Pizza Dough Recipe

This pizza dough recipe makes a simple and deliciously chewy homemade pizza dough that will be an instant hit at your house!

We’ve been making this pizza dough recipe for over a decade and haven’t changed a thing about it.  Before kids, we would invite friends over to do make-your-own pizzas and we’ve now continued the tradition with the little ones. I love to make dough ahead of time and freeze it. We serve our homemade pizza with a spinach salad and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients for making pizza dough

• Warm water – the water bears mentioning because you’ll need to warm it to between 110-115 degrees. The trick though is to look at your water heater and see what it’s set for.  Ours is set to 110 degrees, so I just run our water on hot and then use that!
• Active dry yeast – active dry yeast is available in both single packet or jar form.  Either option is fine, but make sure you get regular active dry yeast and not an instant.
• Sugar – just a little bit of sugar, this will help the yeast proof (get all bubbly).
• All purpose flour – regular old all purpose flour.  No need for the fancy self rising.  Self rising has salt and baking powder in it, so you don’t want those extra unnecessary ingredients.
• Olive oil– vegetable oil will work in a pinch, but I love a good strong flavored olive oil.  Mmmmm.
• Salt – it’s incredible what a pinch of salt will do to light up the flavors in a recipe.  Don’t skip the salt!

TOP LEFT: adding oil to proofed yeast, TOP RIGHT: adding flour, BOTTOM LEFT: after kneading with a dough hook, BOTTOM RIGHT: punched!

How do you make pizza dough? (Step-by-step)

⭐ First, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Allow to proof (get frothy), then add olive oil, flour and salt. Add remaining flour until dough is rubbery and slightly tacky, but not firm. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (or in your stand mixer with a dough hook).

⭐ Next, form dough into a ball and place in greased bowl (turn once to grease top and bottom). Cover and set in a warm place for one hour (I put dough in my oven with the light on).

⭐ Then, roll dough into preferred shape on baking sheet or stone and brush with olive oil. Stab several times with a fork (go ahead, take out your frustrations!). Bake briefly to set the dough.  If you want to freeze your crust, allow it to cool and then do so now!

⭐ Finally, top as desired and then continue baking until crust is browned to your liking. If you prefer a crispier crust, you can remove the pizza from the baking sheet and do this part directly on the oven rack.

Does everyone enjoy punching the dough down as much as I do? 😆

Frequently asked questions

How do you stretch pizza dough?

To stretch pizza dough, you’re going to want to start in the center and stretch out to the edges. I like to use a rolling pin to roll out my pizza dough recipe, but hands work too. Make sure to flour your surface, rolling pin, and hands first!

If you’re super talented, go ahead and try twirling over your head like they do in the movies.  But I also suggest having a spare bit of dough in case it falls. Haha!

Can you freeze a pizza dough recipe?

Yes you can freeze pizza dough! You can freeze it at a few different stages (before baking, after par baking, and after topped) but we like to freeze it after par baking.  Par baking is when you partially cook something.

This way when you pull it from the freezer it’s ready to be topped and then gobbled up, and you’re not pigeon-holed into a particular type of pizza!

Is pizza dough vegan?

Our pizza dough recipe is vegan.  None of the ingredients for pizza dough contain animal parts, products, or biproducts.  For a fully vegan pizza, I love to use pesto or olive tapenade and then pile on fresh veggies, roasted garlic, and onion. Yum!

You can use this recipe to make full size pizzas, but my kids love when they get to top their own mini pizzas!

Pizza dough topping ideas

After you’ve made our easy pizza dough, you’ll have to top it!  I could go on for days with pizza topping ideas, but here are a few I love:

Pepperoni, sausage, bruschetta, peppers, onion, olives, ham, pineapple, caramelized onions, leftover cooked vegetables, baked bacon, olive tapenade, meatballs, barbecue sauce, pulled pork, roasted garlic, artichoke hearts, goat cheese, beets, mashed potatoes, spinach, alfredo sauce, cilantro garlic sauce, eggs, curry mustard, chicken, kimchi, feta, salsa.

My oldest (far left) was so into reading Harry Potter that he wouldn’t even put the book down to top his pizza!

Complete the meal with these recipe suggestions

I don’t know about your family, but growing up we always had salad with pizza.  I especially love this antipasto salad recipe, or maybe do something a little different like a cucumber salad with creamy dill dressing!  Definitely garlic knots on the side, and then for dessert, how about some chocolate mousse (only two ingredients!).

TOP LEFT: JJ, TOP RIGHT: Jo, BOTTOM LEFT: Stephen, BOTTOM RIGHT: Casey, NOT PICTURED: Cole 😊

More like this pizza dough recipe

• BBQ Chicken Pizza
• Breakfast Pizza
• Chicken Marsala Pizza
• Crescent Roll Pizzas
• White Pizza Flatbread
• Biscuit pizza dough

Tools we love

• Pizza Stone – pizza stones make a deliciously crusty pizza.  Make sure you put it in a cold oven to start.  We like to use ours on the grill.
• Cast Iron Pizza Pan If you’re not a pizza stone person, this cast iron pan is another great pizza pan option!
• Pizza Cutter  – I mean, you could use a regular knife, but then would it be an authentic pizza?
• KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer – I love this with the dough hook attachment for kneading.

Two mini pizzas ready for the oven!

How to Make this Pizza Dough Recipe

Pizza Dough Recipe

This pizza dough recipe makes a simple and deliciously chewy homemade pizza dough that will be an instant hit at your house!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pizza dough recipe

Prep Time: 2 hours hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 382kcal

Author: April Woods

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water//110-115 degrees let's be real, I just run the tap until it's warm and then call it good
• 2 1/4 teaspoons 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Allow to proof (get frothy) for 15 minutes, then add olive oil, 2 cups flour and salt.
• Add remaining flour until dough is rubbery and slightly tacky, but not firm. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (or in your stand mixer with a dough hook) for approximately five minutes.
• Form dough into a ball and place in greased bowl (turn once to grease top and bottom). Cover and set in a warm place for one hour (I put dough in my oven with the light on).
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Roll dough into preferred shape on baking sheet or stone and brush with olive oil. Stab several times with a fork (go ahead, take out your frustrations!). Bake 5-7 minutes.
• If you want to freeze your crust, allow it to cool and then do so now!
• Top as desired and bake an additional 15-20 minutes (or until crust is lightly browned). If you prefer a crispier crust, you can remove it from the baking sheet and do this part directly on the oven rack.
• Enjoy!!!

Notes

Calories are automatically generated. For best results calculate based on your exact ingredients.

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Nutrition

Calories: 382kcal

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originally published 11.2008