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
Keywords: pizza, pizza dough, pizza crust
Thank you for the recipe. This is the BEST homemade pizza dough and so easy to make. Better than dough purchased in a bakery store. I just finished making 1 large pizza instead of 2 12″ and my picky husband absolutely loved it. The pizza came out delicious the dough is perfect. This is a keeper!
Thank you
MC
★★★★★
I made this dough today to make your garlic knots. They turned out amazing! Your recipe was easy to follow, and I’m looking forward to making it in bulk so I can freeze it for some of the other recipes on your blog that I want to try. Thanks for making such clear directions that were easy enough for a non-baker (like me) to follow.
★★★★★
I’ve never posted a review before but I’ve used so many of your recipes that I really just have to thank you! Every single one of them has been amazing but this pizza crust is EXCEPTIONAL! I’ve made some good and awful pizzas in my time but finally my family and I agree I’ve made an outstanding one thanks to you!
★★★★★
We were looking for things to do with our kids while we’re stuck at home! This was perfect – kids loved it! Thank you so much for the detailed instructions.
★★★★★
Wonderful recipe, wonderful website. Question – I used unbleached OO flour from Italy
I was not sure if I needed to make any changes to the recipe or adjustments?
The only think I did was reduce the water by 1/4 cup and the dough was quite “sticky” which when I hand kneaded I added some extra flour -that seemed to be fine.
Results were wonderful..thank you so much Sally..Used instant yeast
This recipe is brilliant! I’ve never made homemade pizza before and now I’m converted 🙂 I made slightly smaller pizzas so made 3 in total! Also froze the dough which was absolutely fine when defrosted and baked.
★★★★★
I’m definitely gonna use it next time I wanna do pizza… It was crusty on the edges, dough perfectly cooked. It was perfect, you wouldn’t tell it was my first attempt.
★★★★★
I tried this recipe yesterday and my family loved it… Thank you so much
Made it & loved it. Great recipe even if you’ve never made homemade dough before. We rolled the pizzas out thinner for thin style. Delicious, perfect, 5 stars!!
★★★★★
First result that came up in a search and the best tasting and easiest crust we’ve tried! Looking forward to using this recipe for your garlic knots next time.
★★★★★
It really is a good recipe. It tastes wonderful. I wouldn’t add anything else to make it better, but if you want my honest opinion, you could add a page of what you might want to put on the Pizza.
★★★★★
Thank you! I followed exactly as It has been years since I made homemade pizza dough! Came out perfect! Wonderful instructions. It does make two pizzas and we could only eat one! Can I put the dough in the refrigerator and use it again tomorrow?
★★★★★
Hi Patricia! So glad you enjoyed this pizza dough. Up to 8-12 hours in the refrigerator is best. Freeze if storing longer than that. (Unless you use cooler water in the dough as mentioned in the recipe note!)
Love the recipe! Used it last week and my family LOVED IT.
But i did face a few problems: I Let my dough rest for 10 min at room temperature then moved it my to the fridge to rise over night!
However, the next day my dough had a strong beer smell and i feel that it over-fermented. Also it more than doubled in size. (This didnt really impact the final result but i could feel the beer taste in my crust)
I want to use this recipe again today.Do you think that i should use 2 teaspoons of yeast instead of 2.25? Also can i use room temperature water?
Thank youuu!!
Hi Teresa! So glad you enjoyed this pizza dough. Feel free to reduce the amount of yeast. Cooler water will help slow the proofing, too.
Hi. I made this recipe a week ago and my family loved it!! Thank you. I love your recipes your website is my secret weapon.
I just wanted to know, is it possible to use this recipe to make bread rolls such a burger buns?
Thanks once more.
Definitely! I use this dough to make breadsticks and garlic knots, too.
Made this tonight and plan on letting it sit in the fridge overnight. How long will it hold at room temperature? I want to make it for dinner but I don’t know if the dough will hold!
Hi Carlos, the prepared dough can rest in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours and only a couple hours at room temperature. Feel free to use cooler water in the dough which can help slow the rise time.
So, I’m coming back to rate this AGAIN, because I tried a new freezing method.
Rather than freeze it before baking, I pressed both parts of the dough out on sheet pans and baked them at 475 for 6 minutes. Then, I flipped them over so that the baked side was face-up and topped them. From there I put them in Hefty’s 2.5 gallon storage bags (PERFECT for family-sized rectangle pizzas!) and compacted them bit by stacking one pizza bags one on top of the other and putting a sheet pan with a weight on it over the top for a few minutes. This just helped all of the cheese and toppings stick together. I froze them and we can now pull them out and toss them in the oven when we are ready for them! I bake at 425 for approximately 15-20 minutes, depending on how thick the toppings are.
Thanks again for a fabulous recipe!
★★★★★
Plan to make this in a day or two after I “run” thru the grocery store!
I plan to use fresh mushrooms, do you recommend that I saute them first. I don’t want moisture ( excess liquid ) forming on the pizza from the mushrooms.
