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
Can you use bread flour for this recipe of dough of pizza?
Yes! You can make bread flour pizza dough. I haven’t used it for this recipe – I use all-purpose flour, which is readily available in any grocery store. Bread flour has a bit more protein than all-purpose flour and will make for a slightly chewier pizza crust.
How do you make pizza crust that’s crispy?
To get a crispy crust, you need an exceptionally hot oven and a pizza stone (I have this one). Rolling the dough out on the thinner side also helps with getting a crispier recipe of pizza crust. Preheat your oven to 550F when you start making the dough. This creates a great warm environment for the dough to rise, plus plenty of time for the stone to get piping hot.
What if I prefer a thick recipe of pizza crust rather than New York style?
New York Style (East Coast) pizza isn’t everyone’s favorite so if you prefer more of a Sicilian-type pizza (thicker, chewier crust), try my Focaccia Bread Recipe spread out over a 9″x13″ baking sheet, then top with Pizza Sauce and your favorite toppings.
MORE YUMMY PIZZA RECIPES
- Easy Pizza Sauce
- Pizza Bagels
- Homemade Buffalo Chicken Pizza
- Perfect Cast Iron Skillet Pizza
- Homemade Pizza Bagel Bites
Fight Inflation Workshop!
Sign up for my FREE Fight Inflation Workshop and learn simple strategies to save money, even with rising food costs!WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE
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!
- Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 21 minutes
- Yield: 2 pizzas 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 2 tsp active yeast
- 2 tsp granulated sugar or honey
- 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (plus ½ cup if needed)
- 1 tsp salt
- Toppings, as desired: pizza sauce, mozzarella (fresh or shredded), diced vegetables (we like onions and bell peppers), and pepperoni or cooked sausage
Instructions
- Combine warm water, active dry yeast and sweetener in either a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (I use a KitchenAid).
- Allow the yeast mixture to sit and bloom for five minutes.
- Add all-purpose flour and salt and knead for 10 minutes, or by hand until the dough is elastic and springs back into place after the thumb test. Add additional flour, ¼ cup at a time, as needed for the dough to come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and allow it to rise in a warm place until it’s doubled in size, 1 ½ – 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 550F or as high as your oven will go. Shape into two round balls of dough on a lightly floured surface. Cover with a towel until you are ready to use.
- To make your pizza: pound or roll out dough one pizza at a time with a rolling pin. Top as desired with sauce, mozzarella, vegetables, and pepperoni. Bake in a hot oven on a hot pizza stone or preheated pan for 4-6 minutes.
Notes
Using a pizza peel like this one makes moving the pizzas super easy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 160
My husband and I both had pleasant surprises with this pizza! I was surprised by how flavorful the sauce was with only a few ingredients. My normal sauce is spicier, but this will probably become my new go-to recipe because it’s tasty and a lot easier! My husband was surprised by the crust. As soon as he realized it had whole grain flour in it, he determined he probably wouldn’t like it, but it didn’t take long for him to admit it was really good. We both enjoyed the flavor and the texture–just the right amount of “chew” and crust without being hard. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re most welcome Kim!!
Just made this. 5 mini pizzas. So good. I did have to add some flour to my dough, but I’ll double check my measurements next time. We added a bit of garlic powder to the sauce, b/c I have never made a pizza without garlic. Both my girls scarfed down their pizzas and asked for seconds. The crust has just the right tooth to it! With no sugar in the sauce and minimal in the crust, this mom is in seventh heaven. Thanks for all your experimentation.
You’re most welcome Erin!! I’ll double check my measurements too the next time we make pizza. I do this so often, that I stopped paying attention. Glad the family enjoyed the recipe!!
I did have to add about 1/2C more of flour. Is that normal? It was still so liquids and not coming together at all 🙁
Hi Amy – I’m going to remeasure this again the next pizza night we have and update. Sorry for the confusion!
Hello! Going to try my hand at this recipe tonight! I don’t have a pizza stone–could I just use baking sheets? How hot should my oven be? Thank you 🙂
Hi Lea! Preheat the oven as hot as it will go. I’ve never used baking sheets before, but I’ve heard you can invert them (upside down) and let them get super hot, then use them as you would a stone. Enjoy!
thanks for such a quick response! 🙂
Did I miss the step on how long to cook the pizza dough for? And then after you add the cheese and toppings, do you put the pizza back in the oven? How long?
Thanks!
Hi Carmen! We top the pizza with sauce/cheese/toppings BEFORE cooking, and cook for 4-6 minutes on very hot, preheated pizza stone. Sorry about that!
I just came across your website and I live your recipes. Just wondering how will this dough work if I only used white flour? I don’t have access to wheat flour where I live… !also for the time being we’re not using any yeast will this make the dough hard? Thank you so much
Had you tried it with brown rice flour and a GF mix instead of wheat flour? If so, how did it taste? I want to try this recipe but am gluten intolerant.
I have not tried that combination Kelley since we’re not a GF family. You would probably fare ok, but would lack some of the stretch typical dough has. Lean more towards the GF mix, since brown rice flour is heavy. In either case, it’ll be a delicious experiment. 🙂
This is the BEST PIZZA EVER!!! I am not exaggerating; my husband, kids, and I were in heaven. Thank you for posting this! You eliminated all sense of trial and error. It is beyond fantastic! We could only think of one pizzareia that we like better than this recipe (east coast, go figure).
LOL – I’m not sure we can really compete fairly with the East coast folks… I think it’s in the water. 😉 I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the pizza! Best ever is our rating too 🙂
Can you freeze the dough? Would you freeze before the rise or after it?
You CAN freeze the dough, but we weren’t fans of it. We tried freezing after the rise. If we did it again, I’d freeze before, and then let it thaw overnight in the fridge, then a full rise at warm temp before dinner. Those seasoned at freezing dough have done it before, so I’m sure it’s possible!
