This easy pizza dough recipe is great for beginners and produces a soft homemade pizza crust. 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.
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!
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!
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! ★★★★★“
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.
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.
- 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 making 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.
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, 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.
FAQ: How Can I Make The Dough Ahead of Time?
Prepare the dough through step 3 below, 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 below (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 below.
Uses for Homemade Pizza Dough
Here are the many uses for this homemade pizza dough:
- Extra Cheese Pizza & Stuffed Crust Pizza
- Pesto Pizza (pictured above)
- Homemade Ham & Cheese Pockets
- Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- Stromboli
- Spinach Artichoke White Pizza
- Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Garlic Knots
- Margherita style: 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, and cold veggie pizza recipes.
PrintEasy 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.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, plus more for pan and brushing on dough
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) unbleached all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and surface
- sprinkle of cornmeal for dusting the pan
Instructions
- Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar 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 olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.
- 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, extra cheese pizza, Hawaiian pizza, pesto pizza, spinach artichoke white pizza, or homemade BBQ chicken pizza.
- Top & bake the pizza: Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings 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. Reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: This recipe yields enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, a little less than 2 pounds 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 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
The baking temperature is way to high, should be more like 375 for 20 minutes.
Looking forward to making this! I have a life threatening corn allergy and upon further digging found that substituting the corn meal for direct semolina or semolina flour is a great alternative! Also, in Italy, they don’t use corn meal at all on the pizza pans, they use semolina flour so through what I’ve found online, it’s a great way to make this a more authentic pizza experience.
Hi Julia, many readers have reported success using semolina flour to dust the pan — hope you love this pizza dough recipe!
I like pizza and I have to make this recipe.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello from Alberta, Canada.
I made this recipe this morning and it worked beautifully. The dough is coming with on my weekend camping trip, for our Pizza Saturday!!
It turned out so well I made 2 batches
Take care.
First time making this, or any pizza dough from scratch actually. Was so simple and came out great!!! Even my super picky kiddo loved his cheese pizza. I love all your recipes!
Thanks for baking
-Ashley, NH
I just made this recipe for the first time and will make it again! Easy and delicious!!!
Sally’s recipes always work for me.
Thanks very much.
i love it
Hi Sally,
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now and it tastes great but the pizza dough is always very sticky, even when I reduce the amount of water. Is it meant to be like that or am I doing something wrong?
Hi Jay, the dough can certainly be sticky, depending on lots of variables like even the temperature and humidity in your kitchen. Feel free to add additional flour, about a tablespoon at a time, to help the dough come together. Generously flouring your hands will also help when handling the dough. Glad you’ve enjoyed this recipe!
Love this recipe! So few recipes use cornmeal in them. I believe that cornmeal is pivotal for great pizza dough..
reminds me of my favorite pizza place where I grew up in Ohio.
Is there anyway I can make the dough taste a little more yeasty?
I love the taste of a yeasty pizza dough.
This recipe is amazing – first time making pizza dough and it was so easy and delicious! I’m planning on using it for an event we have coming up so will make the dough and let it rise for the 8hrs in the fridge as recommended. Just wondering if there’s then any limit on how long the bases can sit once they are rolled out on the trays?
Hi Niamh, the pizza dough will be fine left out for a short bit while you are preparing the toppings. You can cover them with a clean towel to prevent them from drying out, or you can stick the prepared pizzas back in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Hope they’re a hit at your event!
Can I use gluten free bean flour instead?
Hi Michelle! We have not tested this with gluten free flour but let us know if you try it!
I couldn’t taste test it but my neighbour (who are brutally honest) said it was the bomb. I did have to add about 2 tbsp of oil to the dough once it rose though, as it was very cakey. You can’t roll it out. You have to press/mould it into the shape and thickness you want. It was like working with play-doh hahaha. Apparently it was really yummy though so that makes me really happy. Now I have to make 25 of them and freeze them lol.
Hello, Sally
question: can I use 00 flour instead of regular flour for this recipe?
Thank you in advance!!
Ps., We love all your recipes 🙂
Yes, you can. Use the same amount of type 00 flour instead of all-purpose flour. Hope you enjoy this pizza dough!
Hi
Its the middle of winter for me and my first snow outside – not much but a reminder that snow exists – and i fancied pizza
well – i am a 200km round trip to my nearest pizza place so that wasn’t happening
i had heard of the SR flour and yoghurt trick – but alas no yoghurt
so tried the net and hey presto your recipe came up
Got stuck in and made the dough – worried it would turn into the usual brick dough – this happens to me very often – i have issues in my kitchen – i think it is a love hate relationship – i love food but it hates cooking for me – and that turns out to be not a good weight loss plan either – i raid the biscuits or some prepped easy foods instead
so i sat down and had a come to Jesus talk to my oven and explained the ins and outs of what i expected from it
made the pizza cheese sticks first and while they were cooking prepped up the pizza
well – blow me down with a feather – they are awesome – amazing and oh so delish
even my hubby who hates garlic with a passion is tucking into the cheese sticks
thank you for saving me in a moment of pizza craving
i am in love with this dough
liz
We’re so glad you enjoyed this dough recipe, Liz! Thanks for reporting back.
