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 best pizza crust! Could you make this dough in a bread machine? Just curious. Thanks!
Hi Amanda, we haven’t tested this recipe in a bread machine, but several readers have reported success doing so.
I just made this!!! I’m so in love with the crust!! Thank you !!
Simple and tasty.
1 question though… what adjustments do i need to make to double or triple the recipe?
Hi Michael, you can double this recipe with no adjustments. Enjoy!
I have made a lot of pizza dough in my time this one turned out amazing. I did end up aging mine for two days in the refrigerator and it came out crispy even with ap flour. My only addition would be add more salt.
i use this recipe a lot to make pizza . i love it and save money . i made plaincheese , pepperoni , ham and pineapple and sometimes i just add extras to a pizza when i have no idea what i want .
Made this pizza dough exactly as stated- love the chewy crust! Used my Kitchen-aid and it came out perfect!
can you freeze the pizza dough flat and cook it from frozen, add toppings and continue cooking? I am looking for a way to have pizza at night on those “last min. or dinner didn’t work out” nights where no planning ahead happned (no time to thaw and roll out).
Hi Terra! For a par-bake and freeze make-ahead option, you could par bake the dough (without toppings) 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. We don’t recommend freezing with the toppings on. Hope this helps!
As always, the clear and thorough instructions made this so easy and stress-free. My first time making traditional pizza dough and it turned out great. I let it rise in the fridge for over a day and still worked for me. Time to stop using premade dough from the store!
P.S. I know that in general Sally’s recipes are not for gluten free versions (though I’ve successfully subbed a number of them), and GF pizza dough in general tends to have a lot of additives to make them work. As I have GF friends, I decided to try a batch GF in tandem with my normal batch using Bob’s Red Mills 1:1. It actually turned out better than any other GF pizza dough recipe I’ve tried. You don’t need to knead it so long as there’s no gluten to develop obviously, but it still resulted in a sturdy, tender, and chewy crust. If anyone tries it GF, my suggestion would be to use a baking sheet or pizza stone, not a pizza pan with holes because it’s quite goopy in its uncooked state. It won’t roll out so instead you can press it out directly into the sheet/stone using floured hands into the shape desired.
Thanks so much! Will be making a gf version
Hey Sally! I love this recipe. I’ve made it a bunch of times, but today I have a slight emergency/time-crunch.
Can I thaw the frozen dough on the counter or does it HAVE to be thawed in the fridge?
Hi Madeline, 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.
This is the second time I have made this recipe. I have just repeated it again to make it for 4. Can I just double the recipe to begin with so I am not doing everything twice
Hi Helen, for best results, we recommend making separate batches rather than doubling.
Easy to follow and the base was perfect! I doubled the recipe and froze 3 x dough balls for future pizza nights. Will be making again – thank you!
Tried your recipe. We used a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour. Turned out perfect! My 5 yr old son loves baking, we used your recipe and added sausages. Big hit in our household!
It had good flavour and was crispy, but I was looking for something a little softer. Note: I did the 8 hour delay in the fridge.
Thank you very much for this recipe – it’s a keeper! I just made my first ever pizzas and they turned out amazing. The dough was simple to make, stretched beautifully and was the perfect amount for two large pizzas. The bases were crisp outside and light and fluffy inside with a really good flavour and fragrance. I’m so happy that I can make something so delicious at home for a fraction of the price of a delivery.
I am a super fan of this site, but this is the first time I’ve tried this recipe. It simply doesn’t get any easier or any better than this! I’ve made lots of pizza in my 67 years, but hands down this is the best pizza dough resulting in the best pizza I’ve had in many, many years.
So happy to read this, Dawn! Thanks for giving this recipe a try.
I’m confused by the range of flour amounts listed (438–500g). How do you know how much to use?
Hi Marco, start with the amount of flour on the lower end, and then you can add more as you go until you reach the correct dough consistency for kneading.
I’m a beginner and I’m making the dough right now but I’m stuck on the measurement of the flower why is it not exact I don’t know what to weigh it too help ? Thank you I’m a huge fan love all your recipes I’m practicing I promised my kids 5 pizzas for mothers day one each to decorate
Hi Lisa! Start with 438 grams and add more if needed. Happy baking!
