Finding the Perfect Pizza Dough recipe can be a challenge especially when it's so easy to buy pizza dough at the grocery store. But, there's something about making your own dough that give such a sense of accomplishment.
This recipe is fool proof, quick and you can make it by hand or use a stand mixer.
Like recipes with hand made dough? Try my recipe for Sicilian Vota Vota, Homemade Pasta Dough, or my Black Olive and Rosemary Focaccia Bread.
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- Do you need to use Sugar in Pizza Dough Recipe?
- Don't Be Afraid to Get Down and Dirty
- Why is it important to let the dough rest?
- How to Make the Perfect Pizza Dough at Home
- Storage
- Top Tips
- Toppings for Your Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
- Equipment
- Main Dishes to Try Next
- Recipe Details
- Top Tips
- PIN it for later!
- Food Safety
- Comments
This is truly the most amazing fool proof homemade pizza dough recipe that you will ever come across.
This pizza dough recipe will be the next recipe that you bookmark to come back to time and time again!
There is never a good time to make pizza because it's a great meal to make any time. The great thing about making your own pizza dough recipe is that you can personalize your pizza any way you like it.
This was inspired by my Easy Pizza Bread recipe on this site, and pairs well with this recipe for amazing Chicken Wings.
Ingredients
This pizza dough recipe calls for a few ingredients which may require you to plan ahead.
- yeast
- olive oil
- flour
- salt
- sugar (optional)
- toppings (tomato sauce, olive oil, mozzarella, basil, etc.)
Exact measurements and details in recipe card...
This pizza dough recipe makes two 12" round pizzas or one 12" x 18" rectangle pizza. Not a thin crust, but a medium thickness that's makes it the perfect pizza dough.
Do you need to use Sugar in Pizza Dough Recipe?
Surprisingly No! But adding sugar affirms that the yeast is still active. Adding the sugar makes the yeast bubble if it's still active. If the yeast is not active, there really is not point in going forward. If you want your pizza to rise, you need active yeast. So by adding the sugar, you check that the yeast has not gone stale.
To prepare your yeast, place it in warm water and use your fingers to mix it in with the water and sugar. Let it stand for about 5 minutes.
Don't Be Afraid to Get Down and Dirty
Making my own pizza dough, I learned that the best techniques was to just get in their with my hands. Don't be afraid. Your hands will get sticky, but you can alternate between using flour and water to get the sticky dough off your hands.
You can use your mixer up to the point of when you need to turn out your dough on to a floured surface. In the end, you still need to get in their with your hands.
Most importantly, when kneading the dough position your body so that one foot is in front of the other and push into the dough through your hands using your body! Place flour in front of your dough and let the dough take flour as needed. Push out the dough then roll over, repeat for about 10 minutes.
Why is it important to let the dough rest?
Letting the dough rest allows the yeast to activate and makes the dough rise, makes it softer, easier to role and easier to chew. Not that we have gotten that out of the way, let is rest on the counter, brushed with oil and covered with plastic wrap or skip the oil and and cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel.
How to Make the Perfect Pizza Dough at Home
In a small bowl place ½ cup of warm water, sugar and yeast. Mix with a fork or your fingers and let stand for 5 minutes.
Place 3½ cups of the flour in a medium sized bowl and make a well. Add the water yeast mixture and using your fingers incorporate the flour gradually while turning the bowl with your other hand. Add the salt and as the mixture gets dry add the remaining water until you have a wet ball of dough.
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and let rest for 30 minutes covered with the bowl so it doesn't dry out.
Once the dough has doubled in size start to knead it. Place a little bit of flour in front of the dough and as you knead and fold, let the dough take the flour as needed.
Cut the dough ball in half if you are going to make two pizzas. Place each dough ball in a bowl that is floured.
Cover with a damp towel and leave to rest for another 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.
Once the dough has doubled in size, it's time to roll out the dough.
Carefully transfer your dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 425℉ for about 30 to 35 minutes,
Storage
Day old pizza tastes better than the first day you made it, believe it or not!
Store leftovers for this homemade pizza dough refrigerated in an airtight container for a maximum of 4 days. You can also freeze for later. When you want to eat leftover pizza, thaw it out in the fridge for 24 hours and then warm it up, preferably in the oven or toaster oven.
Top Tips
This pizza dough recipe makes two 12" round pizzas or one 12" x 18" rectangle pizza. Not a thin crust, but a medium thickness that's makes it the perfect pizza dough.
To prepare your yeast, place it in warm water and use your fingers to mix it in with the water and sugar. Let it stand for about 5 minutes.
You can use your mixer up to the point of when you need to turn out your dough on to a floured surface.
Most importantly, when kneading the dough position your body so that one foot is in front of the other and push into the dough through your hands using your body! Place flour in front of your dough and let the dough take flour as needed. Push out the dough then roll over, repeat for about 10 minutes.
