a regular sheet pan. Grease it with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal as directed below, and then press the dough into whatever shape that will fit. Make sure the dough is about 1/2-inch thick. For a thinner pizza, stretch the dough out more.
Uses for Homemade Pizza Dough
Here are the many uses for this homemade pizza dough:
- Stuffed Crust Pizza
- Pesto Pizza
- Homemade Ham & Cheese Pockets
- Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- Stromboli
- Spinach Artichoke White Pizza
- Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Garlic Knots
- Margherita style (pictured above): For 2 pizzas, when it’s time to top it in step 6 below, top with the following. (Feel free to halve for only 1 pizza.) Make a homemade tomato sauce by blending 1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, pinch of salt, and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Spread on shaped doughs. Top each with 2-3 ounces thinly sliced fresh mozzarella. Bake as directed, and then sprinkle each hot pizza with 2 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese and a handful of roughly chopped fresh basil.
- Apple gorgonzola pizza is a favorite: For 1 pizza, when it’s time to top it in step 6 below, top with 1 and 1/2 cups (6oz or 168g) shredded mozzarella cheese, 8 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese, thin slices of apple, then sprinkle with chopped fresh or dried rosemary before baking.
- Or any other pizza topping you love: pepperoni, crumbled sausage, black olives, onions, mushrooms, jalapeños, etc
Here are my flatbread pizza crust, whole wheat pizza dough, Chicago-style deep dish pizza, and cold veggie pizza recipes.
Print
Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 12-inch pizzas
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Follow these basic instructions for a thick, crisp, and chewy pizza crust at home. The recipe yields enough pizza dough for two 12-inch pizzas and you can freeze half of the dough for later. Close to 2 pounds of dough total. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (about 110°F/43°C)
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 3 and 1/2 to 4 cups (438–500g) unbleached all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
- 1 teaspoon salt
- sprinkle of cornmeal, for dusting the pan
Toppings (halve these amounts if making just 1 pizza)
- extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
- 1 cup (250g) store-bought pizza sauce
- 4 cups (1lb/454g) shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Whisk the warm water, granulated sugar, and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.
- Add the flour, olive oil, and salt. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray—just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60–90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
- Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15–20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly for 5–10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker’s peels dusted with cornmeal.
- Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings. I suggest pepperoni & green peppers or jalapeño slices, Hawaiian pizza, pesto pizza, spinach artichoke white pizza, or homemade BBQ chicken pizza.
- Top & bake the pizza: Using your fingers, press dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Lightly brush olive oil over the top of the crust. Sprinkle with minced garlic (if using), then spread on 1/2 cup (125g) pizza sauce, and top with 2 cups (227g) shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with any additional toppings of your choice and bake for 13–15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
- Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: This recipe yields enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, a little less than 2 pounds (900g) total. After the pizza dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 5), you can freeze one of the balls of dough to make pizza at a later time. Or you can simply freeze both balls of dough separately. Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into individual zipped-top bag(s) and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 1 hour on the counter. Preheat the oven and continue with step 5, punching down the dough to release air if needed.
- Overnight/All Day Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 3, but allow the dough to rise for 8–12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler water (about 70°F/21°C) in the dough, which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) The slow rise gives the pizza dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 4. If the dough didn’t quite double in size overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 30–45 minutes before punching down (step 5).
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Dough Scraper | Pizza Pan or Baking Sheet | Pastry Brush | Pizza Cutter
- Yeast: Red Star Platinum yeast is an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead. The rise time will be at least 90 minutes. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Pictured Pizza: This recipe yields 2 pizzas. For each, top with 1/2 cup pizza sauce, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, pepperoni slices, thinly sliced green pepper or jalapeño, and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning blend or dried basil.
Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Addiction in 2013
FAQ: How Can I Make The Dough Ahead of Time?
