This is the easiest, best pizza dough recipe. With just 6 ingredients and no fancy flours required (I’ve included instructions for using all-purpose or bread flour), this pizza crust requires just one bowl (no stand mixer, though you can use one if you’d like), about 3 seconds of kneading, and just 30 minutes to rise.
If you’re uncomfortable working with yeast or making your own pizza dough at home, I’ll walk you through every step of the process in my video just below the recipe. You’ve got this!
It’s a little silly how excited I am to share this recipe with you today. It’s pizza dough, not exactly glamorous or sexy and it was honestly pretty boring to photograph (how do you make a ball of dough look fun and appealing in pictures, please tell me!).
But as someone who has struggled with baking even the most simple recipes with yeast, perfecting this pizza dough was definitely a triumph for me and I’m really happy to announce that there’s nothing to be afraid of! Yeast baking isn’t all that scary or hard, and you too can make your own super simple pizza crust at home in a matter of minutes, no fancy ingredients required.
I kept this pizza dough recipe as simple and approachable as possible. It’s made with all-purpose flour (and notes on how to substitute that flour, in case you want to get fancy 😉), no stand mixer needed, and only the most minimal amount of kneading required.
Below I’ve tried to ask some of the most frequently asked questions about making your own pizza dough. Let’s get to it.
What is the best flour for making homemade pizza dough?
Many pizza-making-pros will likely argue that bread flour is best for making homemade pizza. However, I rarely keep any flours in my pantry that are more exotic than all-purpose flour, so when I was working on this recipe I first and foremost made sure that it worked perfectly with regular old all-purpose flour.
I did make a point to test this recipe (repeatedly, we ate a lot of pizza last week) with bread flour and it works very well when made that way, too. I find that the biggest difference is that using bread flour gives my pizza dough a crispier crust, while the all purpose flour yields a softer one.
Can I flavor my Pizza Dough?
Pizza dough on its own is obviously important as a base for your favorite pizza, but it’s also kind of… bland. Shockingly, something made primarily of flour and water isn’t super exciting to the taste buds, and most of the flavor will come from whatever toppings you add.
I do usually try to spice up my crust just a bit, though, by adding a dash of garlic powder (usually around a ¼ teaspoon) and sometimes dried basil leaves (dried oregano could also work for you but I absolutely loathe oregano) into the dough before you add your oil and water.
How do you stretch out pizza dough?
You can use a rolling pin or you can use your hands. If you’re especially skilled, you can toss it up in the air and spin your dough like an Italian pizza artist, but I definitely lack the ability to tell you how to do that one.
I prefer to use a rolling pin and roll the dough out into a circle (or more like an amoeba-shape, since I can’t roll a perfect circle to save my life). Alternatively you can use your hands to flatten and stretch the dough until it reaches the desired width.
Then use your hands to pinch the edges to make a crust or fold over the edges (I always fold mine over because it gives me a thicker crust, which I love), brush the entire surface of the pizza generously with olive oil, and then use a fork to poke holes over the center of the dough to prevent any bubbles from forming while it bakes.
How do you make Homemade Pizza?
You can use this pizza dough recipe to make your own homemade pizza using any toppings you’d like (I love making Margherita pizza and have even made a BBQ chicken version using my BBQ pulled chicken).
I included instructions in the recipe, but once you’ve prepared your pizza dough, just add your favorite toppings and bake in a 425F oven for about 15 minutes (you may need longer if you add a lot of toppings). Do make sure you let your oven preheat properly and use an oven thermometer as possible, my oven takes a while to reach that temperature and usually “tells” me it’s ready when it’s not even close.
OK, are you guys sick of hearing about my beloved pizza dough recipe yet? In case you just can’t get enough, I also made a video just below that you can watch so you can see exactly how your dough should look in every step.
How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough
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The Best Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour OR bread flour¹ divided (250-295g)
- 1 packet instant yeast² (2 ¼ teaspoon)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon garlic powder and/or dried basil leaves optional
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil + additional
- ¾ cup warm water³ (175ml)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine 1 cup (125g) of flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. If desired, add garlic powder and dried basil at this point as well.
- Add olive oil and warm water and use a wooden spoon to stir well very well.
- Gradually add another 1 cup (125g) of flour. Add any additional flour as needed (I've found that sometimes I need as much as an additional ⅓ cup), stirring until the dough is forming into a cohesive, elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl (see video above recipe for visual cue). The dough will still be slightly sticky but still should be manageable with your hands.
- Drizzle a separate, large, clean bowl generously with olive oil and use a pastry brush to brush up the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly dust your hands with flour and form your pizza dough into a round ball and transfer to your olive oil-brushed bowl. Use your hands to roll the pizza dough along the inside of the bowl until it is coated in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place.
