Homemade Pizza Dough

This Homemade Pizza Dough is easy to make, budget friendly, and only uses 6 ingredients. It’s the perfect pizza dough for a pizza night in!

This is my go-to pizza dough recipe and I have been making it for years. I have also changed it slightly over the years to make it perfect.

It goes great with this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza or Three Cheese Pizza or even to make Cheese Bread Sticks!

*Originally published March 2017. Photos, text, and recipe updated.*

I know many of you are thinking why would I make pizza dough when I can just buy it? Well, once you’ve made homemade you won’t go back…..it just tastes so much better!

It really isn’t that hard to make your own pizza dough and this post will give you the confidence you need.

Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients:

• Flour- you can use all-purpose or bread flour. I prefer to use bread flour because it makes the crust a little chewier. But feel free to use what you have on hand.
• Yeast- This recipe will work with both active dry yeast and instant or rapid rise. If you are using active dry it will take a little longer to rise or proof but that’s ok. I like to use Red Star All Natural Yeast because it’s the only yeast with no added ingredients.
• Water- Yeast needs liquid to hydrate and dissolve it so it can do its job. Be sure your water is around 110-115 degrees F to activate the yeast. You can also replace the water with milk for a softer crust if you prefer.
• Oil- I like to use extra virgin olive oil because it provides a nice flavor to the dough. It also keeps it tender.
• Sugar- just a tiny bit to help feed the yeast.
• Salt- Salt is very important in yeast baking because while sugar feeds the yeast to make it grow salt helps retard the growth and provides a steady rise to create that distinct homemade flavor.

How to make Homemade Pizza Dough:

1. Mix the dough ingredients together using a stand mixer, bread machine, or by hand.
2. Knead by hand or with the dough hook on your stand mixer.
3. Place dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover loosely, and set aside to rise until doubled in size. Or let it rise for about 30ish minutes then place in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If storing in the refrigerator remove 2-3 hours before you want to serve the pizza.
4. Punch down the dough to release air bubbles.
5. Roll dough out into a 12 to 14-inch circle.
6. Top with pizza sauce and your favorite pizza toppings.
7. Bake!

Freezer Friendly!

• To freeze the pizza dough: After the dough has risen punch it down and form into a ball. Lightly coat with olive oil and place in a freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months.
• To thaw frozen pizza dough: Place in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before you want to serve your pizza. Continue with step 5.

Baker’s Tip:

• If your dough keeps shrinking back while trying to roll or stretch it out into a circle let it rest covered for 15 minutes. This will allow it to relax and it will be easier to roll.
• Try using double zero flour from Italy for an extremely silky crust. You can find it online or from an Italian market. This also helps eliminate the dough from shrinking back when rolling or stretching it out.
• Allowing the dough to sit in the refrigerator overnight will really enhance the flavor!
• Add dried herbs or garlic powder to the dough to amp up the flavor!

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Homemade Pizza Dough

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: easy pizza dough, homemade pizza dough, pizza crust, pizza dough

This Homemade Pizza Dough is easy to make, budget friendly, and only uses 6 ingredients. It's the perfect pizza dough for a pizza night in!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Rising time:: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 1 pound of dough (enough for 1 (14″) pizza

Calories: 2363kcal

Author: Malinda Linnebur

Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved!

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups (380g) all-purpose flour or bread flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• ¾ cup (180ml) warm water (about 110°F)
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Attach the dough hook and add in the remaining ingredients. Mix on low until everything is combined.
• Once everything is combined mix on low for 10 minutes. When finished your dough should be only slightly tacky. If it is unmanageable add in a small amount of flour at a time until it becomes more manageable.
• Coat a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl turning once to coat dough. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise until double in size. (I like to turn my oven on briefly to make a nice warm and draft free place for the dough to rise)
• Punch your dough down to release the air and shape into a ball. At this point you may freeze or refrigerate your dough. See recipe notes for instructions.
• Otherwise, place your dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 14 inches. Place on a lightly greased pizza pan then pierce the dough numerous times with a fork. I do this to prevent any large air bubbles from forming. Top and bake according to your favorite pizza recipe.

Notes

1. Freezer Friendly: To freeze the pizza dough: After the dough has risen punch it down and form into a ball. Lightly coat with olive oil and place in a freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw frozen pizza dough: Place in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before you want to serve your pizza. Continue with step 5.
2. Make-Ahead: Let it rise for about 30ish minutes then place in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If storing in the refrigerator remove 2-3 hours before you want to serve the pizza.
3. Nutrition facts: Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the information shown is just an estimate. The nutrition is calculated for the entire crust. If you would like to know per slice divide by how many slices you make. 

Nutrition

Calories: 2363kcal | Carbohydrates: 415g | Protein: 60g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 3515mg | Potassium: 684mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 5g | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 25mg