Here is a real simple Pizza Dough Recipe that will have you making homemade pizza regularly. This is the most amazing fool proof homemade pizza dough recipe that you will ever come across.
It's quick and you can either make it by hand or use a stand mixer.
This pizza dough recipe will be the next recipe that you bookmark to come back to time and time again!
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There is never a good time to make pizza because it's a great meal to make any time. The great thing about making this pizza from a 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.)
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.
Instructions
Don't Be Afraid to Get Down and Dirty
Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Just make sure that they are clean. Sometimes, the best way to ensure that ingredients get mixed well is to use your hands to mix and knead the dough.
Of course, as I stated earlier, you could use your mixer to mix the ingredients. But in the end you will still need to knock the dough out on a surface to finish incorporating all the flour.
In a medium bowl, place warm water, the sugar (optional) and the yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until it get's foamy. Add the olive oil, salt and start to incorporate the flour half a cup at a time.
You can use a whisk at first, then once it starts to get clumpy use a rubber spatula. Continue add the flour until the dough is ready to knock out onto a surface.
Grease a bowl with olive oil and set aside. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and fold about 10 times add flour until its a consistency that you can handle with your hands.
Let this Foolproof Dough Rest
Place the dough into the bowl and brush with olive oil. Cover the dough until it rises to twice it's size. If you are using traditional yeast, let is rest for at least one hour. If you are using quick rising yeast, let is rest for at least 30 minutes.
Why? 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, covered with saran wrap and then a kitchen towel on top of the saran wrap.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle it with flour so that you can work with it.
You can use a rolling pin to roll it out to the size of your baking sheet or use your fingers to press out the dough starting from the center and working your way out.
Once the dough is the size you are looking for, use a rolling pin to roll the dough and transfer it to your pizza pan. If your pizza pan is not a non stick pan, you can line it with parchment paper to fit the size of the pan.
Stretch the dough to fit the pizza pan or push it back in around the edges to make it fit neatly on the baking sheet.
You can cover your pizza again and let it rise once more, or you can put your toppings on and bake at 400°F for 30 to 35 minutes.
Top tip
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.
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Get this Free Meal Planner Journal template that you can print or import in to Goodnotes or Noteability.
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.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Get this Free Meal Planner Journal template that you can print or import in to Goodnotes or Noteability.
Storage of Your Pizza Dough
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.
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.
For Canadian Guidelines check Government of Canada's Food and Safety Guidelines for further information and resources.
Drop a comment below if you made this Foolproof Pizza Dough. I’d love to see your pictures as well as know what topping you put on your pizza dough pizza. So don’t forget to post them on your Instagram account. Tag me at #girl_with_a_spatula and follow me @girl_with_a_spatula
Looking for other lip smacking recipes? Click here to search the site for some great inspiration.
Make this Foolproof Pizza Dough now, or PIN it for later!
Recipe Details
Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 active dry yeast packages or 1 ½ tablespoons of dry yeast
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cups olive oil
For Tomato Sauce
- 2 cups tomato puree
- ¼ cups olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 pepper to taste
Potato Pizza Topping
- 1 large potato
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
Instructions
- Dough
- In a bowl place the warm water and sugar and yeast, let stand for 5 minutes until frothy. (I used warm tap water). Brush a large bowl with olive oil.
- Once the yeast has been activated and is frothy add the olive oil. Add salt and then start adding the flour a little at a time and using a whisk mix together until well incorporated. Keep adding flour and mix, switch to a spatula once you can’t use a whisk any more. Use the spatula to turn the dough. Once the dough is coming together and not so wet, turn it out on a surface and using the remaining flour knead the dough into a ball and drop into the oil bowl. Brush the top with a little more olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 45 to 60 minutes.
- Once the dough has risen, stretch out the pizza dough on a greased pizza pan or a pan with parchment paper. Both work well. Start assembling your pizza and bake at 400°F for 30 to 45 minutes, or top is golden. Pull up side to look under at crust to check for crispness.
- Topping, Pizza SauceWhile the dough is rising. In a small frypan pour ¼ oil, 2 cups of tomato puree, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp onion powder and combine and cook about 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Alternative Pizza Topping, Potato PizzaTo make the potato for the potato pizza, peel and thinly slice 1 large potato, steam and dress with olive oil, salt and dried Rosemary. Then top the pizza with the potato slices and push them into the dough.
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