My easy, homemade pizza dough recipe makes the most delicious pizza you’ll ever taste! This dough turns six easy ingredients into a deliciously chewy and crispy handmade pizza crust that will leave you wondering why you ever ordered delivery!
Who doesn’t love pizza night? I know we do!
With my simple, 6-ingredient recipe, you can make incredible handmade pizza at home, with no fuss! Once the dough is done, simply stretch out the dough and pile on your favorite sauce and toppings for an amazing dinner!
My super tasty pizza dough makes a homemade crust that’s just as delicious as your favorite pizzeria. The edges are slightly crispy, but the interior is light, chewy, and moist. You can stretch it out to be thick or thin, but the result will always be amazingly flavorful.
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This recipe is also super family-friendly! Have a family pizza night this weekend and make memories in the kitchen that will last a lifetime!
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
So Easy! Making dough can seem intimidating, but this recipe is a breeze from start to finish.
It’s Delicious! This recipe uses delicious extra virgin olive oil and fresh salt to make the pizza dough exceptionally flavorful. Say goodbye to bland pizza crust!
It’s Versatile! Once you make this pizza dough, you can transform it into any variety of pizza you like! Classic Cheese, fresh Margherita, zesty BBQ Chicken – it’s totally up to you!
🥘 Ingredients
This recipe uses just 6 common ingredients easily found at almost any store to create a perfectly flavorful pizza dough. Olive oil really makes the pizza dough sing – don’t skip it!
- Active Dry Yeast – Yeast is what causes the pizza dough to rise quickly, resulting in that airy, puffy crust we all love. You can use instant yeast too if you have it! (See Tips & Recipe Notes)
- Sugar – Sugar “feeds” the yeast and produces gas bubbles that help the dough to rise. Sugar also adds a hint of sweetness to balance the flavors. You can substitute with honey if you prefer!
- Warm Water – Heated between 108°F (42°C) and 110°F (44°C) to activate yeast. (See Tips & Recipe Notes)
- Olive Oil – This gives delicious flavor and makes the crust tender. For best results, use a really good-quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
- Salt – Regular table salt or sea salt work perfectly in this recipe, just be sure to use fine granules, not coarse.
- All-Purpose Flour – Use your favorite brand. You can also use bread flour in this recipe! (See Tips & Recipe Notes)
💭 Tips & Notes
If you’re using instant yeast, you won’t need to make a separate yeast mixture to activate.
Mix the instant yeast, flour, sugar, and salt together in the bowl. Then, add in the water and olive oil and mix. For instant yeast, your water temperature should be at 120°F (49°C).
It’s important not to have the water too hot or too cold when adding to the yeast.
Yeast does not activate if the water temperature is under 110°F (43°C), and we need it to be fully activated to get that delicious rise. Yeast will die if gets to be over 120°F (49°C), which also will leave our pizza dough flat. To ensure a perfect temperature, use a thermometer!
If you do not have a thermometer, make sure your water feels slightly warm to the touch. You don’t want to see steam coming from your faucet, but you also don’t want it to feel too cool.
Make sure you don’t have too much flour in your measuring cup by using a spoon to scoop it in and then leveling off the excess.
The 'scoop and level' measuring method: When adding flour, use a spoon to portion the flour into your measuring cup. Then, use the flat side of a butter knife or your finger to level off the excess flour. You can always add more flour while kneading if the dough needs it.
If you use bread flour, this will yield a slightly drier dough and slightly firmer crust due to the extra protein that occurs in bread flour.
🔪 Instructions
My incredible handmade pizza dough recipe is so easy, you’ll be wanting to make homemade pizza every week! It only takes 5 minutes of kneading this dough to turn it into an awesome crust that you will love!
Making Pizza Dough By Hand
- Activate the yeast. In a small bowl, add 2 ¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast (***See notes if using instant yeast). Then add in 3 teaspoons of sugar and 1 ½ cups of warm water, stirring to combine. Allow the yeast to activate 5 to 10 minutes. It should have a foamy, bubbly top. While you wait, prep for the rest of the recipe.
- Prep. Sprinkle your clean work surface with a little flour and gather all your ingredients.
- Mix the dough. In a large bowl, add 2 teaspoons of salt and 4 cups of flour. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the activated yeast mixture and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Using your clean hands, combine and work the ingredients into a shaggy ball. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl to get all the pizza dough!)
