This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
This homemade pizza dough recipe is the perfect start for your favorite kind of pizza. Pizza night just got much more fun!
Featured with this recipe
Before you call for pizza delivery, try making your own pizzas, starting with this delicious homemade pizza dough! It is so easy to prepare and, unlike some dough recipes I have tried, this one tastes delicious! We use this recipe all the time for pizza night with the kids. They like to roll out their own dough and add their favorite toppings for their own individual pizzas. This is hands down the best pizza dough recipe out there! This pizza dough recipe makes enough dough for two large pizzas. You can make two pizzas, or make one and freeze one, or use the second to make breadsticks instead. The dough keeps great in the freezer too!, just be sure to bring the dough to room temperature again before rolling out.
Ingredients for Homemade Pizza Dough
Made with easy pizza dough ingredients, this is one of the easiest and best homemade pizza recipes you’ll ever try. Here’s what you need:
- Warm water – about one and a half cups. Make sure it’s hot to the touch but not so hot that it kills the yeast.
- Sugar – a couple of tablespoons mixed with the water helps activate the yeast quickly.
- Active dry yeast – one ¼ oz. packet
- All purpose flour– just under four cups. Keep a little extra to create a lightly floured surface for rolling out the dough.
- Kosher salt – one tablespoon. You can use regular table salt if that’s what you have on hand.
- Extra virgin olive oil – three tablespoons
How to Make the Perfect Pizza Crust
The trick to the perfect pizza starts with the crust. Here are some tips for getting pizza crust that tastes delicious!
- Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl and let it sit undisturbed for five minutes.
- Meanwhile, in the large bowl of a standing mixer, mix the flour and salt together with a wooden spoon.
- Next, use the dough hook on the mixer to combine the yeast mixture and olive oil. Then add the flour mixture slowly, a little at a time until it’s fully combined.
- Knead on low speed for about 10 minutes, or mix by hand for the same amount of time.
- Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- After the dough rises, punch it down and divide into two balls. Brush with olive oil then cover in plastic wrap. Let it rise another 45 minutes.
- Now’s the fun part! On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a circle. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased pizza pan dusted with cornmeal. Pat it out from the center to the edge, leaving the outer edge a bit thick. Top with favorite toppings.
- Bake at 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Pizza Sauce Ideas
Once you have the perfect pizza crust, the sky’s the limit when it comes to sauces and toppings. Try any of these combinations for endless delicious options!
- Traditional Red Sauce
- Alfredo Sauce
- BBQ Sauce
- Pesto Sauce
- Oil and Garlic
- Ranch Dressing
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Peanut Sauce
- Thai Chili Sauce
- Garlic Aioli
- Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
- Creamy Red Pepper Sauce
- Hummus
Pizza Topping Ideas
- Pepperoni
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Sausage
- Bacon
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Black Olives
- Green Peppers
- Red Peppers
- Pineapple
- Spinach
- Basil
- Chicken
- Ground Beef
- Salami
- Steak
- Tomatoes
- Gorgonzola
- Feta
- Artichokes
- Ham
- Canadian Bacon
Neapolitan-Style Pizza Dough
The recipe below is for an American-style pizza dough. If you are wanting a more authentic Italian pizza dough for Neapolitan pizzas or Margherita pizzas, we have the perfect Neapolitan pizza dough recipe! Top it with fresh buffalo mozzarella, thin tomato slices, and some fresh basil for the perfect Neapolitan pizza.
Frequently Asked Questions about Homemade Pizza Dough
Because pizza needs to bake longer in a home oven rather than a commercial pizza oven, you need to make sure your dough has enough water so it doesn’t dry out. So make sure you use the exact amount of water in the recipe.
Yes! This recipe makes enough for two pizzas so you can make one and freeze one. Keep it tightly covered in the freezer for up to two months. Just be sure to bring the dough to room temperature again before rolling out.
Homemade is cheapest. You can make two crusts for less than $3 worth of ingredients. A store bought crust can range from $2 to $7 each.
READ NEXT: 35+ Quick and Easy to Follow Dinner Ideas
Favorite Pizza Recipes
This pizza dough recipe is a great base for all of our favorite pizza recipes. Think outside the cheese and pepperoni box. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Lemon Chicken Pizza – If you haven’t tried thin slices of lemon on pizza, you are missing something great! It is so refreshing and flavorful.
- Turkey Bacon Avocado Pizza – This pizza is topped with turkey, crisp bacon, and fresh avocado with lots of cheese. It’s all the flavors of a club sandwich on a delicious pizza crust.