Have you tried using all whole wheat flour? Also, do you have to use the semolina? I don’t have that kind of flour and don’t really want to buy another kind of flour. I actually really wanted to try your hot pocket recipe and was wondering if I could use all whole wheat (fresh ground)? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! Yes, we’ve done all whole wheat, part whole wheat, part spelt, more semolina, less semolina, no semolina… we’ve tried it all! While the recipe as posted tastes the best (although a close tie in swapping spelt for whole wheat), the version without semolina fared well too. If you don’t have it on hand, feel free to skip it. It does give the crust the typical pizzeria texture though, so if you have room in your budget next month, it might be worth giving it a try. 🙂
PS – if you use all whole wheat in the crust, it won’t be quite as flexible when you shape and a bit less fluffy when you bake it. We tried using hard white spring wheat last week and of all the varieties of wheat, that fared best.
How would you modify the pizza sauce to accommodate fresh tomatoes? Blanch, peel, and squeeze out a little of the juice, then proceed? Any tips would be super – my CSA box is full of tomatoes, and I hate to open a can with fresh on the counter.
Hi Erin! We made our first batch of pizza sauce with homemade tomatoes last week and it was SUPER easy. Simply sub in for the jarred tomatoes and you’re done! It will be a bit thicker in the jar and on the pie, but cooks up very delicious. I’m not sure how many tomatoes you’ll need, so I say fill the blender halfway, blend, and gauge ounces there from there. Enjoy!!
*uncured
Our local Target sells uncared pepperoni, without nitrites or nitrates. Maybe you can find it there!
Thanks for the tip Danica! I’ll take a look the next time I’m there. 🙂
I’ve never made homemade pizza but have always wanted to try! I’ll give this a shot! 🙂 When we lived there we were kind of obsessed with the California veggie pizza at Pizza My Way in PG near Trader Joe’s. It’s not Italiany but it might just change your world like it did ours! 🙂 My husband and I were just talking (and salivating) about it the other night and how much we missed it – as well as pretty everything else in PG/Monterey 🙁
Aw Katherine! I’d love to meet you if you’re ever back this way! We haven’t tried Pizza My Way, but don’t be surprised if you find a DIY version of their CA Veggie on this site sometime. We love experimenting with new versions! 😉 I hope you like our homemade recipe – please let me know how it turns out!
Oh I’m just now seeing this! I commented on a bunch of posts but have forgotten which ones haha and I didn’t click to get a notification of a reply so I’ll go digging 🙂 aww I’d love to meet you too! And oh my gosh I would be ecstatic if you put up a recipe similar to their California veggie! 🙂
LOL, I’ve been buttering up Mr. Crumbs in preparation. That pie has a lot of veggies. We’re not opposed to veggies, but he is a bit partial to his pepperoni when it comes to pizza. 😉
i can’t wait to try this this weekend with the kids. i hope it’s not a total fail first try! i’ll be sure to have a ‘spare’ crust ready just in case! thanks for sharing!
Goodness, I hope it’s not a fail too, lol! Remember that one batch of dough makes two crusts, and even if they’re triangle (my specialty) or square pizzas, they’re just as delicious!
Have you tried canning your own tomatoes or sauce?
No, but I plan to later this year! This is my first year to grow tomatoes, and we’re hoping to grow enough to enjoy now but also make a few batches of sauce for later!
I loved your story on finding the perfect pizza! So cute and hilarious.
Thank you Rachel! 🙂
LOL, thank you Dena! If you lived closer, I’d have you over for dinner!
Hi! Thank you for the recipe. Can the dough be prepared ahead of time and baked two days later? We are having a pizza party next Friday evening and would like to prep as much as possible a day or two before. I’m going to try your sauce too. 🙂
Yes! Here’s how you can freeze pizza dough: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2018/10/freeze-pizza-dough/
This recipe has been updated. Can someone please give me the older version that has whole wheat and semolina in it? Thanks ,
Hi Mana! Use 1/2 cup semolina, minus 1/2 cup from the flour. 😉
Thanks was the old recipe 2 cups white flour, 1 cup whole wheat and 1/2 semolina?
I am not sure Kelly, but this recipe is great!
Hello! I was wondering do you make your pizza right on the peel and then slide it onto your pizza stone? I cant wait to try this one!!
Becky
Hi Becky! We pound it out into a circle on the counter, gently fold into quarters and place on the peel. Then sauce and cheese quickly, then slide to the stone. Then use tongs (or your fingers if you’re brave!) to move from stone to cutting board. 🙂 Enjoy!!!
After reading this post I changed what we are going to have for supper tonight. Pizza it is! I never got the hang of using a pizza stone so I gave mine to my brother and they use it all the time. I use a pizza pan: 17′ diameter metal sheet with lots of little holes in it. Our pizzas are done to a turn on it (them – I do two at a time) For sauce I use herb and garlic tomato paste, one 6 oz can per pizza. But now I want to start experimenting with your sauce recipe. I say experimenting because we can’t get the same products up here (Montreal) that you can in the States. Here’s to Pizza Fridays!
Honestly Alana, I’m not very good with the stone either. The whole move-to-oven thing is Mr. Crumbs’ specialty, but I can somewhat hold my own when he’s out of town. It does take practice though!
Viva Pizza Fridays Alana!
I tried your link to the Jovial tomato sale. I see pasta, olive oil, etc. but no tomatoes. How do I get to the tomatoes you refer to in your recipe?
Hi Betty!
This link will send you to their main store page, and the tomatoes are in the center column, bottom row. Another avenue is to go to their main home page and click “online store” at the very top, far right! 🙂