- Knead. Pull the mixture from the bowl and knead with your hands for about 5 minutes on your prepared work surface. The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky. (You can add additional flour 1 tablespoon at time as needed)
- Let the dough rise. Using a bit of olive oil, lightly grease the inside of the bowl. (It can be the same bowl used to mix the dough) Then, place the dough ball in the bowl and cover the top of the dough with extra olive oil. Cover the bowl with a warm, damp kitchen cloth. Allow the dough to double in size – this will take 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- Section the dough. After the dough has doubled, remove and place on a floured surface. Punch the dough down and form into a log shape. Cut and divide into 2 or 3 equal sections depending on how many pizzas and what sizes you want. (You can work with all 2-3 pieces now, or place in plastic bags and refrigerate or freeze for later)
- Rise a second time. Shape each piece into a ball, dust with a little flour, and cover with a warm, moist cloth. Allow each ball to almost double in size – this should take about 1 hour.
- Make pizza! After the dough has risen a second time, you’re ready to make pizza!
I love to make a variety of delicious pizzas for dinner with this handmade dough! Try four-cheese, sausage and caramelized onions, or a classic supreme pizza.
🥡 Storing
Refrigerating
Handmade pizza dough only gets better in the refrigerator! Before the second rise, place individual dough balls in airtight containers or plastic Ziploc bags, and refrigerate for up to 3-5 days.
If it is going to sit in the fridge for more than 2 days, wrap the surface with plastic cling wrap to prevent drying.
When you’re ready to use, dust with flour, cover with a warm, moist kitchen cloth and let double in size – about 1 hour.
Freezing
This tasty pizza dough recipe also freezes well, so you can have homemade pizza for months! Before the second rise, wrap individual dough balls in plastic cling film, then place them in airtight containers or plastic Ziploc bags.
It can last in the freezer for 3-4 months. Let your pizza dough thaw overnight in your fridge until soft all the way through.
When you’re ready to use, dust with flour, cover with a warm, moist kitchen cloth, and let double in size – about 1 hour.
❓ FAQ
If you’ve mixed the yeast, water, and sugar, but don’t have a bubbly, foamy top after 5-10 minutes, your yeast did not activate. The yeast could be old (always keep an eye on the expiration date and store yeast in the refrigerator) or the water might have been too hot or cold.
You’ll have to start over again, but that’s okay! Make sure your yeast isn’t expired and when you’re adding the water, use a thermometer to make sure it’s at the perfect temperature – between 108°F (42°C) and 110°F (44°C).
Once you’re ready to bake your pizzas, you’ll first want to preheat your oven to between 450°F (250°C) and 500°F (260°C), for a quick, hot bake. Then, stretch or roll out your crusts on a floured surface until it is about ½ inch thick. Place your dough onto your preferred pan or pizza stone, and lightly brush the surface with a drizzle of olive oil. Layer on your favorite toppings and bake for about 8-12 minutes or until the pizza is golden brown and bubbling!
Do you have an extra portion of risen dough that you need to use? Try making delicious, buttery garlic knots or a cheesy calzone! You can also make dessert – cut dough into small pieces, brush with melted butter, top with cinnamon sugar, and bake at 425°F (218°C) for 10 minutes to make addictively sweet bites that everyone will love!
📖 Recipe Card
Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (or instant yeast, ***see notes on instant yeast)
- 3 teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ cups warm water (heated between 110°F (43°C) and 115°F (46°C))
- 4 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin, plus a little more for coating)
- 2 teaspoon salt (regular table salt or sea salt, fine granules not course)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour, more as needed, level the scoops of flour)
Instructions
Making Pizza Dough By Hand
- In a small bowl stir to combine the active dry yeast (***seen notes if using instant yeast) with the sugar and the warm water. Allow the yeast to activate 5 to 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble.2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast, 3 teaspoon sugar, 1 ½ cups warm water
- Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour. (Your hands will be messy, so I find it best to prep my area.)
- In a large bowl add the salt, and flour. Mix. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the activated yeast and olive oil. Using your hands combine and work together in to a ball. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl to get all the pizza dough)2 teaspoon salt, 4 cups all-purpose flour, 4 tablespoon olive oil
- Pull from the bowl, and knead the dough for about 5 minutes on your work surface. Knead into a ball shape. The dough should be smooth and still a bit sticky. (Add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time as needed.)
- Using a bit of olive oil, lightly grease the inside of the bowl. (can be same bowl)
- Place the dough ball in the bowl, cover the dough ball with a little olive oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with a warm damp kitchen cloth.
- Allow the dough to double in size this should take 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- After the dough has doubled remove from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Punch the dough down and form it into a log shape. Cut and divide into 3 equal sections. (Alternately after cutting into portions you can refrigerate or freeze for later).
- Shape each piece into a ball, dust with a little flour and cover with a warm moist towel. Allow each ball to almost double in size, this should take about an hour.
- After the dough has risen the second time you can make pizza!
Notes
- mix the instant yeast, flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl.
- No need to "activate" the instant yeast mixture.
- Then add in the water and olive oil.
- Continue to step 2.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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