Thank you for your time.
I usually pre-cook/sauté mushrooms if I use them on pizza.
This was my first time making pizza from scratch. I must have viewed your video five times before I was confident to make this pizza. I made it using leftover meatloaf, basil,and cheese,and it turned out delicious. Thank you for this recipe as it is real easy to make. Now I need a recipe for a bread when you do not have a Dutch oven and are homebound at this time. So far, have been homebound for a month and need some interesting things to cook.
★★★★★
Excellent recipe – thank you for sharing! I made the crust per the directions, but added 1 tbsp. basil, 1 tbsp. oregano, 2 tbsp. garlic powder and 1/4 c. shredded Parmesan…it cooked up perfectly! I made a BBQ chicken-bacon pizza with green onion, yellow onion, black olives and freshly crushed garlic, and a pepperoni and black olive pizza with a ton of crushed garlic (5 cloves). I will definitely be using this recipe in the future!
★★★★★
Gah! I accidentally purchased traditional active yeast, not instant. Will this recipe still work?
★★★★★
Hey this looks Amazing! I will definitely be trying it! Wonder if I could parbake the crusts and then freeze for a quick last minute pizza? What do you think? That is actually what I was researching but ended up here!
I can’t see why not!
This is superb recipe. Thank you for sharing such an awesome recipe with us. I made it tonight for me and my family and everyone loved it. I tried half of all the ingredients. Will try more of your recipes. Thank you again
★★★★★
Question, after splitting the dough in half, can I refrigerate the dough balls for a couple of hours prior to using them? Thanks!
Hi Sherri, The best way to make the dough ahead of time is to prepare the dough through step 3, but allow the dough to rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. See the recipe notes for details!
Amazing Recipe. Made it last night (Day 25 of confinement) and everyone loved this dough. Light & soft. A crowd pleaser for surre.
★★★★★
Thanks for this recipe. It was first on the Google search results. Very easy and it worked great for me. I do have a few questions –
– My pizza base was a little less cooked. I had to take it out in 10 mins because the cheese was burning and getting brown. Any thoughts on how to avoid that?
– I used Pizza stone in my oven. How do I easily transfer the pizza base in the oven so that toppings do not fall?
– My oven was preheated to 450F. But when I opened it to put the pizza, it went down to 310F. Is that normal?
Thanks again for the recipe.
★★★★
You are welcome! If your cheese is burning before the crust is fully cooked simply move the rack of your oven to a lower position next time. The easiest way to transfer the pizza to the stone is to use a pizza peel. If you don’t have a peel you can use a rimless cookie sheet or even a rimmed baking sheet flipped upside down the same way. If you leave your oven door open for a long time then yes you can expect a big change in the temperature – try to limit how long the door is open. I hope this helps!
Hi I’ve made this recipe before and loved it but I have a broken mixer right now so I was wondering if I can use a whisk for the part before and I knead it?
★★★★★
Hi Josie! I don’t recommend a whisk. Instead, use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix the dough ingredients together before kneading by hand.
2nd time making the pizza dough, not counting the flat bread. This time, I had to use what I had on hand, for the sauces. It’s going to a friend so made half the batch for her and the other half is in the freezer for me. I made her a smaller one using jarred spaghetti sauce and one with Alfredo sauce. Topped both with ground beef, pepperoni, black olives and mushrooms. The 60-90 mins rise/proof time ended up being closer to 45 mins and probably used 2 or 3 tbls of extra flour….that’s to count what was on the counter as I kneaded the dough.
Thanks again Ms. Sally for a great tasting and easy recipe.
★★★★★
I mixed up the dough this morning using a fork instead of a mixer/dough hook. It worked like a charm and then I kneaded it in the bowl. I added some garlic powder, basil, & oregano to the dough to give it a bit more flavor. The dough is a very nice texture; not too dry and not sticky. I put it in the bowl covered and will let it set out on the counter until I’m ready to bake it tonight. I’m anticipating this will be a great tasting crust for the pizza. I’ll be using some pulled pork that I smoked the day before along with some pineapple, tomato sauce, & cheese. Thanks for a great pizza dough recipe.
★★★★★
Perfection!! Recipe was so easy to follow. Crust was pizzeria quality.
I have never written a review, but you deserve it!!
★★★★★
I love the red star platinum yeast but can’t find it anywhere as our groceries are low on flour and yeast during the shutdown (can’t find my fave King Arthur bread flour now either:((
I only have active dry yeast can you give directions to make this pizza dough and your flat bread pizza dough with active dry yeast
Thank you
Mary H
Hi Mary! You can use active dry yeast in both recipes instead. See my recipe note.
I tried your recipe tonight and it was wonderful!! My family ate every last bite. Even my toddler that usually only eats the toppings are all of her pizza, thank you!
★★★★★
Amazing thanks for sharing 5 stars for sure
★★★★★