Use the tips of your fingers to stretch out the dough works much better than using a rolling pin. Start from the middle of the dough and work your way out until the dough is the size and thickness you prefer. Use a rolling pin to transfer the dough to your pizza pan.
Toppings for Your Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
Here are some great Pizza topping combinations:
- Traditional Cheese & Pepperoni - olive oil base, pizza sauce, parmesan cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, sliced pepperoni
- Potato Pizza - olive oil base, parmesan cheese, thinly sliced potato, salt, oregano, rosemary, garlic
- Mediterranean Pizza - olive oil base, feta cheese, kalamata olives, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, kale or spinach, salt, oregano
- Hawaiian Pizza - olive oil base, pizza sauce, ham, pineapple, black olives
- Fig, Walnut & Arugula - olive oil garlic base, walnuts, figs, parmesan cheese, honey, arugula
As you can see, you can pretty much mix any number of food combinations together. You can even make a vegetarian pizza with your favorite vegetables. The combinations are endless.
Note that this homemade pizza dough recipe makes either one large pizza or two small pizzas. Therefore, you could make two pizzas with entirely different toppings. 🙂
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Pizza pans, bowls, a rolling pin and parchment paper will come in handy to make this pizza dough recipe.
Several size bowls and measuring spoons and cups will also be helpful for making this recipe.
Main Dishes to Try Next
Recipe Details
Perfect Pizza Dough Recipe
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caIngredients
Dough
- 1¼ tsp dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1½ cups warm water
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
For Tomato Pizza (double the quantities for 2 - 12" or 1 extra large pizza)
- 1 cups marinara sauce
- 2.8 oz mozzarella slices 4 slices, or shredded mozzarella
- 2½ oz pepperoni sliced, optional
- 3 leaves fresh basil
- 10 olives pitted
- 2 tbsp olive oil to drizzle over pizza
Potato Pizza Topping (double the quantities for 2 - 12" or 1 extra large pizza)
- 12 oz potato about 2, boiled and sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil to mix with sliced potatoes
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil to drizzle over pizza
Instructions
Dough
- In a small bowl place ½ cup of warm water, sugar and yeast. Mix with a fork or your fingers and let stand for 5 minutes.1¼ tsp dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1½ cups warm water
- Place 3½ cups of the flour in a medium sized bowl and make a well. Add the water yeast mixture and using your fingers incorporate the flour gradually while turning the bowl with your other hand. Add the salt and as the mixture gets dry add the remaining water until you have a wet ball of dough.4 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp salt
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and let rest for 30 minutes covered with the bowl so it doesn't dry out.
- Once the dough has doubled in size start to knead it. Place a little bit of flour in front of the dough and as you knead and fold, let the dough take the flour as needed. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. When kneading the dough, position yourself so that you are pushing your hands through your body to activate and develop the gluten in the dough.
- Cut the dough ball in half if you are going to make two pizzas. Place each dough ball in a bowl that is floured. Cover with a damp towel and leave to rest for another 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, it's time to roll out the dough. The best method is to place the dough on a floured surface and press down and out starting from the middle to make a circular dough the size of your pan.
- Carefully transfer your dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. For the Tomato Sauce Pizza:Spoon your marinara sauce on top and using a spoon spread it around and outward. Add mozzarella, pepperoni, basil, olives and any other toppings. Drizzle olive oil on top.1 cups marinara sauce, 2.8 oz mozzarella slices, 2½ oz pepperoni, 3 leaves fresh basil, 10 olives, 2 tbsp olive oil
- For the Potato Pizza:Boil the potatoes, peel and slice them thinly. Put them in a small bowl and add olive oil, rosemary and chopped garlic. Place the potato slices strategically on the pizza. Season the potatoes with salt. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and then drizzle olive oil on top.12 oz potato, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp dried rosemary, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp olive oil
- Bake at 425℉ for about 30 to 35 minutes,
Notes
Top Tips
This pizza dough recipe makes two 12" round pizzas or one 12" x 18" rectangle pizza. Not a thin crust, but a medium thickness that's makes it the perfect pizza dough. To prepare your yeast, place it in warm water and use your fingers to mix it in with the water and sugar. Let it stand for about 5 minutes. You can use your mixer up to the point of when you need to turn out your dough on to a floured surface. Most importantly, when kneading the dough position your body so that one foot is in front of the other and push into the dough through your hands using your body! Place flour in front of your dough and let the dough take flour as needed. Push out the dough then roll over, repeat for about 10 minutes. Use the tips of your fingers to stretch out the dough works much better than using a rolling pin. Start from the middle of the dough and work your way out until the dough is the size and thickness you prefer. Use a rolling pin to transfer the dough to your pizza pan.Nutrition
PIN it for later!
Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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