Prepare the dough through step 3 above, but allow the dough to rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler water in the dough which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) As a bonus, the slow rise gives the pizza dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 5 in the recipe above (the shaping step). If the dough didn’t quite double in size when rising, let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before shaping.
FAQ: How Do I Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough?
This recipe yields two 12-inch pizzas. After the pizza dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 5), you can freeze one of the balls of dough to make pizza at a later time. Or you can simply freeze both balls of dough separately. Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into individual zipped-top bag(s) and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months.
FAQ: How Do I Thaw Frozen Pizza Dough?
Place the frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Continue with step 5 in the recipe above.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This is the first recipe I have ever used to make homemade pizza, and it’s excellent!! I have now made it three different times and it has turned out great each time. The kids love it! It’s much easier than I thought it would be and it taste’s great!!
what would you say the max amount of time in the refrigerator would be?
Hi Rachelle! Up to 12 hours in the refrigerator is best. Freeze if storing longer than that.
I love this recipe! The dough is so soft. I also froze the second half for a week, defrosted it in the fridge over night, and then let it rest on the counter a while. It tasted as good as the first. This is our go to pizza recipe now! I wonder if I could make a GF version? Switching out 1:1 flour? Any experience with that?
Hi Debbie, we’re so glad you enjoyed our pizza dough recipe! We haven’t tested a gluten-free version, but many of our readers have reported success using 1:1 flours as you mention, like Bob’s Red Mill or Cup4Cup. If you give it a try, we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
I LOVE this recipe. But, I have to say, freezing half the dough doesn’t work well. I followed all of the instructions and yet the dough never cooked! It was raw. Any idea why?
Hi Rachel! Is it possible the dough wasn’t thawed all the way through? Make sure to let it rest on the counter to bring to room temperature before baking and roll it out thin enough. We’re so glad you love this pizza dough!
I actually made this but with whole wheat flour (saw the recipe for that one after I had already prepped everything ), and it still turned out PERFECTLY!!!!! I baked it for about 10 minutes, then brushed the crust edges with some garlic butter and baked it for another 5 minutes. Only used half of the dough, so I’ll be saving the other half for next time.
This is amazing. I’ve tried making pizza dough so many times and each time the result has been underwhelming. This morning, I made the first batch using this recipe – made your pizza roll recipe and fed them to the builders who are doing some work here today. They were so impressed, I am now making a second batch for the family. Thank you!
First time making bread of any kind. My dough was so sticky. I could kneed it. I weighed all my ingredients. Idk what I could have done wrong. Any help?
Hi Alex, be sure to generously flour your hands and countertop when kneading by hand. You can also add flour a small amount at a time (about a tablespoon at a time) to help as well if the dough is still a bit too sticky. Hope this is helpful!
I have struggled with making pizza dough in the past but followed this recipe to a T and the end result was a nice crispy crust with a nice flavor. I plan to make this again soon using the overnight fridge method and adding some garlic powder to the dough as well. Dough came out really soft and easy to roll out. I don’t have a pizza stone but I did put the baking pan in the oven to preheat to 475 then transferred my pizza to the pan before baking.
I decided to try a different recipe for a change after using the one I had for years. Instead of using the mixer, I used the wooden spoon. After mixing all the ingredients in the bowl, it was obvious that the dough was very dry. So, I added a little more olive oil, kneading throughout the dough. It then came together fine. Either there’s too much flour or not enough oil.
This is my go to pizza recipe! I used either bread flour or all purpose and it never fails me. Thank youuu! ❤️
First time for me also. I forgot the sugar, but the crust came out great anyhow. Forget buying store bought pizza!!
My first time ever making pizza dough at home, and I couldn’t have asked for a better recipe. I just loved the whole process of making it and it turned out sooooo good! I used the base to make spinach artichoke pizza, a small cheese pizza and an Indian spicy chicken pizza. A super hit dish. thank you so much for sharing this.
Delicious and easy! My family and I use this recipe every other week, thanks Sally!