Hi Sally! I don’t know how many times I have made this recipe ! Each time it tastes just amazing!!!! My father who hates cheese started eating it so that he can have this pizza. I tried many variations with toppings. Today I tried a sweet version with chocolate chips and peanut butter. Tasted real good. Also I leave the dough in the fridge overnight to rise so that we can have the pizza for breakfast. This pizza is our healthiest, tastiest and easiest breakfast meal so far! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful and easy recipe ! Greetings from India !!!!!
Hello. I am thrilled to try this recipe. However, I would like to ask a substitute for corn meal? Mine just gone bad, sadly. Thanks in advance.
Hi Trish! You can skip the cornmeal if you don’t have any, no need to substitute it with anything else.
You can substitute with semolina. Tastes awesome!
Hi Sally,
Thanks for sharing your recipes. I am still trying to a great recipe for my pizzas. Is there a substitute for cornmeal? Can I use semolina instead? Where I come from we don’t have cornmeal.
Hi Delimahe, You can skip the cornmeal if you don’t have any, no need to substitute it with anything else.
Hi Sally, I am planning to try this recipe today! And i have a concern. My oven’s maximum temperature is 230 celsius but the recipe calls for a 246 celsius. What should i do?
Hi Priya, bake it at your highest oven temperature and extend the bake time by a few minutes. Enjoy!
Hi Sally,
If I want to make the dough in the mid morning but not prepare the pizza itself until 6:00pm ish, what is the best way to store it? I don’t want to try and time it so close to dinner.
Thanks,
Pamela
Hi Pamela, you can prepare the dough through step 3, but allow the dough to rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. See recipe notes — “Overnight/All Day” instructions — for more details!
This is a wonderful recipe. My first time making the pizza from scratch, I was looking for a quick and easy recipe when I found this. What a discovery !! This came out awesome and tasted so good. I am trying the cheesy breadsticks today and I am confident they will be delicious too 🙂
Thank you Sally.
We’re so glad you enjoyed this pizza recipe, Swapnil!
Hi Sally I have made this dough tons and I was wondering if I could substitute 00 flour for the all purpose and add a little semolina? Would it work?
Thanks Amber
Hi Amber, yes, you can. Use the same amount of type 00 flour instead of all-purpose flour. Hope you enjoy this pizza dough!
Delicious! great recipe. thank you sally.
I LOVE this pizza dough recipe!! Before this recipe, all the other recipes I’d tried resulted in a super floppy, and soggy crust (one recipe was even super salty), but this recipe is PERFECT!!! I usually mix the ingredients for 1 minute to combine, and then 7 minutes kneading in my kitchenaid, or by hand. It is a super fun, and easy recipe to make for dinner, even for an 11-yr-old (like me). Thank you soooo much Sally for this recipe!!
We’re so glad you loved this recipe, Oona!
Came out really nice. This is my new go to pizza dough. Thanks a lot.
Worked great! Thanks!
This is the best pizza dough recipe ever! Such a huge hit in the family (especially the little ones)… I have scrapped all of my other pizza dough recipes as this ones a keeper! I also tried your pretzels and they were amazing! Thank you so much for posting such wonderful recipes 🙂 I have bookmarked your website.
Hi my dough is so sticky. What can i do?
Hi Oona, the dough can certainly be sticky, depending on lots of variables like even the temperature and humidity in your kitchen. Feel free to add additional flour, about a tablespoon at a time, to help the dough come together. Generously flouring your hands will also help when handling the dough.
can you make this without sugar? I’ve tried a few times and the dough comes out great but very sweet. No dough flavor when cooked at all. If I can and do cut the sugar how much longer should l leave it to rise?
PS – you’re recipes are my go-to. They are easy to follow and taste great!!!!
Hi Pat! The sugar increases the yeast’s activity and tenderizes the dough, we don’t recommend skipping it. You could use honey instead. If you try reducing the sugar, please let us know how it goes!
An observation: If placed on the stone in a dedicated pizza oven, this dough will be next to impossible to turn with a pizza paddle. It sticks like glue to the stone – even with a generous coating of cornmeal or rice flour. The hydration for this dough is 67% which is quite high – this is not bread.
I suggest using 468g flour with 297g water for 64% hydration; or even 480g flour with 297g water for a hydration of 62% resulting in a dough that won’t stick to everything and still be quite extensible.
If already prepared dough is frozen (like mine), thaw, work in 62g more flour for 64% or work in 77g more for 62% then shape and finish.
If baking on a pan or a stone or on parchment, in the oven where it does not get turned, hydration is not as critical as it is in a pizza oven with an open front.
Dave, this really helped – thank you! First time I made the dough, it was too wet and made the dough really ‘fluffy’. Used these adjusted measurements the second time and it came out great.
For anyone living in a hot & humid climate like I do (Singapore), I think the adjusted measurements will work better.
I have active yeast is that still ok to use?
Hi Aubrey, absolutely. You can use active dry yeast instead. The rise time will be at least 90 minutes, but no other changes to recipe are necessary.
Well I followed the instructions (hard for a bloke) but ended up with the best pizza I’ve ever had so I’m about to make my second lot so much better than the takeaway pizza’s I used to buy I’m sold on this recipe so many thanks for sharing