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 recipe is a rockstar and so are you Sally!! I can’t even think of making pizza with store bought base now after having made such perfect base at home. My family went crazy over the pizzas. Thank you!! Love from India
If I want to make this dough tonight for dinner tomorrow (18-20 hours in the fridge to rise), how cool water should I use? Can I adjust the recipe for this? Thanks!
Hi Karishma, you’ll just want the water about room temperature or slightly cool to the touch, but not cold. The dough will take longer to rise as noted in the recipe notes. Enjoy!
A super simple, crazy delicious recipe – my 15yo daughter made pizzas for us tonight and they were perfect!
You saved me from starvation! I’m a single guy and I hunted this on Google as I am tired of going broke buying pizza from the national brand pizza delivery places. I spent a total of $40 on all the ingredients and toppings. In addition I spent approximately $25 on the pizza pan and other needed utensils. I ordered the Yeast on Amazon so I could get exactly what you recommend. Anyhoo I was able to make a 14″ pizza perfectly with pepperoni, ham, red onions, and banana peppers. I am beside myself that I actually learned to cook this and at all the money I’m going to save by not ordering out anymore. If you are a single guy and you can barely cook you really need to try this!
Can I cut the recipe in half and if so, how much yeast?
Hi Lila, our recommendation is to make the full dough recipe, then use half of it. You can freeze the other half for another time — see recipe notes for details.
Can this be made in a bread maker on dough setting?
Hi Chris, We don’t have a bread maker to test it out, but many of our readers have had success using a bread maker! Let us know if you try it out.
Hi Sally,
I love your recipes! Do you have a recipe for pizza sauce that you like?
Hi Ellen, You can find homemade pizza sauce in the post for this deep dish pizza recipe. We do use canned crushed tomatoes however you can crush your own if you would like!
Great recipe! Can I swap for Whole Wheat flour?
Hi NS! Here is our whole wheat pizza crust recipe. Enjoy!
We love this pizza dough and it has been our go-to Friday movie night recipe for a long time!
Quick question: would it work to freeze the actual uncooked pizza and then cook it later? I’m looking for ways to get dinner out quicker, and was hoping to be able to roll our the dough, top it, cover it and freeze it.
Hi Amy, We don’t recommend freezing assembled pizza. See recipe notes for make ahead instructions for the dough!
Hi can this recipe be used for a pizza oven? Thanks
Hi Vicky, we haven’t had a chance to test this pizza dough in a pizza oven, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. We would love to hear how it goes!
My favorite take out is pizza….greasy, not enough toppings, and expensive. Decided to give this recipe a try..keywords were “for beginners”! Easy to follow. The result? Oh my!! It was delicious! Got a thumbs up from my mom and boyfriend! I will never buy pizza again! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this delicious pizza recipe!!!
It was the best one I’ve made ever!!!
Delicious dough!!!!!
This crust was delicious and crispy!! My new favorite
Hi Sally
I can’t see how much flour to use
Hi Agnieszka, see the gray recipe box at the end of the blog post for the full recipe and list of ingredients. You’ll need 3 and 1/2 cups (438g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands and surface.
Thank you so much I can see now
Recently we purchased a Bertello pizza oven. Can i blind bake this crust before topping it and placing in that oven? The oven cooks the topping in less than 1 minute and the crust won’t be done. Thanks
Hi Tracey! We haven’t tested that method but let us know if you give it a try!
Hi
Can I use a Low-sugar instant dry yeast?
My bf thinks I’m too picky when it comes to pizza but finding the perfect balance of taste and texture to meet one’s preference really isn’t that easy. I had a craving for pizza a couple nights ago and it was too late to make my go-to recipe that requires a 24-hour rise in the fridge. Little did I know when searching for a quick rise dough I’d find my new and super improved go-to. With the previous recipe I was using, just like all the rest I’ve gone through, there was always something in taste and texture with the final result that was less than perfect. Unacceptable to a pizza nut. Then along came Sally. The dough was SO soft and workable I got a thin crust with barely any effort and no rolling pin required. I baked mine on one of those pizza pans with the holes in it at 500F, and voila! Crispy on the bottom, and soft fluffy breadi-deliciousness everywhere else. I was shocked that a pizza dough with barely any rise time yielded such a light and fluffy result. No more planning ahead for my frequent pizza cravings. Excellent excellent excellent! Thank you so much for this!
