This Easy Homemade Pizza Dough recipe yields the best homemade pizza in 30 minutes from start to finish! It’s made with only 5 ingredients and does not need to rise!
I got my very first job when I was 14, answering phones at our favorite local pizza place in the suburbs of Chicago.
Working there cause me to have incredibly high pizza standards. And since we moved away from Chicago to a state that does not have great pizza, we always make our own.
We make this easy pizza dough recipe (paired with this homemade pizza sauce) at least once a week. Truly great pizza requires a outstanding crust. And that is what you get with this homemade pizza dough.
This easy pizza dough recipe is easy to make because the dough doesn't have to rise, although rising is an option. Without rising, you can make a pizza from scratch in 30 minutes with this recipe!
How to make Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
Since we make this easy homemade pizza dough recipe weekly, I have many tips and tricks to ensure it turns out perfectly every time. So let's walk through the process step by step, and don't forget to watch the video.
Note: you can mix this pizza dough by hand or use a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook!
Proof the yeast
Begin this recipe by proofing the yeast, which means mixing together water, sugar and yeast and letting it sit until it becomes foamy and bubbly (about 5 minutes). It's important that you use warm, but not hot water. Ideally around 105 degrees F.
If the water is too warm it will kill the yeast and it won't proof (become nice and foamy and activated). You can use a thermometer to measure the temperature, but it should be warm to the touch but not feel hot.
Make some homemade pizza sauce
While the yeast is proofing, take 5 minutes and make this homemade sauce to use on your homemade pizza dough! It truly is the best!
Make the pizza dough
Once the yeast is proofed, add the olive oil, 2 cups of the flour and salt and stir to combine. The dough will start to form a sticky ball, add more flour as needed. Once it does, transfer it to a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until a smooth ball forms.
Knead the dough
I make this recipe by hand, but it can easily be made and kneaded in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. It's so fast and simple that I prefer to save some dishes and not pull out my mixer for this one.
Knead the pizza dough until it becomes smooth and not sticky. Adding a little extra flour may be required to achieve the perfect consistency. Be sure to only add it 1-2 Tablespoons at a time so you don't add too much.
Optional - Let the dough rise
If you have more than 30 minutes, you can let this dough rise for 10 minutes or up to it doubling in size.
Letting the pizza dough rise results in a softer, more tender crust but rising is not necessary for a great pizza.
Roll out the pizza dough
Once the dough is smooth and elastic, form into your desired shape. We usually make one circular and one rectangular pizza because those are the shapes of our pizza stones. However we have made them in fun shapes too, including a football for the Super Bowl, a heart for Valentine's day and obviously round like in this post.
Roll the dough out on a well-floured surface until it's about ½" thick.
We suggest baking on a pizza stone (more on this below). To do this, set the dough on a piece of parchment paper once it is rolled out.
Add toppings and bake
Once the dough is rolled out and on a piece of parchment paper, slather on the sauce, add your desired toppings and bake for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.
Use a pizza stone
Since we make pizza so regularly we invested in two pizza stones. We love baking our pizzas on a stone because it crisps the bottom perfectly. Put the pizza stone in the oven and let it preheat with the oven. For the best results, let the stone preheat at 500 degrees F for at least 10 minutes before baking the pizza.
Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza from the counter to the preheated stone in the oven.
A few tips on making the best homemade pizza:
- Use great sauce. If your sauce is just bleh, you pizza will be too. As I've said throughout your post, this 5-minute homemade sauce is the best.
- Add a little cheese before the toppings. This was a trick I learned working at the pizza place. Starting with a very thin layer of cheese helps the toppings stick. It also creates like a cheese-topping sandwich on top of your pizza, which is just amazing .
- Watch the pizza carefully. The pizza goes from almost done to too brown fairly quickly. So be careful!
Cool & Serve
To avoid burning your mouth on lava hot sauce, let the finished pizza cool for at least 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving. We use these pizza scissors to cut our pizzas and it's so easy!
To make ahead:
You can make this pizza dough in advance. Mix it together and form a ball, then place it in a bowl and tightly cover it with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Store it in the refrigerator until ready to use (up to overnight).
To freeze
You an freeze this homemade pizza dough in a few ways:
- Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container or plastic bag.
- Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes without toppings. Let it cool, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. To use, let it thaw, add toppings and bake according to the recipe.
