Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Forget about pizza take out! Make your own pizza dough at home with just 6 simple ingredients. This is a foolproof recipe for a deliciously crispy crust that’s soft and chewy inside.

If you’ve never made pizza at home, you should definitely give it a try! There is nothing wrong with calling for take out, but it will never taste the same as a homemade meal.

It will be a great recipe for a cozy lazy night or fun summer cookouts! Serve it together with Potato Salad with Bacon, BLT Pasta Salad, or any other party meal!

Let me show you how to make the best homemade pizza dough with just 6 basic ingredients: water, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, and flour.

Why this recipe works

Pizza is all about the crust! You want it to be soft and chewy with a delicious crispiness.

The main trick here is water. If you don’t put enough of it, your dough will be tough. Put too much and it will spread and won’t keep the shape. So, we need to put just enough water to keep the dough moist, resulting in crispy crust that is soft and chewy inside. It’s very similar to how you make Homemade Sandwich Bread.

How to make Homemade Pizza Dough

1. Make the Dough

In a stand mixer bowl add warm water (about 110°F), yeast, and granulated sugar. Give it a stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. The mixture will start to bubble a little bit (Photos 1-4).

In 5 minutes, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and all-purpose flour (Photos 5-8).

In a stand mixer, using a dough attachment, mix the ingredients on low speed until combined. After it’s mixed, let it knead for 5 minutes. The dough will be a little bit sticky.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, first, mix all ingredients with spatula, then knead with your hands.

When done, add another 2 tablespoons olive oil to coat dough from all sides.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean towel. Let it rise for 2 hours, it will double in size.

2. Shape and Bake

Preheat the oven to 475°F.

When ready, take off the towel and plastic wrap from the bowl and gently press dough to deflate. Divide it in half.

Place one half on a round baking pan. Using your hands, flatten and stretch dough into a 12-inch disk, leaving the edges lifted (Photo 9).

Top with pizza sauce (or Homemade Marinara Sauce), cheese, and pepperoni, and bake at 475°F for 15-18 minutes on a middle rack (Photos 10-12).

Tips for Best Results

1. After kneading the dough in the stand mixer, it should be a little bit sticky. Because I add a bit more water, it keeps the dough moist, which will result in soft and chewy texture, rather than being tough and dry.
2. When proofing the dough, I like to keep it in the oven (which is turned off). The reason being, that this is a perfectly contained place without any wind.

Toppings Ideas

• Classic. Pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni (optional).
• Margherita. Pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil.
• BBQ Chicken. Pizza sauce, BBQ sauce, chicken, mozzarella cheese.
• Hawaiian. Tomato Sauce, cheese, ham, pineapple.
• Fig and Prosciutto. Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, arugula, prosciutto, figs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I refrigerate pizza dough? You can refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Grease it with a little bit of oil, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge. When ready to bake, let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes to warm up.

Can I freeze it? Yes! Divide the dough in half (if you freeze both) and lightly cover them with oil. You can wrap them individually in a plastic wrap, then in foil, or just put in individual zip lock bags. Freeze up to 3 months. When ready to use, put the frozen dough in the fridge overnight. Take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking.

Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!

Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Homemade Pizza Dough

Forget about pizza take out! Make your own pizza dough at home with just 6 simple ingredients. This is a foolproof recipe for a deliciously crispy crust that’s soft and chewy inside.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time18 mins

Total Time2 hrs 30 mins

Course: Dinner, lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 pizzas

Calories: 1111kcal

Author: Veronika's Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups warm water (about110°F)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

• In a stand mixer bowl add 1 3/4 cups warm water (about 110°F), 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast, and 1 tbsp granulated sugar. Give it a stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. The mixture will start to bubble a little bit.
• In 5 minutes, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.
• In a stand mixer, using a dough attachment, mix the ingredients on low speed until combined. After it’s mixed, let it knead for 5 minutes on low speed. The dough will be a little bit sticky. (If you don't have a stand mixer, first, mix all ingredients with spatula, then knead with your hands.)
• When done, add another 2 tablespoons olive oil to coat the dough from all sides.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean towel. Let it rise for 2 hours, it will double in size.
• When ready, preheat the oven to 475°F.
• Then take off the towel and plastic wrap from the bowl and gently press the dough to deflate. Divide it in half.
• Place one half of the dough on a round baking pan. Using your hands, flatten and stretch the dough into a 12-inch disk, leaving the edges lifted.
• Top with pizza sauce (or Homemade Marinara Sauce), cheese, pepperoni, and bake at 475°F for 15-18 minutes on a middle rack.
• When done, let it rest for 5 minutes, cut into 8 slices with pizza cutter and serve.

Notes

After kneading the dough in the stand mixer, it should be a little bit sticky. Because I add a bit more water, it keeps the dough moist, which will result in soft and chewy texture, rather than being tough and dry.

When proofing the dough, I like to keep it in the oven (which is turned off). The reason being, that this is a perfectly contained place without any wind.

Can I refrigerate the dough? You can refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Grease it with a little bit of oil, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge. When ready to bake, let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes to warm up.

Can I freeze it? Yes! Divide the dough in half (if you freeze both) and lightly cover them with oil. You can wrap them individually in a plastic wrap, then in foil, or just put in individual zip lock bags. Freeze up to 3 months. When ready to use, put the frozen dough in the fridge overnight. Take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking.

Toppings Ideas

1. Classic. Pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni (optional).
2. Margherita. Pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil.
3. BBQ Chicken. Pizza sauce, BBQ sauce, chicken, mozzarella cheese.
4. Hawaiian. Tomato Sauce, cheese, ham, pineapple.
5. Fig and Prosciutto. Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, arugula, prosciutto, figs.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pizza | Calories: 1111kcal | Carbohydrates: 178g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1767mg | Potassium: 363mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 7g | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 11mg

Tried this recipe?If you make this recipe, I'd love to see pictures of your creation on Instagram! Tag me @VeronikasKitchen!