I tried the dough last night and not sure where I went wrong. The crust did not brown and was very tough. Any tips? Everything I have made from this site has been amazing. I’m sure I flopped somewhere.
Hi Laura, Thank you for trying this recipe. How did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure just the right amount of flour. If the flour is over measured, it can cause the dough to become dense and hard. Be careful not to over-knead the dough, either, as that cause it to bake up dense. Thanks for giving this one a try!
I made the pizza dough yesterday and missed the section on letting it rise first before putting it in refrigerator. Will it still be good today? Having guest for dinner.
Hi Rachel, to follow the Overnight Instructions, you’ll prepare the dough through step 3 (the kneading step), but allow the dough to rise for 8–12 hours in the refrigerator. No need to let it rise on the counter before refrigerating! Hope it’s a hit for your guests!
Can you 00 flour for this also.
Hi Richard, yes, you can use the same amount of 00 flour. Enjoy!
I am concerned the center of the dough will not bake through if I use a good amount of toppings. Should I prebake the dough? If so, how long / what temp? I have an electric oven, and will be using a pizza stone that I will preheat according to your instructions.
Hi Devyn! If the dough is thin enough, it should bake through just fine.
Is it possible to make this recipe with bleached flour and if so how should I adjust for that? I currently only have bleached flour (and unbleached is twice the price) and would like to use that up before buying any more.
Hi Sade, using bleached flour should be fine here.
I made this and it was very good best pizza dough i ever had. my friend reccomended it to me and i was like oh okay whatever and i learned to like knead the dough an d stuff and i made it and it was so good i didnt even use it for a pizza bro it tasted so good so thank you sally and thank you Eric Gerald my good pal
AHHH the best pizza dough ever!!!! I’ve tried so many different recipes but nothing came close to this one. The pizza dough was soft and light, absolutely flavourful. My own brother didn’t believe I made this and thought it was from the store . Thank you Sally for such an awesome recipe
I have made this recipe so many times that I immediately noticed that you updated the flour amount since I made it two weeks ago!
Same! What was the old amount though? I knew exactly how much to use based on that number but now I don’t know!
Same here! I think it used to be 450 grams? I have been using this recipe for about 4 years…It took me a while to get the dough to the consistency I wanted
Pizza, pizza, pizza – it’s my favorite food in the universe! I’ve been trying pizza crusts for years and have never found one that I really fell in love with – until yesterday! I tried your pizza crust, Sally, and it was absolutely divine!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was light, extremely flavorful, the perfect rise & bake. The cornmeal on the bottom gave it a nice crunch. Thank you for another incredible recipe!!! ❤️
Thank you, Sally. We’ve just taken up residence in a new community and haven’t yet found a pizzeria that we love. I thought I’d try to make one at home — something we hadn’t done since Chef Boyardee made it really easy in the early years of our now 60 year marriage. This recipe couldn’t;t be more forgiving nor more simple to put together. I did several things wrong (forgot the salt, tried to sneak it in later, oiled the baking pan rather than using corn meal on it) and still the ultimate product likely will be our go-to pizza from now on. Good for the environment, no one has to drive anywhere, cheaper and it way easier than going out to get a pizza. This is it and we are grateful.
Sally, thank you for a great recipe. I have tried a few for pizza base recipes and this is the best so far. I usually check your blog for cakes,didn’t think to check for this.
I made in very hot and humid temperature, rise was done at 45 mins, otherwise followed exactly abd came out great.
It does make up a thicker crust which was delicious, personally I would LOVE a thin crust adaptation/version. Keep up the great work Sally and your team
Easy to make and tasty. A great beginning recipe.
There was a recipe under this post back in 2014 for a cheese pizza and I can’t find it. The link I saved years ago takes me to this. Can you share the recipe you had posted for cheese pizza? Thank you so much!
Hi Cristina! That recipe uses this same dough. We do still have the recipe for the toppings, and if you send us an email (sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com) we’d be happy to share it with you. Thank you!
How can I increase the amount of dough? I would like to still use only 1 packet of yeast. And I have 1.5 days to make it.
Thanks!