Forget about pizza take out! Make your own fluffy homemade pizza dough 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 it 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 (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.
NOTE: Because different brands have different flour texture and moisture, you might need to use less or more flour. If your dough is too sticky, simply add a little bit more flour. Though, make sure you don’t add to much. It should be soft and a little bit sticky. That will help you to have a chewy and soft texture.
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
- Because different brands have different flour texture and moisture, you might need to use less or more flour. If your dough is too sticky, simply add a little bit more flour. Though, make sure you don’t add to much. It should be soft and a little bit sticky. That will help you to have a chewy and soft texture.
- 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
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.
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 it 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!
Soft and Fluffy Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups warm water (about110°F)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl add 1 ¾ cups warm water (about 110°F), 2 ¼ 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.
- In 5 minutes, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 ½ tsp salt, and 3 ½ 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.)
- NOTE: Because different brands have different flour texture and moisture, you might need to use less or more flour. If your dough is too sticky, simply add a little bit more flour. Though, make sure you don't add to much. It should be soft and a little bit sticky. That will help you to have a chewy and soft texture.
- 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
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
- 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.
I use this pizza dough recipe all the time with a little Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic granules and a little extra sugar for my yeast! It comes out so fluffy and yummy everytime and its sooo easy! My kids are always asking for mommy’s home made pizza now! Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh and I also add a little garlic parmesan butter to the crust after it bakes amd its is perfection!
Is it correct that this dough has nearly 100% hydration?
Enjoyed reading through this, very good stuff, regards.
My dough ended up a gloopy mess and I added up to a cup of extra flour and it didn’t help. What could I have done wrong ?
Came to the comments because I had the same issue. Loved the end result after baking but it was impossible to shape because of how sticky and gloopy it was. I worked at a pizza shop so I have some experience shaping pizza dough but this recipe was impossible.
Hey, how about metric weight measures please? That would help me no end as I live in Fiji and cup measures and tbs measures are definitely NOT the same…
A very easy recipe. My kids and guests said it is the best pizza they’ve had. I didn’t separate ingredients, just mixed all together in one go and came out perfectly. We made smaller pizzas with it. Highly recommend.
Best pizza dough recipe I’ve ever used! Yum!!!
I appreciate how you broke down this complex topic into manageable pieces. Your clear explanations and real-life examples made it so much easier to understand.
This was AMAZING!!! I love that this dough doesn’t have a super yeasty taste that other homemade doughs typically have. I added garlic and a pinch of Italian seasoning into the dough and turned out great!
I never leave comments, but I had to this time. I made this recipe for dinner last night. It was the best pizza crust I’ve ever eaten. It was soft, yet had a little crunch. Great pizza crust recipe Veronika! Thanks for sharing.
So easy to make and really yummy always turns out good!
Thank you for this fantastic recipe !! I have tried a few and after last night I really am sticking with this dough recipe !!
I never write reviews but …. I had to !!! Give this recipe a try and u won’t be disappointed!!!
Thank u so much !!
Can I use this pizza crust recipe to make a chicago style deep dish pizza?
Hi Sarah, I never tested this recipe for Chicago style deep dish pizza. But I believe it should work as well.
This is the best pizza dough recipe EVER!!! It’s perfectly fluffy and crispy, and it tastes so good!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!!
Thank you so much, Nishu!
Hi Veronika, thank you so much for this dough recipe. It is exactly what I have been looking for and I can’t wait to try it. However, I’m in Ireland and it’s difficult to know which conversion rates to use especially for the cups to get an accurate recipe. Could you tell me the recipe amounts in grams and millilitres please? Thank you, Fiona
I made this last month for the first time and will be making it again tomorrow. This is the best, easiest recipe and it is now the only crust recipe I will ever use! I love a fluffy crust. After I top it i bake it on a pizza stone and it comes out of the oven crispy, fluffy perfection! Thank you!