- Antipasto Pizza – A garlic cream sauce replaces the traditional red pizza sauce on this pizza. Spinach, artichoke hearts, pepperoncinis, cherry tomatoes, and olives make this a delicious, vegetarian pizza option.
- Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza – Our version of the California Pizza Kitchen’s Thai Chicken Pizza tastes just like the original. The Thai flavors on this pizza are mouth-watering good!
- BBQ Chicken Pizza – BBQ Chicken Pizza is always a favorite! It features barbecue chicken, pineapple, cilantro and plenty of cheese.
- Garlic Ranch Pizza – Who doesn’t love garlic and ranch in their pizza sauce? When you add bacon, chicken, tomatoes, and mozzarella, it creates a pizza that will have everyone begging for more.
How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough
Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast one ¼ oz. packet
- 3 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Combine water, sugar and yeast in small bowl. Let sit 5 minutes. Mix flour and salt together in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer fitted with dough hook. Add oil to yeast mixture.
- Mix flour and salt together in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer fitted with dough hook. Add oil to yeast mixture.
- Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and knead on low speed for 10 minutes. (If mixing by hand, knead dough for same amount of time.) Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape into 2 balls. lightly brush dough balls with olive oil and cover completely with plastic wrap. Let rise another 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Lightly grease pizza pan or dust with cornmeal. Take each dough ball and using your fingers, pat it out from the center to the edge, leaving the outer edge a bit thick. Top with favorite toppings.
- Bake 10-15 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Notes
- If you are freezing after the first rise, punch the dough down and divide it into two balls as directed in the recipe. Place the dough balls in the freezer on a cookie sheet. After the dough is frozen, place the dough balls in freezer resealable plastic bags. To thaw, let the dough come to room temperature (about 1 hour) and then let it rise another 45 minutes.
- If you are freezing after the second rise, freeze the dough balls and then place them in freezer resealable plastic bags. To thaw, let the dough come to room temperature (about 1 hour) and then roll out onto pizza pan.
Nutrition Information
So yummy!
Just to let you all know that in the recipe multiplayer for x1, x2 or x3 all three states 1). 1/4 oz packet of yeast. The teaspoons are correct but it could be misleading if your not paying attention.
We make pizza every Friday. This dough is so good! Thank you for the easy recipe!
Great recipe – my family loves homemade pizza and this came in handy!
This was a huge hit! SO easy to make!
I feel that for the very first time I made a good yeast dough. It was easy and came out great, used the other half of the dough for cheesy bread. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Thank you for sharing, second time am using this recipe for my family for pizza Friday.
Can this pizza dough be refrigerated and if so for how long.
Yes, but I wouldn’t keep it in the fridge more than a couple of days.
Easy to make & yummy!
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious Freeze Pizza Dough recipe.
You are very welcome! So glad you enjoyed it!
I never thought I’d find a pizza dough recipe even close to my beloved Italian great grandmother. WOW! This is even better than hers! ( I’m so sorry, grandma)
I’ll always make hers but for special occasions I will be using only yours. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know!
I noticed that you did not use bread flour.
If you would like to use bread flour you absolutely can!
After reading your lovely recipe,I feel thrilled to go and make it right away. Thank you so much….
Anju Ravindra.
I have been making pizza with homemade pizza dough for 10+ years and this is honestly the best pizza dough I have ever made. Light, fluffy, flavorful – I am bookmarking this page and will use this recipe for all my future pizzas 🙂 Thank you!
Wow! What a compliment! Thank you so much Andrea! 🙂
I made it today and everyone was right it is the best pizza dough ever. Thank you so much for sharing
Hi Jeni- So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment 😀
Wow! Your Recipe is so good. I just add some extra beef to it and make it more delicious. Nice and Simple to be honest.
Can you use this dough for stuffed Chicago style pizza? I’m wondering if it will bake properly.
I haven’t made a stuffed Chicago style pizza with this dough, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. I have made calzones and they’ve turned out great.
Would this work for making pepperoni bread do you think?
I think it would be too stiff for pepperoni bread. You will probably want to stick with a bread recipe, not dough. Thanks for asking!
Your recipe is so good , I do add some ingredients to it. dry oregano dry basil and some dry red pepper flakes .It makes for a different tasting dough. then when the pizza is ready to be baked I still put more of the dry ingredient on top of the other ingredients you put on your pizza. It makes a great tasting pizza.
Thank you, Leona. I love your seasoning additions to the dough. I’ll try it!
Is the yeast mixture supposed foam up? not sure how hot the water should be.
Yes, it should be foamy– the water should just be warm– not hot. Warmer than room temperature. Hope this helps!