Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | How to Make Dough From Scratch (2024)

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By Melissa

on Jul 20, 2017, Updated Oct 31, 2022

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Wondering how to make Easy Homemade Pizza Dough? This is my go-to recipe. You only need 6 ingredients and 10 minutes to make this easy, versatile dough!

I got you covered when it comes to Pizza. Here are a few of my favorites: Amazing No-Knead Refrigerator Pizza Dough, Homemade Supreme Pizza Recipe and 30 Minute Meaty Margherita Pizza.

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | How to Make Dough From Scratch (2)

Table of Contents

  • Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
  • What should I bake this pizza in?
  • What should I do with the other half of the dough if I only want 1 pizza?
  • Looking for a fun Friday night activity with the kids?
  • How long do I let the dough rise?
  • Can I use whole wheat flour to make pizza dough?
  • What is the best homemade pizza sauce to go with this dough?
  • How do you know if yeast is still good?
  • Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe Recipe

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

There are a few skills that I feel are essential for being a good mom. Making homemade pizza is one of them. I don’t know why, but being able to make a mean pizza is important to me! I meal planbased on genre. Friday at our house is pizza night! Every Friday I make a version of one of the following: pizza, deep dish pizza, personal pizzas, sheet pan pizza, calzones, Stromboli, or pizza rolls.

For all of my pizza options, this is the super easy pizza dough that I use. You can’t go wrong with a simple dough that works every time. It only has 6 simple ingredients, and it’s very forgiving (you really can’t ruin this dough, trust me!).

For this recipe I have also included my favorite pizza baking method (because those two things go together). It’s very pizzeria in style. The dough is a medium thickness, the bottom gets nice and brown, and the cheese around the edge gets crusty, edging on burnt. Mmmm…that crusty dark cheese! Don’t be tempted to overload on cheese and toppings. With pizza, more is not always better. The crust won’t cook through if you get too crazy, and very few things are grosser than doughy pizza.

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | How to Make Dough From Scratch (3)

What should I bake this pizza in?

I have added my recommendations on how to cook the pizza but you can really cook this however you like. Press it in a sheet pan, in a pizza pan, in a cast iron skillet,or however you like to make pizza.

What should I do with the other half of the dough if I only want 1 pizza?

If you don’t want 2 large pizzas, make 1 large pizza and a batch of breadsticks with the second half of the dough.

Looking for a fun Friday night activity with the kids?

Use this dough to make mini or individual pizzas. Let the kids do the rolling and top with what they like. My kids love DIY pizza night.

How long do I let the dough rise?

The rising time if very flexible. The longer it rises, the more fluffy/bready the baked dough; the shorter it rises, the more chewy/dense it will be. I just let it rise as long as it takes me to prep my veggies, cheese, and sauce.

Can I use whole wheat flour to make pizza dough?

Feel free to use half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour, so delicious. This is my favorite 100% whole wheat pizza dough recipe if you are in the market.

What is the best homemade pizza sauce to go with this dough?

Looking for the best (and easiest) pizza sauce recipe? You’ll need 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes. In a small sauce pan, cook the oil and garlic together over medium heat until the garlic starts to smell good. Add the tomatoes and simmer until it thickens a bit, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. DONE! Really. Three ingredients and it tastes amazing!

How do you know if yeast is still good?

Fill up a small measuring cup with a little warm water. Add 1/4 teaspoon of your yeast and then add a pinch of sugar and lightly stir it together. Wait for 5 minutes. If the yeast is still active you will see little bubble along the top of the water and it will start to “foam”. I think the date on the yeast package is a good guide, and I like to store my yeast in the fridge to help keep it fresh. When in doubt, get new yeast. Nothing is worse than a unrisen loaf of bread because of old yeast!

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Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | How to Make Dough From Scratch (5)

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

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  • Author: Melissa Griffiths – Bless this Mess
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 min.
  • Yield: 2 large pizzas 1x
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Description

Wondering how to make easy homemade pizza dough? This is my go-to recipe. You only need 6 ingredients and 10 minutes to make this easy, versatile dough!

