Homemade Pizza Dough

This Homemade Pizza Dough is easy and delicious. Ditch delivery and have a pizza-making night with this simple and soft pizza dough.

Pizza is one of my family’s all-time favorite dinners, and this Homemade Pizza Dough is the star of the show! Paired with Homemade Pizza Sauce (or White Pizza Sauce), you can make pizza 100% just the way your family likes it!

homemade pizza = the best pizza

Homemade Pizza is one of our family’s FAVORITE meals to make together. It’s also so much fun to make with other families or friends.

All you’ll need is cheese, seasoning, sauce (red or white), and your favorite toppings.

Then make THIS Homemade Pizza Dough for the world’s most perfect delicious at-home pizza. The smell of fresh pizza cooking in the oven is pure heaven.

All that melted cheese and tasty toppings cooking together on top of a soft and crispy dough – just can’t be beat.

How to Make Pizza Dough

This easy Pizza Dough recipe is simple and delicious. And don’t be afraid of yeast! I swear it’s more simple than you think. Say it with me: “I can do it!”

PREP. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.

DOUGH. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes, or until bubbly.

• Add salt and oil, then mix in flour 1 cup at a time with a wooden spoon until combined and the dough is soft and slightly sticky. Knead for about 3 minutes (dough will be sticky and will stick to your hands).
• Cover the dough with a tea towel and let rise at room temperature for 30–45 minutes.
• This dough makes four 12-inch pizza crusts. Divide dough into four pieces and roll each out onto a floured surface to about ½ inch thick.
• Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel and, working with one crust at a time, transfer the rolled-out dough to the peel.
• Brush with olive oil and poke with a fork a few times to eliminate bubbling while baking.

BAKE. At this point, there are a few different ways to cook the dough. Our favorite way is with a pizza stone.

• Pizza stone. Use the peel to transfer the crust to the preheated pizza stone and blind bake for 6–8 minutes. Remove from the oven, and add sauce, cheese, pizza seasoning, pepperoni, and any other desired toppings. Bake for 8–10 more minutes.
• Without a pizza stone. Use a peel to transfer the crust to the preheated baking sheet and blind bake for 6–8 minutes. Remove from the oven, add toppings and bake for 8–10 more minutes.

To skip blind baking: While the dough is still on the peel, add sauce, cheese, pizza seasoning, and other toppings. Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone or baking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes. Repeat with the remaining crusts and toppings.

Recipe Tips

Crust. Follow these tips for the best crust:

• Fold the outer edge of the dough round over to have a crust.
• Bake the dough for at least 5 minutes before adding toppings. This will ensure the crust is cooked properly.
• Using a pizza stone will help it cook more evenly, but it doesn’t need to be baked on a pizza stone – any baking sheet works.
• Bake the dough on the lowest oven rack to make sure the dough is closest to the heat.
• If the dough starts to bubble, use a fork to poke a hole in the bubble so it doesn’t puff up too much.

Kneading the dough. This step is quite important to give the best pizza dough texture. If kneading by hand, do so on a lightly floured work surface.

Take note that it can take up to 20 minutes. Using a standing mixer with a dough hook, on low speed, only takes about 10 minutes.

Rise time. The dough rises more quickly in a warmer environment. I like to place the dough in a metal bowl and then place that bowl on top of a bowl of hot water. (Make sure the water is not touching the bowl of dough).

The steam from the water will heat up the metal bowl and cause the dough to rise more quickly. When the dough has increased in volume, poke it with your finger. If it springs back, then it is ready to divide into balls.  

Yeast. Use rapid rise or active dry yeast in this recipe. If using active dry yeast, add ¼ teaspoon of active dry yeast to the recipe and add about 15-20 more minutes of rise time. 

Temperature. 450° is super hot, but it is exactly that hot air that will allow the crust to rise with a crisp yet chewy bake.

Pizza variations

Cheesy stuffed crust. Roll the dough about 2-3 inches larger than normal. Use mozzarella cheese sticks or slice your own cheese to a similar size.

Line the perimeter of the dough with the cheese, then the dough over the cheese, and press to seal the edges. Finish preparing the pizza as directed in the recipe.  

Shaped pizza crust. Instead of rolling the dough into a circle, roll it into any desired shape: heart, rectangle, or square. 

Cheese. We love mozzarella cheese the best, but you can also use cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, gouda cheese, or cheese blend.

Toppings. Use pepperoni, chicken, sausage, veggies (olives, peppers, onions, mushrooms), sliced tomatoes, pineapple, or any of your favorites!

Storing info

Since this recipe makes 4 pizzas and depending on the size of your family, you may not need all four. Simply freeze the rest for later.

Make ahead of time. Cook the crust for 8-12 minutes. Cool and wrap in Saran Wrap. Store the crust at room temperature for a couple of days or in the freezer for 1-2 months.

Since the dough is completely cooked, simply bake the assembled pizza until the toppings are hot and the cheese has melted.

STORE. Once the Pizza Dough Recipe has risen for the first time, cover it with a thin layer of olive oil and place it into a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Though it’s best at about day 3 in the refrigerator, the dough can last 7-10 days longer.

• When you’re ready to use the dough, take the bowl out and allow the dough to proof to room temperature before dividing and shaping.

FREEZE. After the Pizza Dough has been mixed let it proof/rise for 1-2 hours. Punch it down and DO NOT let it rise a second time. 

Divide the dough into 4 equal sections. Dust each dough ball with flour or lightly with olive oil. Place in separate freezer Ziploc bags and label. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months

THAW. Either thaw at room temperature for at least 2 hours or thaw in the fridge for 6-8 hours. Then, let the Homemade Pizza Dough sit at room temperature for another 30 minutes. 

• For a thin crust: roll out, top and bake. 
• For a thick crust: roll out and let rise for 30 additional minutes before topping and baking. 

Freeze an assembled pizza

Follow the steps to make a freezer pizza. They’ll keep in the freezer for 4-6 months.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. The dough will be partially baked which is why the oven doesn’t need to be as hot. Bake the plain crust for 7-9 minutes.
2. Allow it to cool for about 3 minutes on the pan. Then, place it on a cooling rack and let the crust completely cool before adding the toppings.
3. Place the crust back onto a cooled baking pan and add toppings, make sure all the ingredients are cool.
4. Flash-freeze the pizza for 3-4 hours.
5. Remove from the pan and wrap frozen pizza with plastic wrap then again with aluminum foil. Label and return to the freezer.
6. To heat: Preheat oven to 375°F and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pizza is hot throughout and the cheese has melted.

What to serve with pizza

We love that this Best Pizza Dough Recipe is fail-proof and so simple. You’ll want to make this recipe at least once a week (it’s that good). My kids are always begging to make Homemade Pizza – it’s simply delicious.

I hope you give this easy pizza dough a try. Invite all of your friends over for a summer pizza party! Bake a whole bunch of different pizzas and slice them all for everyone to try a piece or two. Sounds like a fun party to me!

• Pizza Salad
• Pesto Salad
• Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks
• Cheesy Garlic Bread

use this dough for these delicious pizzas:

• Bacon Breakfast Pizza
• Strawberry Nutella Pizza
• Chicken Alfredo Pizza
• Steak Fajita Pizza
• Barbecue Chicken Pizza
• Caprese Pizza
• Easy Taco Pizza