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
I am an international student who knows nothing bug loves pizza to the core
I mess up everything every single time but this was I don’t know how turned out to be just perfect
Thank you so much!!! I had a fantastic meal today, happy tummy happy me
Can this pizza be made up up then frozen uncooked please?
Hi Sondra, We wouldn’t freeze an assembled pizza, but you could par bake the dough for 5-8 minutes, then freeze. Let it thaw before topping and baking. Make sure you roll the dough/flatten thin as it will puff up without toppings on.
I just mixed up the dough and it is in a covered bowl for the rising stage. My dough was hand mixed and hand kneaded and came together beautifully. I loved the feel of the soft velvety dough. Not sure how long I kneaded it because I stopped when I liked the way it felt. We’ll see. This was my first time making pizza dough and I’m trying it out on some girlfriends this evening. I have used quite a few of your recipes and enjoyed them. Thanks for all he helpful ideas and detailed instructions. I enjoy the read!
Hi there Sally, Thanks very much for the pizza dough recipe. It was super easy and turned out great. I’ve tried a couple other pizza dough recipes and this is the best that I’ve tried. I made it for my wife, teen-aged son and daughter and they all loved it (as did I). I added some granulated garlic and dried basil for a flavor boost and I’m sure other spices would be fine as well. My daughter said the pizza was better than the pizza chains and I agree. I can’t believe that I’ve been buying pizza chain pizzas all my life when I could have been making fresher tasting pizzas cheaper myself. I suspect the flavor could be amped up even more with a wood fire pizza oven. Thanks again for the great recipe!
Hi, I wanted to know if Semolina can be used instead of Cornmeal
Hi Simmy James, many readers have reported success using semolina flour to dust the pan.
If the dough rises faster than expected, should I leave it on the counter or refrigerator until I’m ready to use, guess it’s a little warm here today
Hi Heather! We would pop it in the fridge.
I love this recipe! When I made it today, it was so sticky, and I had to add a bit more flour than I would have liked to. It still seemed moist, so hopefully it will still be ok!
I LOVE this recipe. I make it every Sunday, and everyone who tries it is impressed. The only modification I make is that I use 1 tsp of sugar and 1.5 tsp of salt.
This recipe is a keeper! So easy & tasty! I followed a suggestion from another comment to add a couple teaspoons each of garlic powder & Italian seasoning and my family loved it!
Sally we love your pizza recipe! I’m making 3 batches of dough for a party. When I let the dough rise over night in the fridge can I put it in a ziplock bag? Thanks!
Hi Kelly, if using a ziplock bag, you’ll want to make sure it is still greased with oil and is large enough to allow for proper rise. Glad this one is a favorite!
Is there any way to bring the dough to room temperature more quickly if I forgot to take it out overnight? It has been in the fridge for about 8 hours but still cold
Hi Ryan! Thawing slowly in the refrigerator really is the best way, otherwise it will thaw unevenly and may still be frozen in the middle when you go to use it. You can try letting it sit at room temperature for a bit.
I used wholewheat flour for this recipe and turned out great! This is literally my got to recipe now. Being able to freeze and stock them makes everything so much easier too!
This pizza dough is a big hit with the kids!
hi! will this recipe work well if baked in an ooni pizza oven?
Absolutely!
Let me tell you….I love this pizza crust! I have been making homemade pizza for decades and have always struggled with the dough being too tough, too “doughy” after baking, or not rising the way it should. It was different with every single batch. Pizza is still my favorite meal (I’m in my 50s) of all time, and this dough is incredible! Every batch comes out the same, rises really well, bakes the way it should (we do pizzas on our smoker sometimes), and tastes exactly right. Bravo! I tell people all the time now that I found the perfect pizza dough recipe. Thank you so much!
I just tried this recipe for the first time and it came out PERFECT! Crispy outside and soft inside. I’ll definitely be bookmarking this to make again.
I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now. It works every time. I love it!
