Learn how to make pizza dough! This pizza dough recipe is easy to make with 6 ingredients and yields a perfect soft and chewy homemade crust.
This easy pizza dough recipe will level up your homemade pizza! Seriously, skip the store-bought crust—this recipe is easy to make with just 6 ingredients. It has perfect crisp edges and a soft, chewy center. Jack and I have been making it for over 10 years now. Take it from us, this is the only pizza dough recipe you need!
Even if you’re a beginning baker or you’re new to working with yeast, you can learn how to make pizza dough perfectly every time. I’m sharing step-by-step photos and a video to walk you through the process, along with answers to frequently asked questions.
Let’s get baking! Before long, you’ll be making homemade pizza dough like a pro.
Easy Pizza Dough Recipe Ingredients
My easy pizza dough recipe calls for 6 basic ingredients:
- Flour – This recipe works well with 100% all-purpose flour or half AP flour and half white whole wheat. Spoon and level your flour to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Active dry yeast – It helps the dough rise, yielding a puffy crust. You can also use instant yeast in this recipe, though I still recommend proofing it to guarantee that it’s fresh.
- Water – For moisture. Make sure that it’s warm, but not too hot, to help activate the yeast.
- Sugar – It feeds the yeast, helping the dough rise. Maple syrup or honey works well here too.
- Sea salt – It’s essential for a flavorful crust. If you’d like to add even more flavor to the dough, you could add a dash of garlic powder, dried basil, and/or oregano too.
- And extra-virgin olive oil – For richness, moisture, and flavor.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
What is the best flour for making pizza dough?
00 flour, bread flour, all-purpose flour, and whole wheat flour can all be used to make excellent pizza dough.
- 00 flour is highly refined, finely milled white flour. It’s a key ingredient in Neapolitan-style pizza. It gives the dough a smooth texture and helps it bake into a crisp and chewy crust.
- Bread flour has more gluten than all-purpose flour. Using it in pizza dough will result in an especially chewy crust.
For this pizza dough recipe, I recommend using all-purpose flour. It’s affordable and easy to find, and it yields a fantastic soft, chewy crust that’s crisp around the edges. If you like whole grain pizza dough, you can replace up to half the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat.
How to Make Pizza Dough
Making this pizza dough recipe is easy! Here’s what you need to do:
First, proof the yeast. Stir together the yeast, warm water, and sugar in a small bowl. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, or until the yeast is foamy. Heads up: if the yeast doesn’t foam, it’s likely expired. Discard the mixture and try again with a new package of yeast.
Next, make the dough. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil. Mix until the dough forms a ball around the hook, 5 to 6 minutes. If the dough is too wet to form a ball, mix in a little more flour. If it’s dry, add water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time.
Don’t have a stand mixer? You can knead this dough by hand instead! Find instructions in the recipe card below.
Then, let it rise. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a smooth ball. Brush a large bowl with olive oil and set the dough ball inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. Tip: it’ll rise best somewhere warm, like a sunny kitchen counter!
How to Stretch Pizza Dough
When the dough has doubled in size, it’s time to stretch it.
- Start by dusting your work surface with cornmeal. It’s the best way to prevent sticking! I typically stretch the dough right on my pizza pan or baking sheet. If you’re using a pizza stone, you’ll want to stretch the dough on a pizza peel or large cutting board. From here, you have two options.
- Option 1: Roll out the dough to your desired thickness with a floured rolling pin. After rolling out the dough, form a slightly thicker border around the edges with your fingers.
- Option 2: Stretch the dough by hand. Lift the ball of dough by one edge, and slide both your fists underneath. Work your fists outward to stretch the dough, letting gravity help you form it into a thin oval or circle. Advanced pizza makers will lightly bounce or toss the dough to rotate it as they shape it…but I generally rotate it with my fists, returning it to my work surface as needed.
I stretch this dough into an approximately 14-inch oval or circle. It should be an even thickness with a slightly thicker border around the edges.
Top and bake according to your desired recipe! Find some of my favorites below.
What Pan to Use
Homemade pizza connoisseurs swear by baking pizza on a pizza stone. But if you don’t have one, don’t worry! I’ve made great homemade pizzas on these pans too:
- This hole-y pizza pan is a nice lightweight alternative to a pizza stone. I like that you can stretch the dough right on the pan, no pizza peel required! The holes get the bottom of the crust nice and crisp.
- A cast-iron skillet. I love to use a cast-iron skillet when I’m craving a thicker crust. I often start the pizza on the stove to crisp up the bottom and then transfer it to the oven. See my cast-iron skillet pizza recipe.
- A regular baking sheet. Dust it with cornmeal before stretching the dough to prevent sticking.
Make-Ahead Instructions
One of my favorite things about this easy homemade pizza dough recipe is that you can make it ahead!
Let the dough rise at room temperature. Then, transfer it to an airtight container or bag. Refrigerate for several hours or up to 2 days.
Let the dough stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour before stretching. If it’s still cold from the fridge, it will be difficult to stretch.
Bonus: The time in the fridge makes the pizza crust even more flavorful!
Can you freeze homemade pizza dough?
Yes! This homemade pizza dough recipe freezes perfectly. Let it rise at room temperature, and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or seal it in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Let frozen dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before stretching.
