Homemade Pizza Dough
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Discover just how simple it is to make homemade pizza dough from scratch. It’s freezer-friendly, incredibly delicious, and easier than you think. Perfect for your next pizza night!
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Why Make a homemade pizza dough
- Short ingredient list. Making homemade pizza dough does not have to require a million ingredients. With a few pantry staples like olive oil, flour, honey and yeast, you’ll be making the best homemade pizza dough in no time.
- Foolproof recipe. Whether you’re an avid cook or newbie first timer, this pizza dough is 100% foolproof for all the home cooks out there. It’s no frills, no fuss, simple and oh-so-easy, promise.
- Freezer-friendly. The beauty of this recipe is that it yields 2 pizza balls, one for tonight and one to freeze for later (for up to 2 months!). Or you can freeze both as needed. It is all good for all your pizza needs for the foreseeable future.
Step-by-step homemade pizza dough recipe
- Proof the yeast, working with warm water
- Make the dough, using a flour of your choice
- Let it rise until doubled in size (room temperature or warm place in the kitchen is great)
- Stretch the dough (while freezing the other), working on a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking (cornmeal does wonders)
- Add your favorite toppings, bake and serve
Tips for perfect pizza dough every time
- Use warm water. The warm water temperature is critical for the pizza dough. This will help activate the yeast (cold water will slow it down), allowing the dough to rise properly. Alternatively, hot water can kill the yeast. The ideal water temperature to use is 105-110°F.
- Check for expired yeast. When using expired yeast, the pizza dough will not rise well, resulting in a flat, dense crust.
- Slightly tacky feels like a Post-It note. The dough should feel slightly tacky, similar to the back of a Post-It note. These are signs of good gluten development.
- Mix it up. Consider adding garlic, dried herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme or Italian seasoning, or even a little bit of sourdough starter to elevate your dough mix.
- Freeze as needed. Place the pizza dough into separate freezer bags, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Place in the freezer for up to 2 months, thawing overnight in the refrigerator. Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature before assembly. Room temperature dough will be easier to stretch and less likely to tear.
Best flour for homemade pizza dough
All-purpose flour
Using solely all-purpose flour will yield a classic, basic, no-fuss pizza crust with a chewier crust.
White whole wheat flour + all-purpose flour
The recipe utilizes a combination of white whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, resulting in a lighter whole grain flavor that is perfectly soft, chewy and light.
Whole wheat flour
For a hearty, whole wheat crust, whole wheat flour can be used in its entirety, yielding nutty, earthy flavors with a more dense, chewier crust.
00 flour
00 flour, a finely ground Italian flour, can be found online and specialty Italian grocery stores, and can be used for a noticeably silkier texture, crispy exterior and airy interior. Think Neapolitan-style pizza.
Bread flour
Bread flour can be substituted for a thicker, chewier crust but may require additional water. Add 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. This is ideal for pan pizzas such as a sheet pan pizza or deep dish Chicago style pizza.
Pizza recipes using this dough
Tools For homemade pizza dough
Frequently Asked Questions About Homemade Pizza Dough:
Although some will argue that bread flour or 00 flour is best for homemade pizza dough, it really depends on personal preference (and what you have available in your kitchen). At the end of the day, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, 00 flour or bread flour will all yield great pizza dough!
Yes, homemade pizza dough freezes beautifully and can keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
There are a few common reasons pizza dough might not rise: your yeast may be expired or not activated properly, the dough may be in too cold an environment, or the ingredients weren’t measured correctly. Try letting the dough sit in a warm, draft-free spot and double-check your yeast is fresh and active.
Typically, pizza dough should rise for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature until it doubles in size. For deeper flavor, you can let it rise slowly in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Yes, you can make a yeast-free pizza dough using baking powder or self-rising flour. While it won’t have the same stretch or flavor as traditional dough, it’s a great quick alternative.
Bread flour is often preferred for homemade pizza dough because its higher protein content develops more gluten, resulting in a chewier crust. However, all-purpose flour still makes a delicious dough and is more readily available.
Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water, 105-110 degrees F
- 1 envelope rapid rise yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more, as needed
Instructions
- Combine water, yeast, honey and salt in a small bowl; let stand until foamy, about 3-5 minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with dough attachment, beat white whole wheat flour, olive oil and water mixture at medium speed until well combined.
- Gradually add all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft, smooth ball of dough is formed. The dough should feel elastic and slightly tacky to the touch. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes.
- Lightly oil a large bowl or coat with nonstick spray; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let stand at room temperature until dough has doubled in size, 30-45 minutes.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, divide into 2 equal pieces*; gently knead before using.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I’ve been making a lot of pizza dough to go into my new outdoor pizza oven. I’ve never used honey but going to buy some today.
Can you use instant yeast instead of active? And yeah, 1 commenter was right.. salt and yeast aren’t friends.. best to add one of them once you begin the mixer and have added some flour.
Looking forward to trying your Pizza recipes for sure!
Could you please lap use grams in your recipes. So much more accurate. Thanks Gary
Which brand of kosher salt is used in the recipe? Crystal diamond measures very differently than Morton’s
I love your recipes but wish you would give the measurements in metric as I only use a scale for baking.
Tried this a few times and couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. The dough seemed dense, didn’t have that usual bubbly texture, and when trying to form it into a round, it was very difficult to stretch.
Come to find out the salt in the yeast mixture was killing the yeast. Fixed that by adding it after mixing in half the flour. Dough rose MUCH better.
