Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

👨‍🍳How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough—Step by Step

Ingredients most of us have on hand.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of warm water (about 100°-110°) with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and one packet ( 2 ¼ teaspoons) of rapid/instant rising yeast. Mix well. Let sit a few minutes until foaming some, then add 1 teaspoon salt.

Keep reading for more details about ingredients and the next steps in making pizza. See the Recipe Card below for complete dough instructions and to print.

🥣Ingredient Notes

Flour:

Good old-fashioned all-purpose (AP) flour is my favorite for pizza dough because it gives a little rougher texture that enhances the pizza.

Bread flour works fine—the crust is a little crispier and finer in texture, but it is a good choice if you have it in the pantry. Or there is special pizza flour with a finer grind that will be very smooth.

I sometimes make partial whole wheat pizza using 25% whole wheat flour with honey instead of sugar, but more than 25% needs some special treatment. This is not a gluten-free recipe; gluten-free flour may work, but I'm not testing them.

Yeast:

All baking dry yeast is the same organism (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Old-fashioned active dry yeast is processed differently and has less live yeast, so it will work slower. I suggest quick or instant yeast, which works faster.

Add the yeast to the water to be sure it is evenly distributed. And you should "proof" yeast by letting it sit for a few minutes to form some bubbles to "prove" that it is good.

The amount of yeast in a packet is about 2 ¼ teaspoons. I usually use bulk yeast and a light tablespoon (3 teaspoons minus a little) as the same thing.

Other ingredients for flavoring:

You can add extra flavor to the pizza dough with ¼ teaspoon garlic powder or other seasonings, like basil or oregano.

Keep it Warm!

You must "keep it warm." Here are a few tips.

1. "Preheat" your bowl with hot water.
2. Use water of 100°-110° in the dough.
3. Do NOT put the bowl on a stone-type countertop. Put a wooden cutting board between it and the counter if that is where you want it to let it rise.
4. Cover with a heavy towel or plastic wrap.
5. Don't keep checking it. It will take about 30 minutes to double in size.
6. If the house is cool, preheat your oven to its lowest setting, turn it off, and use it as your warm spot to raise the dough.

❄️Making Pizza Dough Ahead

Let the dough rise, then punch down and form a flattened ball. Give it a light coat of olive oil, then seal it tightly with plastic wrap. Good refrigerated for  1-2 days or frozen for 2-3 months. To thaw the frozen pizza dough, leave it overnight in the refrigerator.

Once thawed or just refrigerated, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes, then make the dough out on the pan. Spreading cold dough is almost impossible. I like to let the dough start rising before making the pizza.

🍕Tips for Making Your Pizza

This recipe makes enough pizza dough for a 13X9 sheet pan or a 12-inch round pizza pan with a moderately thick crust. It will also make a thinner 16-inch round. You can also make two 9 to 10 inch round pizzas with medium crusts or two 12-inch pizzas with thinner crusts.

If using a pan, use a generous splash of olive oil and spread by hand. If using a pizza stone or grill, spread the dough with a rolling pin on a floured surface or pizza peel. You can use cornmeal instead of flour. If you don't have a pizza peel, use a baking sheet without a rim to transfer the pizza to the hot pizza stone.

You can also make mini pizzas, any size you want—watch the color when cooking.

Pizza Sauce

Please DO NOT use a jar or canned pizza sauce. Mine is much better.

My suggested sauce: One 6 oz can of tomato paste and 6 oz water. Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 clove of garlic, about half a small chopped onion, and 1 teaspoon oregano—a pinch (¼ teaspoon) of crushed red pepper for a touch of heat.

The tomato paste gives a touch of sweetness and a deeper tomato taste than tomato sauce.

Toppings

Make a plain cheese pizza, a vegan veggie pizza, a pepperoni pizza, or any type you want.

I suggest about one pound of browned Italian sausage, a chopped ½ green pepper, and 4 oz of pepperoni, topped with 3-4 cups of mozzarella cheese. I like to toss a bit more pepperoni on the cheese before baking.

For a change of pace, try my White Pizza with chicken.

How to Bake Pizza in the Oven

Most of us don't have a high-temperature pizza oven, so use a preheated 400° convection oven or 425° conventional. Other oven temperatures may be used, but the cooking time will vary. If you cook a very thick pizza, a lower temperature is better. Very high temps for crispy, thin-crust pizzas.

The cooking time will vary by the thickness, amount, and types of toppings. It may be as low as 15 minutes, but my loaded pizza takes 20-25 minutes to brown nicely.

🎈Large Groups and Pizza Parties

This is an excellent recipe for a large-scale pizza party or group. The pizzas are large, and the dough is easy to make or make ahead.

So just multiply the ingredients as a starting point. I usually start with 2 cups of flour per cup of liquid.

One last thing to know: a pound of flour is about 3 ⅓ cups of flour.

❓FAQs