Ingredients

Scale

For the easy pizza dough

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 6 to 6 1/2cups flour

For the Pizza

  • Pizza sauce (about 2 cups), see post for a super simple recipe
  • Cheese (about 4 cups)
  • Toppings

Instructions

To make the dough

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add the water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Allow mixture to stand for 5 minutes.
  2. Add one cup of flour, and mix to combine. Add another cup of flour and mix through. Mix by hand for 1 or 2 minutes. The dough should be the consistency of cake batter. Add another cup of flour and mix until well combined. Add flour until you can’t mix it by hand very well.
  3. Sprinkle some flour on your table and turn the dough onto the table. Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed. This should take 6 to 10 minutes of kneading. You can also do this part in a stand mixer if you have one.
  4. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 15 to 60 minutes (This time varies a lot for me – I just let it rise according to how long it is until dinner time).

To make the pizza

  1. While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to heat, too. I would recommend using a stone for baking this pizza. If you don’t have a stone, you can turn your biggest cookie sheet upside down (so that the flat side is up) or use a rimless sheet. If you are using a stone let the stone heat for 30 minutes. If using a baking sheet, let it heat for 10 minutes.
  2. When the oven is hot, cut your dough in half. Place half of the dough on a piece of parchment paper that is 18 inches long. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough (on top of the parchment paper) into a 12 to 14 inch circle. The dough should be about a half-inch thick. Top with 1 cup of pizza sauce, 1 1/2 to 2 cups of shredded mozzarella, and toppings of your choice.
  3. When the pizza is all ready, slide the pizza, which is on the parchment paper, onto a rimless cookie sheet or one that is upside down. This will help you get the pizza to the oven.
  4. Open the oven and slide the pizza which is still on the parchment paper, from the cookie sheet onto the hot baking stone or hot cookie sheet. I just tug on the edge of the parchment paper with my hands and slide it onto the stone. BE CAREFUL! Your oven is set to 500. It’s super hot, obviously! Make sure the babies are out of the way and be careful when sliding the pizza into the oven.
  5. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the top is bubbly and the edges are starting to brown. When the pizza is done, tug the edge of the parchment paper and slide the pizza back onto the cookie sheet you used to transfer it to the oven. Again, be careful!
  6. Let your stone reheat for 10 minutes. While the stone is heating, repeat the whole thing with the second half of the dough and bake the same way.
  7. Enjoy, enjoy enjoy!

Notes

  • I serve it right off of the parchment paper (which gets all dark and cooked looking) or I’ll tear off a new piece and serve it on a crisp white sheet of parchment. Very pretty!
  • This cooking method is my preferred way to make pizza at home but it’s just a suggestion. You can use this pizza dough to make mini pizza, sheet pan pizza, and even bread sticks. Just be sure that no matter what you cook you pizza in/on, the bottom of the crust is golden brown before you remove it from the oven.
  • Don’t need two large pizzas? Make one pizza and use the rest of the dough for bread sticks.
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 25 min
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Slice
  • Calories: 330
  • Sugar: 1.5g
  • Sodium: 234.7mg
  • Fat: 6.4g
  • Carbohydrates: 59g
  • Protein: 8.2g

If you love Pizza, Check these recipes out too:

  • Homemade Pizza with Chicken and Bacon
  • Perfect Pepperoni Pizza Sticks
  • Homemade Supreme Pizza Recipe
  • Breakfast Pizza Sticks
  • Supreme Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
  • 30 Minute Meaty Margherita Pizza
  • 20 Minute Easy Cheesy Pizza Sticks
  • Quick and Easy Flatbread Pizzas
  • Herbed Tomato Bacon Pizza
  • 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | How to Make Dough From Scratch (6)

And there you have it, the best Easy Pizza Dough on the block. You can’t mess this one up friends, even if you don’t consider yourself a baker or tend to be wary of making yeast doughs. You can do it!