Then, I found out if you don’t knead the dough after it rises, the dough almost flattens itself into a round, with very little effort.
Come to find out after some research, gluten forms in the dough and is like rubber bands. Kneeding the dough tightens those bands of gluten. So after the dough rises, don’t knead it. Simply form it into a round.
Can I use all gluten free all purpose flour?
Love this recipe when I’m making dough to use the same day
My ball is not coming together. I used regular yeast. Could that be the problem? Do I need to let it rest and rise? It is totally loose and gooey
How long will this keep in the fridge?
For those asking… both of her mentioned recipes using this dough bake at 450º for 15-20 min. That sounds like a safe bet. She used 1 pound of prepared dough per 12″ pizza. Measure the resulting dough when you make it and should be a good way to determine how many pies you can get from each recipe. I plan on making this recipe tonight, so I’ll try to come back and update my comment with any findings I have.
Made this dough tonight. Used whole wheat flour (NOT white) and the all purpose flour. Followed her directions to a tee, except that I forgot and mixed the olive oil in with the water, honey, salt, and yeast. Still worked out nicely. I got a good FOUR 10″ pizzas out of the recipe. AMAZING taste and texture. This will absolutely be our go-to recipe going forward. Cooked them on pizza stones in a 450º convection oven. Took about 10-12 min each. It depended on the type and number of toppings.
Amazing! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!!!
I just printed out your recipes for pizza dough and pizzas and will be heading to the kitchen to try them out so we can celebrate watching the Kentucky Derby race today with our mint julip’s. I don’t know much about the various types of flour. I have King Arthur’s all-purpose flour and bread flour. Can I use the King Arthur’s flour for all of the flour? I will add whole wheat flour to my grocery list for the next round of pizza baking. I love your recipes and try them often. Also, I couldn’t get your recipes to print today so I copied them and pasted them to another site. I kept trying to bring up the Homemade Pizza Dough recipe and it kept coming up with a recipe for chicken noodle soup (I will be doing that recipe next week as it really looks good.) Mother’s Day greetings to all. Marti
Has anyone tried using all – Almond Flour instead of the alternatives above for pizza dough? Successful or failure?
This looks fabulous and easy. However, I have a couple of questions.
1. What size pizza does each half of the dough make. Since it’s just me I usually make small 8″ pizzas.
2. How long do you bake the pizza – is it dependent on which toppings you use??
Thanks a bunch!!
I was trying to find a healthier alternative to pizza dough and came across this recipe. Making the dough was pretty easy and manageable. When it baked it was delicious and soft and crunchy at the same time. I ended up making a baking sheet (thin crust style) and a round pizza pie (15 inches). I am in love with this recipe and definitely has become my favorite recipe to go and make now. It’s a healthier alternative and I can’t wait to try more recipes. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I am in Pizza Dough Heaven!!
I used to buy my dough at Trader Joe’s but we moved to a small city that doesn’t have a TJ. I’ve been looking for a great dough recipe and I finally found this one!
This afternoon I made a batch of dough for two pizzas for dinner: a Bacon Cheeseburger with Pickles Pizza and a Mushroom and Cheese Pizza.
The crust turn out perfectly! Chungah lists different flour combos in the recipe but I used all-purpose flour only.
The dough rises beautifully in 30-45 minutes. Plenty of time to get your toppings ready!
I couldn’t be happier about this find!
Were are the cooking instructions for the pizza?
Damn delicious as always! We used all-purpose flour since we were out of the other kind. Also, we doubled the recipe so we could freeze some for next time. It was so easy to make, but felt like we were having takeout. #1 was topped with onion, bacon, meatball and mozzarella. #2 was the bacon breakfast pizza (recipe from this week’s email list dated March 2018). Thanks for another culinary delight, Chungah! You’re the best!! 😀
I have finally found a recipe with consistently good results! I use all bread flour for a crispier crust and the addition of honey makes a huge difference. This recipe is a keeper for us! Thank you!
Hi sorry to ask a Dumb question but can this recipe for dough be made in advance
If so process ??? I like the flavor more from dough that’s been refrigerated over night !
Thanks so much y’all !
How long do you cook it for and what temperature?
I’ve been messing with a lot of pizza dough recipes trying to find a good consistent one.
I tried out your recipe because I thought the substitution with the honey instead of sugar was a nice touch to feed the yeast. I did take some liberties to change the process in some aspects like mixing the salt with the flour instead of with the yeast and honey. I also used vegetable oil to oil the bowls since I find olive oil tends to clump up and congeal for these purposes.
Other than that, this made a large dough ball that easily came together with no additional flour (I used bread flour) or water in the stand mixer. It proofed A LOT in the bowl I put it in, so next time I’ll leave it to proof in the original mixing bowl. On a pizza steel heated up to 525 degrees F, it made two crispy 15 in. pizza that puffed up nicely and I honestly could’ve stretched it out to 16 in. without tearing the dough.
I’ll continue to use this recipe. Thanks for posting it!
Thanks for another winning recipe. Just want to pass on some wisdom about dough of any kind: I use good tasting bottled spring water or filtered bottled water in the dough. I live in South FL and our water tastes disgusting – I’ve actually ruined dough with tap water. If anyone else can use this information, I’m glad to help. Same is true for bread or rolls, use the best quality water if you live where the tap water isn’t the best. Now we need a Damn Delicious San Marzano tomato Pizza Sauce to match this, right? LOL