Love the recipe, but why do sites like this make you scroll through a dozen pages of crap just to find the actual recipe and directions? I doubt I’m the only person who just comes here for a recipe and not 10 pages worth of stupid chatter about the recipe.
Hi Tom, glad you enjoyed this recipe. You can use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page next time.
I’m wondering if I can use whole wheat or whole grain flour for this recipe?
Hi Rod, try this recipe for whole wheat pizza dough!
Hi. I only have sheet pans at the moment, and my children would like for me to make a homemade pizza. What size sheet pan would be great fornthis recipe? Byw, I LOVE your recipes. Whenever I want to try something new/old, and I see your recipes pop up, I know it’s going to be a winner.
Hi Alicia, Depending how large the pan is, you could use the full dough recipe for the sheet pan pizza. (Since it usually makes 2 12-inch rounds.)
This recipe us amazing! I have tried other pizza dough recipes and although they have turned out ok I haven’t been entirely satisfied with them. But I followed your recipe exactly and it turned out perfect! It was so flavourful and exactly what I wanted! Thanks for explaining everything so thoroughly! I will be saving this recipe.
I use this recipe at least once a month. It’s my go to pizza dough recipe. Easy to make successful every time.
I doubled the recipe to make 4 bases, I think more flour and less yeast would be better for doubling the recipe
Hi James! We do find that it typically works best to make separate batches rather than doubling. Hope you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for giving it a try!
Does it affect flavor? I doubled the recipe before seeing this comment and it’s rising right now so I’m curious if I need other plans for dinner now? haha.
Also if we make the dough in the am and it’s not enough hours to rise in fridge (8-10). What do we do if it’s only 3-5 hrs before I need to use it? Fridge? Leave on counter?
Hi Lynne, we typically recommend making separate batches because doubling can make it easier to over or under knead the dough. The taste should be just fine, and you can place it in the refrigerator after rising until it is time to use it. Hope you enjoy the pizza!
This recipe is wonderful. The best thing is that we make a large pizza (just for the two of us) on our pizza stone on the grill, and reheat the left overs on the grill the next day for lunch. This dough recipe is fantastic.
I always go to your recipes first. You give perfect instructions. Just made the blueberry bars (added about a half cup or so of chopped macadamia nuts to the filling) they came out great!
Here’s my question, if I am making this pizza dough recipe using 000 flour, do I need to change any measurements? Thank you
Hi Susan, thanks so much for making and trusting our recipes! You can use the same amount of type 00 flour instead of all-purpose flour. Hope you enjoy this pizza dough!
I love this recipe so much! I’d never found a easy recipe for pizza dough until I found yours that was perfect the first time, and I followed your directions to the T. I’ll never buy another frozen pizza or take-out again. My husband and I love the crispy crust it gives!
This is a comment on all of your recipes I’ve tried. I love, love, love how you are so thorough with your directions. You don’t leave out any important details that so many other bakers/cooks overlook or assume. You are my go-to for any recipe I want to try. I’ve made several batches already of your glazed coconut-lime cookies and this wonderful pizza dough. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you so much for this kind and heartfelt review, Barbara—we so appreciate it!!
If I wanted to double or triple this recipe (I have a large family!) could I make it all in the same batch or would it be better to make a single recipe at a time? Looking forward to homemade pizza!
Hi Shea, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling. Enjoy!
This was exactly what I was looking for!
Perfect, quick and easy
Your receipts never fail. I am so grateful to you for sharing them with us all. Thank you! We made this pizza dough for dinner and they came out perfect!
Thank you!
This was an excellent dough but a little too thick for us and not quite crispy enough. Not sure how to remedy this…. Roll it out thinner??
Hi Dooty! Yes, rolling the dough out thinner will yield a thinner and crispier crust. You can also bake it slightly longer if desired.
Tastes like rich people food! I’ve made it twice, with no variations and it got even better the second time. Wonderful.
Turned out better than takeaway! Do you know how many calories one dough ball is? I don’t want to make this a regular thing if it’s going to impact the waistline!
Hi Nix, so glad you enjoyed it! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076