How to Use Homemade Pizza Dough
Try using this homemade pizza dough in any of these recipes:
Or build your own homemade pizza! After stretching, top the dough with homemade pizza sauce, your desired cheeses, and your favorite pizza toppings. Bake at 500°F for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 (¼-ounce) package active dry yeast, or instant yeast
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, see note*
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for brushing
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the water, sugar, and the yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is foamy.
- To knead the dough in a stand mixer: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, place the flour and salt. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Mix on medium speed until the dough forms into a ball around the hook, 5 to 6 minutes. If the dough is too dry to form a ball, add water ½ tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
- To knead the dough by hand: If you don’t have a stand mixer, combine the dough ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and only slightly sticky. If it feels very sticky, work in a little more flour.
- Form the dough into a smooth ball.
- Brush a large bowl with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Stretch to fit a 14-inch pizza pan or similar.
- Top and bake according to the pizza recipe you are using, typically 10 to 13 minutes in a 500°F oven, or until the crust is browned.
Notes
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Love this recipe! Been making it for awhile now. Super easy and foolproof. I add a little garlic powder to the dough for some extra flavor. My family always gobbles it up!
This bread bowl recipe looks incredible—crispy outside, soft inside, just the way I love it! 🍞 I’ve been exploring all kinds of homemade dough recipes lately, especially ones perfect for soups and stews. I even started sharing some of my favorites over on my site Dough Recipes. Thanks for the inspiration—can’t wait to try this one at home! https://doughrecipes.net/
I made this recipe and the dough turned out perfectly, but I think I got it a little too thin. Would it have been better to pre bake crust before putting on toppings? I guess I like a wee bit more bread taste. I think I just answered my own question-make it a little thicker next time. Ha ha!!
Wasn’t a fan of this dough recipe. The dough tasteless. I think it had too much flour.
We’ve made this several times and it’s turned out great!
How long can the dough sit at room temp? I’m wanting to pre-stretch some dough so we can streamline the pizza making when guests arrive. Do you think that would work?
Hi Jamie, I think that would work! I haven’t tried it, but I think it could sit at room temp for 30 minutes-1 hour after stretching if needed.
Would i be able to double this recipe? I’m hoping to make 6 individual pizzas.
Hi Shannon, yep! A double batch should work just fine. I think it would make a good amount for 6 individual pizzas.
Thank you!!
Could bread flour be used instead of all purpose flour and what would be the differences? I used ap flour the first time and it was really good.
Hi Don, I think bread flour would work well here! The crust might be a bit denser and chewier.
Thanks for the reply…. Will be making the bread flour dough for some calzones!!!
Do you freeze the dough after step #4?
Hi Bev, yep!
This is a great recipe! I cooked my pizza at 450 degrees F for about 13 minutes. Thanks for sharing your recipe with us. I will definitely be making this again.
What can I use instead of the cornmeal? I don’t have any.
You can skip it and just stretch the dough on the baking sheet without it. Use a little flour if it’s too sticky.
Hi! Could I parbake this pizza dough? If so, how would you suggest?
yep – we parbake 5 to 8 minutes depending on the toppings that are going on.
Hi! Can this be doubled or tripled?
yep!
How much grams is the yeast supposed to be. Please can you message asap as I am following your recipe right now
Hi Lisa, unfortunately I’m getting to this a day late, but .25 oz yeast would be about 7 grams. Hope this is helpful in the future!
Had to read halfway through the page to find out that this recipe requires a stand mixer and doesn’t offer any alternatives. Oof.
Hey Sade, you can make this recipe without a stand mixer! After proofing the yeast in step 1, combine the dough ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and only slightly sticky. If it feels very sticky, work in a little more flour. Proceed with the recipe in step 3. Hope this helps!
Maybe she updated it but it clearly says you can knead by hand and that she prefers it to dragging out the mixer.
Best pizza dough I have ever made! Turned out awesome. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can I place dough in the fridge to.use another day and if so for how long?
Hi Danielle, I think you could store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days before using it. Just let it come to room temp before stretching! It also freezes well.
How do you freeze it? Just in a ball or flattened into shape
Hi Roni, you can freeze it in a ball. When you’re ready to use it, thaw it in the fridge the night before. Then let it sit at room temp for at least an hour before you try to roll it out. Hope that helps!
Loved it! The dough was fluffy and paired really well with the toppings and sauce. And question, could you make a gluten free version? Would you just substitute the amount of all purpose flour for gluten free flour? Thanks!
Hi Lily, I’m so glad you loved the pizza dough! I haven’t tried using gluten-free flour here, so I’m not sure how it would work. You may want to look for a recipe that’s specifically designed to be gluten-free.
This works very we for gluten free pizza with Caputo Fioreglut. It would also work well with King Arthur Gluten Free Bread flour. Both contain gluten free wheat starch which makes amazing yeast bakes. Caputo performed better in comparison bales but both are good.
Celiac 37 years.
Where are the measurements ?
They’re in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
This is a great recipe,dough comes out beautiful,no need for a mixer.so easy by hand
where`s the picture of the finished pizza?
the very best Easy and enjoyable and great to stretch and roll out