- Allow dough to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. If you intend to bake this dough into a pizza, I also recommend preheating your oven to 425F (215C) at this point so that it will have reached temperature once your pizza is ready to bake.
- Once the dough has risen, use your hands to gently deflate it and transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth (about 3-5 times).
- Use either your hands or a rolling pin to work the dough into 12" circle.
- Transfer dough to a parchment paper lined pizza pan and either pinch the edges or fold them over to form a crust.
- Drizzle additional olive oil (about a Tablespoon) over the top of the pizza and use your pastry brush to brush the entire surface of the pizza (including the crust) with olive oil.
- Use a fork to poke holes all over the center of the pizza to keep the dough from bubbling up in the oven.
- Add desired toppings (see the notes for a link to my favorite, 5-minute pizza sauce recipe!) and bake in a 425F (215C) preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until toppings are golden brown. Slice and serve.
Notes
Making in Advance:
To make in advance, let the dough rise covered at room temperature as indicated in the recipe, then deflate it, wrap it tightly so it doesn't dry out, and store in the refrigerator for up to several days or it will freeze for up to a month. Top your pizza off with my favorite, easy, homemade pizza sauce!Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Carole
I used gluten free flour for this and it turned out wonderfully! I have been searching and searching for a good pizza crust because I have a family member with Celiac, and this is the best one I’ve found! It is the closest one to regular pizza crust. I cannot thank you enough for this!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know, Carole–we really appreciate it. Enjoy!
Tamlynn Jean Horsburgh
The most amazing dough I have ever made 🌻
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you like it, Tamlynn! 🩷
Donnah
Soft, fluffy and tender dough. I’ve been using this recipe for years now. Super easy.
Patti Roy
Excellent crust! I’m looking to make frozen pizzas and wondering if this crust could be partially pre-baked, toppings then added, and then the whole thing frozen. Hope that made sense, lol.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Patti! You can certainly par bake this crust. 🙂
Taylar
I think somewhere along I did something wrong. Mine turned out dry and crumbly. I’m sure it’s a me issue, so I am going to try again. That said, it still tasted great as is! The dough was easy to make and easy to work with.
Jamie
We’ve par baked the crust before and frozen it. It worked great. We’ve also added all the toppings and frozen the pizza as well. It worked out great. This is our go to recipe for pizza made at home in the oven or on the grill! Love this recipe
Joanna
This pizza crust came out the first time. I let the dough rise for an hour. I left out the garli powder and split the dough in half. I let the second dough rise a bit longer to save for dinner.
Kat Twilley
I’ve been trying a lot of different pizza dough recopies and this one is absolutely fabulous!!! Take your home made pizza to another level!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS!!!
Yusra
The title holds true! I’ve made this 3 times already and it was a hit! I usually get the storebought readymade pizza crust so when I told my husband it’s pizza night and I did a trial run for lunch, then told him I’ll make it fresh for him when he gets home for dinner, he wasn’t too excited. Then he ate it and immediately asked where I got the crust from this time? When I told him it’s homemade, he couldn’t stop praising it and he told me it’s a thousand times better than the storebought! This page is now bookmarked! thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad it was such a hit, Yusra! 🙂
Sarah
A friend shared this recipe with me and it is my new go-to. We love making pizza at home now that we have an amazing crust recipe! I love to add garlic salt to the edges of the crust and brush with butter right when it comes out. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for creating this one!
Bonnie Walden
I’m not sure if I did something wrong but I could only use 1 1/3 cups of flour and the dough was already quite stiff. I’m sure it’s going to turn out great tho.
Lea
I had the same problem. We’ll see how it comes out.
Danielle
Is it possible to freeze this dough for later use?
Sam
Yes it is. 🙂
Brenda
absolutely delicious and i used all purpose and very soft dough,we loved it
Tiffany
Was the best! My family loved it and my kids helped make it so was easy enough for them to do an activity with me. I wish I could try it but I’m GF. If you have an GF version let me know!
Sam
Hi Tiffany! I have not personally tried it, but others have commented that using 1 for 1 gluten free flour has worked well. 🙂
Pizza Dough
Great pizza
Kendall
This was absolutely amazing thank you so much!!
Becky
Made this dough tonight for make your own pizza night and it was a hit!! The crust was super easy to make (we doubled the recipe) and the taste was great. We’ll definitely be using this as a go to moving forward!
Jax
do I have to transfer it to parchment paper?
Sam
Hi Jax! You don’t have to use parchment paper it just makes clean up so much easier. 🙂