Just wanted to say, thank you for sharing your recipes.
Your recipe is GOLDEN!!
I followed many of your pizza recipes and they all turned out PERFECTLY!
Love this recipe thank you!!!
My dough was quite thin though. How to make it thicker? Would i use more of the dough? how would this impact the baking time? Thank you sally!!
Hi Lisa! For a thicker dough, simply roll the dough out less thin. The baking time may be a little longer. We’re so glad you love it!
This pizza dough recipe was so easy to make and tastes amazing! I loved the yeasty taste it has! This was my first time making pizza dough and using yeast and you made it so easy. Thank you for this recipe, it will become my go-to.
so i used my kitchen aide and put in exact measurements and let it do a slow knead, yeast proofed well, my dough was tough with the 4 minute still, was it too much flour? or not enough kneading?
Hi Connie! Sounds like there may be too much flour in your dough. How are you measuring? Make sure to spoon and level to avoid packing too much flour into your measuring cups.
wow thank you for responding so fast, ugh first time i tried just using finger, thats why i figured too much flour, so i have it trying to rise now, its only been 30 mins, i probably just bag and start over…i should know better, she preaches it in all her recipes..i knew it was error on me, i use nothing but sallys site and never an error on her part, always me….but im learning by my mistakes thank you
Hello. I didn’t had olive oil on hand right now but can I use avocado or regular cooking oil to make the dough?
Hi Lauren, that shouldn’t be an issue.
Hello. I had a question after you made the dough and let it rest for 60-90 minutes, do you rest it at room temperature or somewhere warm? Thanks for the answer in advance.
Hi Kylie, we let it rise at room temperature, but see step 3 for details on a warmer rising environment that may be helpful. Enjoy!
Hello Sally, how are you doing. I had a question in the first step where you whisk the yeast, sugar and warm water, let is sit for 5 minutes what should the consistency look like?
Hi Lauren! It will be slightly bubbly on top. You can watch the video tutorial in the blog post above for a visual that should be helpful!
Great recipe!! I’ve made it three times now. Quick question, I making this for a cabin weekend. And I was going to freeze the door after it rise (which I have also done before) but this time I accidentally went to bed and let it sit on my counter overnight. Oops! Can I still break it into, freeze it, and use it when needed?
Hi Tanell, that should work just fine. Glad to hear you enjoy this recipe!
This is the first pizza dough recipe I have made that actually tastes like pizza! The topping I used was a mixture of leftovers I had in the fridge – red pepper, tomato, home cooked ham, homemade passata with basil, cheese and pineapple. It was delicious
This has become my “go to” recipe as have many of Sally’s recipes (thank you Sally!) I want to make several pizzas for a party and would like to make all of the dough on the same day. Can the recipe be doubled or tripled as is or do I need to alter any of the measurements?
Many thanks!
Jo
Hi Jo, for absolute best results, we recommend making each batch separately. This ensures the ingredients are incorporated properly and not over / under mixed. If you’d like to get a head start, see recipe notes for freezing and make ahead instructions. We’re so glad to hear you’ve been loving this pizza dough recipe!
Made this tonight and it turned out perfectly! It rose in an hour, and baked in 10 minutes. The only thing I did differently was sprinkle garlic powder on the crust after putting on the olive oil. Since I am on a very reduced low-sodium diet, this added a little extra flavor. I used no salt tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and topped with shredded Italian cheeses, red, yellow, orange, green peppers, red onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, and pepperoni. Delish! Thanks for a great and easy recipe!
Hi, I don’t have a stand mixer, but can I just use a spatula and a mixing bowl to make the dough?
Hi Emily! You can make this dough by hand – use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix the dough ingredients together before kneading by hand.
Hello, I had a question. I only have active dry yeast on hand, can I use it to make the pizza?
Hi Lina, 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.
Thank you so much!! My family really loved this recipe. It was really simple, but so delicious
and cheesy. thanks so much
Hi there.
Currently in a lockdown so was keen to try this for dinner tonight but hubby could only find Bread Machine Yeast? Is this a totally different thing or can I use this instead of the instant yeast? Please advise! Thank you! 🙂
Hi Dev! We haven’t tested it but you should be able to use bread machine yeast interchangeably with instant yeast.