About Melissa

Read More About Me

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Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | How to Make Dough From Scratch (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good pizza dough? ›

There are many tricks to achieving a tasty, homemade pizza dough that rises into a beautiful pizza crust, such as making sure your ingredients are at right temperature, using half bread flour for a stronger dough and half all-purpose flour for a nice rise, substituting honey for sugar to help caramelize the crust and ...

Does water and flour make pizza dough? ›

Overview: Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients

All pizza dough starts with the same basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, salt, and olive oil. Here's the breakdown of what I use in my homemade pizza crust recipe. The full printable recipe is below.

What is the most important ingredient in pizza dough? ›

Flour is the main ingredient in pizza dough, and the type you use can have a big effect on the end result. All-purpose flour will work fine, but if you want a chewier crumb and a better hole structure, you should consider buying yourself some high protein bread flour.

What not to do when making pizza dough? ›

The Most Common Mistakes When Making Pizza
  1. Not Letting the Dough Rest. ...
  2. Not Kneading the Dough for Long Enough. ...
  3. Using a Rolling Pin to Form the Dough. ...
  4. Overloading Pizza Toppings. ...
  5. Not Letting the Pizza Cook for Long Enough.

What makes a flavorful pizza dough? ›

Any pizza dough with a complex flavor has been slow-fermented. All this means is that the yeast it contains has had ample time to eat the simple sugars in the flour. The longer the yeast has had to feast – ideally 24 to 48 hours – the lighter and more flavorful the pizza dough will be.

What makes pizza dough more fluffy? ›

  1. AP flour - pizza requires a high protein (gluten) content to allow for a good stretch and oven spring. ...
  2. No oil, no sugar - both oil and sugar encourage browning and should be used, just sparingly, especially in a home oven.
Jan 21, 2020

Is milk better than water for pizza dough? ›

Did you know the protein and sugars in milk actually help strengthen pizza dough while baking and create a beautiful, golden-brown crust? Try it for yourself!

How long should pizza dough rest? ›

Let rest at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. Or, if time is tight, let it rest at least 20 minutes before proceeding.

Is it better to make pizza dough wet or dry? ›

This is relevant to pizza because varying the level of dough hydration directly affects the qualities of a finished crust. Too little hydration and the crust will be dense and dry, while too much water will result in a dough that is sticky, too fluid to shape and difficult to slide into the oven.

Does homemade pizza dough have to sit? ›

If you're making pizza now: Let the dough rise for an hour to an hour and a half. Then proceed with making your pizzas right away. If you're making pizza later: Cover the dough with cling wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for up to three days until you're ready to use it.

Why won't my pizza dough stretch? ›

Under-proofed pizza dough is hard to stretch and dense. An over-proofed dough will stretch too thin and won't spring up when you put it in the oven. Warm-up your dough: Cold dough is hard to stretch and more prone to tearing. Let your dough warm up to at least room temperature before stretching for best results.

What are 3 ingredients in pizza? ›

Dough, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce. That is a basic pizza…then there are the toppings you can add…

Is pizza dough usually vegan? ›

Often times, pizza dough is naturally vegan. The basic pizza dough formula is just water, flour, yeast, and salt. The only times that eggs or dairy are used for a bread recipe is typically just for enriched doughs (like brioche or cinnamon rolls– which we have the vegan options for on the blog!).

Is flour the main ingredient in pizza dough? ›

The major component of all pizza dough is, of course, the flour. Since there are so few ingredients that go into pizza dough—flour, water, yeast, salt, and maybe a little olive oil—the flour plays a pretty important role, and the type of flour you use can affect your end results.

How is pizza dough different from regular dough? ›

One of the main differences between pizza dough and bread dough are the gluten levels required for the different types of dough. Pizza requires a higher level of gluten since the dough needs to be very extensible and stretchy.

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