I’ve tried a few different recipes, and I wont be looking for anymore. This is a lovely recipe. My husband and son agree. Very easy
Easy to follow recipe, easy cleanup, good results. Made the dough one night after dinner, popped it in the refrigerator, and made pizza for dinner the next night. I’m a relatively novice, “covid baker” and am pleased with the outcome. We made a traditional pepperoni pizza ’cause those were the ingredients on hand – looking forward to making the spinach & artichoke white pizza.
Hi Sally! I made my own first zero to 100 pizza with your amazing recipe today and it was perfect!!!Just a little questions… My dough was perfectly done but it wasn’t crunchy could you please help me with that?
Hi Zahra! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! You can try baking your dough at a higher temperature or for slightly longer for a crispier crust.
love it
Hi sally thanks for the recipe. I don’t have a thermometer to measure the water temperature so that means I should forget about making my own homemade dough,?
Hi Zahra! Using a thermometer allows you to be more exact, but you can still make this pizza dough without it. You want to use water that is warm to the touch, but not hot. If it is too hot it will kill the yeast and keep the dough from rising. If your water is a little cooler, it may take longer to rise. Hope this helps!
I loved this recipe! I cut it in half and used it to make veggie pizza rolls and it was yumz I baked it for a little bit longer than the required time but it was nice and soft and golden brown!
This was by far the best pizza dough recipe I’ve tried. Even my 18 year old said it was like “real” pizza. Lol! This is a winner and will be a staple moving forward!
I’ve made this pizza dough a few times now and it’s my absolute favourite. The only thing I have now changed slightly is the salt. I experimented a bit and now add 1/2 a teaspoon in addition to the original recipe (1 and 1/4 tsp of salt in total) and it makes for a wonderfully, flavourful crust. Without it, I find the crust is just too bland for me. I like a tasty crust, as it’s the best part in my opinion. Adding extra doesn’t make it at all salty either – if anyone is curious. I also divide this dough into 4 equal pieces which makes the perfect size pizzas for me and produces a lovely, crispy, thin and tasty crust.
Thank you for this recipe. 🙂
Finally found a good recipe and she even listed some good techniques so my pizza wouldn’t bubble up. My pizza came out so good! My kids and I loved it. Thank you!
Thank you!!!! I’ve been looking and trying a lot of pizza dough recipes and this is the one! I love it! It’s easy, simple and soft and just amazingly wonderful! I’ve been a silent reader in your blog and it’s really inspiring! Thank you so much! All the best!
I made this dough with my 8yr old after school. We did the whole thing with the stand mixer and it was amazing, better than any pizzeria. We deciding what variation to make next time! A huge thank you for a truly fantastic recipe.
Pizza is my favorite food, and I have tried a lot of crusts. This one is by far the BEST! The pizza was amazing, and my family loved it too!! Thank you, Sally!!
Made this recipe via Zoom with my special education class and their parents. Got lots of compliments from everyone who had pizza for dinner that night!
I tried your pizza recipe and it turned out delicious. I prepared some for my dad on his birthday and he loved it. Thank you.
This was my first time making pizza at home like this. My first time with dough from scratch. While there were some amateur mistakes, overall it was a very tasty meal. Even the kids loved it.
Theres some things I need to work on, but the foundation was there. The instructions and demo video were extremely helpful. Very tasty. Highly recommend. We are definitely using this more in the future.
I have a cast iron pizza pan. Will that work with this recipe? Do I need to preheat the pan and then flop the dough onto it?
Hi Sarah! This pizza dough will definitely work with a cast iron pizza pan. Preheat it as you usually would to make pizza. Enjoy!
Very good dough! I threw everything into the bread machine but followed the other parts of the recipe. Kid approved!
Made this pizza dough recipe several times already and it always turn out great. Saved it and is my go-to pizza dough recipe. Thanks.
Super easy to make! Thank you (: