Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

This homemade pizza dough recipe is so easy to mix up, you’ll have better-than-delivery pizza whenever you want! Thin crust or thick, or even made into calzones, this healthy pizza dough is delicious every time!

My family loves pizza night, and we’re always on the quest for the best pizza ever.

Our search for the perfect pizza started several years ago, and we worked our way through multiple pizza shops, but none of them quite hit the spot (and the one that was the best-tasting closed!).

We LOVE East Coast-style pizza, so I was determined to find an easy and yummy replacement we could make at home. After many attempts, I have fine-tuned both the pizza dough recipe AND the pizza sauce. Now you can enjoy it too!

EASY HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

Besides the fact that this homemade pizza dough recipe is so tasty and super quick and easy, it’s also:

• Healthier. With only a few simple ingredients, this recipe is free of anything artificial. By making real-food pizza dough from scratch, we avoid all of the additives and sweeteners commonly found in pre-made, processed doughs.
• Made from scratch. Pizza dough is an easy, forgiving yeast dough to learn to make yourself, and it tastes delicious! (Learn all about baking with yeast here).
• Frugal. Making homemade pizza dough saves money with each pizza you make!
• Freezer-friendly. Pizza dough can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen for longer-term meal planning. Here’s the full tutorial for freezing pizza dough.

After trying this easy pizza dough recipe, you’ll be making dough for pizza nights on a regular basis!

THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE INGREDIENTS

This pizza dough recipe has just 5 simple ingredients:

• Warm water. You want it between 105-115 degrees to activate the yeast.
• Active dry yeast. For your pizza crust to rise.
• Granulated sugar or honey. To feed the yeast. The yeast eats most of the sugar so using a natural sweetener isn’t as important in this recipe.
• All-purpose flour. You can substitute einkorn flour or whole wheat flour as well.
• Salt. To enhance the flavor.

Psst! If you’re going to add salt, I highly recommend Ava Jane’s Kitchen. You may think all salt is created equal, but unfortunately, 90% of the salt produced around the world contains microplastics (gross, right?). Ava Jane’s Kitchen is an exception. Their salt is 100% microplastic-free, and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt (just pay shipping and handling!)

HOW TO MAKE PIZZA DOUGH

Step 1. Combine warm water, yeast, and sweetener. Allow it to sit and bloom for five minutes, until the mixture bubbles and gets foamy on top.

Step 2. Add all purpose flour and salt and knead for 10 minutes using the dough hook on the stand mixer (or knead by hand), until the dough is elastic and springs back into place after pressing your thumb into it. Add additional flour ¼ cup at a time as needed, up to ½ cup total, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Step 3. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Step 4. To make your pizzas: Preheat the oven to 550F or as high as it will go. Pound or roll out the dough one pizza at a time on a lightly floured surface – this pizza dough recipe makes enough for two 12-inch pizzas. Top with your favorite pizza toppings as desired with sauce, mozzarella cheese, vegetables, and pepperoni.

Step 5. Bake the pizzas in a hot oven on a hot pizza stone or preheated pan for 4-6 minutes.

RECIPE OF PIZZA CRUST TIPS

• When combining the warm water, dry yeast, and sweetener I use either a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (I use a KitchenAid). A glass measuring cup works for proofing the yeast as well.
• Pizza dough on its own is not the most flavorful – that’s what makes it a good base for all those toppings! If you want to flavor the dough itself, try adding some Italian seasoning or garlic powder to the pizza dough recipe when you add the flour and salt. Start with 1 teaspoon of either one or add both.
• If your pizza dough bubbles up unevenly when it bakes, try pricking the dough with a fork a few times before baking.
• If your oven doesn’t reach as high of a temperature, you can also bake pizza at 425F for about 15 minutes, although the crust may not crisp up as much at a lower temperature.
• Using a pizza peel like this one makes moving the pizzas super easy! Parchment paper is also a great option, especially if you’re using a pizza stone.
• Instead of two big pizzas, let everyone make their own pizzas! Make smaller rounds of dough and let eat person top their own.

You can also make a recipe of pizza crust with einkorn flour, which is an ancestral grain. Even some people with gluten sensitivity can enjoy Einkorn flour! Here’s my recipe for Einkorn Flour Pizza Dough if you’d like to try it out.

RECIPES – PIZZA DOUGH TOPPINGS

We tend to keep it simple with pizza toppings.

• Pizza sauce: Here is my easy and delicious Pizza Sauce Recipe.
• Mozzarella: My favorite cheese for pizza is thinly sliced fresh mozzarella. You can also grate your own favorite cheese using a box grater.
• Diced vegetables: We like onions and bell peppers, finely diced
• Pepperoni/meats: Applegate Farms makes a nitrate-free pepperoni that is good. Read more about nitrates here. Top your pizza with whatever meats or veggies you prefer.
• A Buffalo Chicken Pizza or BBQ Chicken Pizza is also a favorite!!

You’re not limited to just adding toppings for pizza dough recipes – pizza dough also makes a great base for cheesy garlic bread, or fold half of the dough over the toppings for a pizza stromboli or calzone.

RECIPE OF DOUGH OF PIZZA FAQS

MORE YUMMY PIZZA RECIPES

• Easy Pizza Sauce
• Pizza Bagels
• Homemade Buffalo Chicken Pizza
• Perfect Cast Iron Skillet Pizza
• Homemade Pizza Bagel Bites

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE