Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

This Easy Pizza Dough is the only homemade pizza dough recipe you'll ever need. Just 5 simple ingredients, a quick-rise or overnight option, and the kind of chewy, bubbly, flavourful crust that makes pizzeria-style pizza right in your own kitchen.

Course Main Course, Meal Prep

Cuisine Italian

Keyword artisan pizza dough, easy pizza dough, homemade pizza dough, overnight pizza dough, pizza dough recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Rising Time 2

Total Time 3

Servings pizzas

Calories 352kcal

Author Chrissie

Equipment

Stand Mixer with dough hook (or a large bowl for hand-kneading)
Pizza stone
Pizza Peel (or sturdy cutting board / inverted baking sheet)
Bench Scraper
Large bowl (for the rise)
Plastic wrap, damp tea towel, or oiled gallon-sized zip-top bag

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups warm water slightly warmer than room temperature
1 teaspoon honey
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast for quick rise OR 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (for overnight rise)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil for oiling the bowl, hands, and work surface
Semolina or cornmeal for dusting the pizza peel

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Dough:

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the warm water and honey. Sprinkle the yeast over top (use 2 1/4 teaspoons for the quick rise OR 1/2 teaspoon for the overnight rise). Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until foamy.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, whisk together the flour and salt.
Pour the bloomed yeast mixture into the flour. Turn the mixer on low speed to bring everything together, then increase to medium-low and knead for 6-8 minutes, until the dough is smooth, stretchy, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be a bit sticky – that's correct. (If kneading by hand, knead on a lightly oiled surface with oiled hands for about 10 minutes.)
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn it over to coat in oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel.
For the quick rise: let the dough rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours, until roughly doubled in size. For the overnight rise: transfer the oiled dough to a lightly oiled gallon-sized zip-top bag, seal, and refrigerate for 18-24 hours.
For the overnight rise only: take the dough out of the fridge 1 hour before you plan to bake, leaving it covered, to come to room temperature.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and divide into your desired number of portions (2 for large pizzas, 3-4 for mediums). Form each portion into a smooth ball by tucking the edges underneath. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
Stretch each ball into a 10-12 inch round by hand (don't use a rolling pin). Transfer the stretched dough to a pizza peel generously dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top quickly with sauce, cheese, and toppings.

To Bake in a Conventional Oven:

Place a pizza stone on the top rack of your oven and preheat the oven to its highest setting (usually 260-290°C / 500-550°F) for at least 45 minutes – ideally a full hour.
Just before launching the pizza, switch the oven from bake to broil.
Slide the topped pizza off the peel and onto the hot pizza stone in one smooth motion.
Bake for 4-6 minutes, watching closely the whole time. Pull the pizza out when the crust is well-spotted with brown spots and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
Let the pizza rest for 1-2 minutes before slicing and serving.

To Bake in an Outdoor Pizza Oven (Ninja, Ooni, etc.):

Preheat your pizza oven according to the manufacturer's instructions, usually 15-20 minutes at the highest setting (370-480°C / 700-900°F).
Slide the topped pizza off the peel and onto the hot stone in the pizza oven.
Bake for 60-90 seconds total, rotating the pizza 180 degrees at the 30-45 second mark to ensure even cooking. Watch the pizza the entire time – it cooks fast.
Pull the pizza out when the crust is well-spotted and the cheese is bubbly. Let rest for 1-2 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Quick Rise vs Overnight Rise: The overnight rise version uses just 1/2 teaspoon of yeast (compared to 2 1/4 teaspoons in the quick rise) because the long, slow cold fermentation gives the yeast plenty of time to work. The overnight version produces a more flavourful, bubbly crust – it's the European-style pizza way. The quick rise is great when you need pizza the same day.

The Dough Will Be a Bit Sticky: This dough has slightly more water than your average bread dough, which is what gives you a chewy, bubbly crumb. Resist the urge to add more flour. Instead, oil your hands and work surface to make the dough easier to handle.

Make-Ahead Instructions: After the first rise, the dough can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or oiled zip-top bag for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature for 1 hour before using.

Freezer Instructions: After the first rise, divide the dough into pizza-sized portions (2, 3 or 4 - it's up to you), shape each into a ball, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place wrapped balls in a freezer-safe zip-top bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temperature for 1 hour before using.

A Note on Flour: This recipe is specifically tested and developed for all-purpose flour, which gives the most reliable, chewy, bubbly result. Bread flour will make the dough too tough; "00" pizza flour makes it too crispy and harder to work with. All-purpose flour is the way to go.

Stretching the Dough: Don't use a rolling pin, which presses out all the air bubbles you spent hours developing. Stretch the dough by hand, working from the centre outward and using your knuckles or the backs of your hands.

Less is More with Toppings: About 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sauce and 1 cup of shredded cheese per 12-inch pizza. Overloading either makes the crust soggy and prevents it from getting crisp.

A Note about Nutrition: This recipe makes one batch of dough, which you can use to make two large pizzas or 3-4 medium ones. The nutritional information for this recipe is provided for 1/4 of the recipe, or one small to medium personal pizza (approximately 12 inches).

Nutrition