- Freeze a fully assembled pizza before baking. You can make your own frozen pizzas by making this pizza dough, topping it with sauce and toppings and flash-freezing it on a baking sheet. One it's hardened, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw and bake.
Easily Doubled (or tripled)
This homemade pizza dough recipe is easily doubled or tripled. I love serving homemade pizza with a huge salad (especially this burrata salad) when we have guests over for dinner. You can also make the crust into small personal pizzas and let the kids put their own toppings on it, which is really fun.
Pre-bake (optional)
Recipe FAQs
Yes, there are three ways to freeze this dough:
1. Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container or plastic bag.
2. Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes without toppings. Let it cool, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. To use, let it thaw, add toppings and bake according to the recipe.
3. Freeze a fully assembled pizza before baking. You can make your own frozen pizzas by making this pizza dough, topping it with sauce and toppings and flash-freezing it on a baking sheet. One it's hardened, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw and bake.
Yes, for a thicker, fluffier dough let it rise for 15-30 minutes, or until doubled.
Yes, to make this dough the night before put it in a bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and a damp towel and store it in the refrigerator.
If you notice pockets of air forming in the dough while it's baking, simply prick it with a fork to let the gas out and continue baking.
If you don't have a pizza stone, you can preheat a pizza pan or baking pan in the same way that you preheat the stone.
Also, be sure to bake the pizza on the lower rack of your oven.
Homemade Pizza Dough: Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. You can use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking flour to make this pizza dough gluten-free. If you're looking for a whole wheat pizza dough recipe, this one is the best!
- Sugar. honey is a great substitute.
- Olive oil. Any neutral tasting oil works perfectly in this recipe, I suggest olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil.
- Toppings: The unanimous pizza topping of choice for my family is pepperoni. My hubby prefers turkey pepperoni. But you can top your dough with anything. My personal favorite is a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar, spinach, green peppers and goat cheese!
Vegan Pizza Crust
The crust is vegan, so you can make some pretty amazing vegan pizzas out of this recipe, and save yourself lots of money buying vegan options at the store.
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Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (105 degrees F)
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 TBSaTablespoon olive oil
- 2 to 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour*
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Put a pizza stone in the oven while it preheats, and let it warm at 500 degrees F for at least 10 minutes.*
Make the Pizza Dough
- Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Let mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbles form.
- Gently stir in olive oil.
- Add 2 cups of flour and salt and mix with a spatula until a ball begins to form (dough will still be slightly sticky). Add more flour as needed to form a dough ball.
- Transfer to a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough, adding up to ½ cup extra flour if needed.
- Optional. if desired, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rise for 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.
Assemble the pizza
- Roll the dough into your desired shape and put it on a piece of parchment paper.
- Add pizza sauce, cheese and toppings of choice.
- Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone in the oven.
- Bake on the preheated pizza stone for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.
- Remove the pizza from the oven with the pizza peel and put it on a wire rack to cool for at 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Video
Notes
- All-purpose flour. you can replace up to ½ cup flour with whole wheat flour. You can also use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking flour for a gluten-free pizza crust.
- Sugar. honey is a great substitute for sugar.
- Olive oil. Any neutral tasting oil works perfectly in this recipe, I suggest olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil.
- Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container or plastic bag.
- Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes without toppings. Let it cool, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. To use, let it thaw, add toppings and bake according to the recipe.
- Freeze a fully assembled pizza before baking. You can make your own frozen pizzas by making this pizza dough, topping it with sauce and toppings and flash-freezing it on a baking sheet. One it's hardened, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw and bake.
Nutrition
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Anita
Great recipe.
Laura
Thank you Anita!
Sue
I used your dough and sauce recipe, the pizza was perfect. I am 63 years old and your recipe was the best I have ever eaten. Thank you so much.
Laura
Thank you so much, Sue!
Liza
Super easy and came out great, thanks so much!
Laura
Thank you Liza!
Jo
It was the best! Kids loved it. This will be my go to recipe.
Laura
I'm so glad you love it, Jo!
Darcia
Can I use this for stromboli too? This is incredibly easy, by the way! My dough is currently in rise mode. Thanks for sharing!!
Donna Valdez
This is my go-to pizza dough recipe. I’ve tried a few different ones & this has turned out to be my absolute favorite! I usually triple the recipe when I make this and freeze the extra dough. It’s so convenient to make a quick pizza when the kids have friends over or I need a quick meal. Thank you Joy for your recipes. I’ve used quite a few in my kitchen.
Laura
Thank you so much Donna!