Easy Pizza Dough
Published
Published
No electric mixer or fancy pizza dough hook needed for this Quick and Easy Pizza Dough Recipe. Mix everything in one bowl, let rise for an hour, knead just a couple times, and that’s it! Makes 2 large pizzas, cut in thirds for 3 medium pizzas, or quarter it for individual pizzas. Foolproof homemade pizza crust every time!
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5 STAR REVIEWS
I went from being terrified of yeast, to getting my feet wet with these Cheese Zombies and making homemade sandwich bread, to being completely obsessed with this pizza dough recipe.
A couple of years ago, my husband bought me a pizza steel and fun pizza toppings dice for my birthday >> which, btw, was clearly just as much a present for him, as it was for me! I don’t think, however, he knew how much pizza he was about to eat from now until eternity.
This is truly the best easy pizza dough recipe. It’s so straightforward and simple combing water, yeast, flour, olive oil, a bit of sugar and salt. You don’t need any special equipment, just a couple bowls and a wooden spoon, with barely any kneading and it only needs to rise once. Sometimes I go through a batch a week!
Helpful Tips and Variations
- Use fresh yeast for the dough. You know the yeast is still good if it foams. If not, toss it and get a new batch. (For reference, one packet of yeast contains ¼ ounce or approximately 2¼ teaspoons, so you would need 4½ teaspoons for this recipe.)
- Don’t go crazy on the toppings. I know, I know…it’s hard to resist the urge. But the best pizza pies actually have fewer toppings.
- Bake your pizzas as hot as your oven will go (generally 500-550 degrees F.)
- Use a good, heavy, baking stone or steel. They hold tons of heat energy, releasing it quickly into a pizza as it bakes, giving it a crispier crust.
- Swap with avocado oil. Feel free to replace the olive oil with avocado oil, if desired.
- Give a little garlicky flavor to this crust by adding in a teaspoon of garlic powder with the flour.
- Speed up the rise time! In the winter time, place the bowl of dough on a heating pad (set to low) to aid in the rising time.
Easy Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1½ cups lukewarm water, (105-110F)
- 4½ teaspoons instant dry yeast, (see note)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for bowl and drizzling
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for work surface
Instructions
- Pour the water into a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, oil, and salt. Add flour and stir until a sticky dough forms.
- Lightly brush another large bowl with a little olive oil. Place dough inside and drizzle a little oil over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until dough is pillowy and has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead 2 to 3 times, forming into a round. Let rest for about 10 more minutes.
- Use right away or store as is for 2 large pizzas (14-16 inches), cut in thirds for 3 medium pizzas, or divide into 4 equal portions for individual pizzas.For recipe tips, ways to use it, baking instruction for crispy crust, and proper storage information, please refer to the full article.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How To Make Easy Pizza Dough Step By Step
Gather your ingredients.
Pour 1½ cups lukewarm water (105-110F) into a large bowl; sprinkle 2 packets instant dry yeast (¼ ounce each) and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in 2 teaspoons sugar, ¼ cup olive oil, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt.
Add 4 cups spooned and leveled all-purpose flour and stir until a sticky dough forms.
Lightly brush another large bowl with a little olive oil. Place dough inside and drizzle a little oil over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until dough is pillowy and has doubled in size.
Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead 2 to 3 times, forming into a round. Let rest for about 10 more minutes.
Use right away or store as is for 2 large pizzas, cut in thirds for 3 medium pizzas, or divide into 4 equal portions for individual pizzas. (Storage information below.)
How To Make Pizza Crust Crispy
How you bake the pizza dough will depend on what you’re using it for. But for a simple pizza, this is my suggestion on baking the dough for a crispy crust:
- Use a pizza stone and a very hot oven. With a pizza stone in the oven, preheat to 500-550 degrees F for at least 30 minutes (preferably an hour.)
- Shape the dough. Place dough on some lightly floured parchment paper; starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick round. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.
- Go easy on the toppings. Transfer parchment with the flattened dough to a peel or baking sheet. Brush with a little olive oil, then your sauce and toppings (do not load up each pizza with a ton of toppings as the crust won’t end up crispy that way.)
- Bake. Slide the pizza, along with the parchment, off of the peel and onto the baking stone in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, then sprinkle a little more cheese and bake for another 2 minutes until melted.
Ways To Use Pizza Dough
This dough is incredibly versatile. My favorite way to use it is with my homemade marinara sauce for Margherita Pizza, Hawaiian pizza, BBQ Chicken Pizza, or Breakfast Pizza! But it’s great for stromboli, calzones, pizza rolls, and breadsticks, too.
How To Store Pizza Dough
- Let dough finish rising. After your dough is made, whether you use it for 2 large pizzas, 3 medium, or quarter it, the dough round/s will continue to rise and expand for at least another hour. Don’t store it until it’s finished rising.
- Fridge. After it’s finished rising, cover in plastic wrap and then place in the fridge. Dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer. To freeze, allow the dough to completely finish rising, cover in plastic wrap and then place in a resealable freezer-safe bag. (Divide in half or in quarters before freezing.) Dough will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw. Ideally, thaw frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator overnight. If you forget, setting the dough out on a counter and allowing it to defrost at room temperature for a few hours is also fine.
More Easy Bread Recipes We Love
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
My Easy Pizza Dough recipe was originally published 10/16/20. It was retested and republished to be better than ever 2/28/26.
I would to know how long do you keep it on the heating pad to rise & do you set it at low
Thank You for all your great recipes!!
Just until it doubles in size – time can vary, but typically about 1 hour.
Made the recipe tonight. Its in the oven,and looks great. Froze half for some other time.
Canadian bacon and pepperoni with a little chopped peppers and onion and mushroom. Forgot to grease parchment. Hope it comes off. Thank you. Love your recipes. Made the,Salisbury Steak last week.
I’ve used this recipe twice now and it’s delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I love watching your videos and I enjoy you having your family on them.
Hello Amy!
Just made this tonight. I must say it was absolutely amazing! Easy and delicious. Your tip about using a heating pad was brilliant. This is definitely going to be our pizza dough recipe. Thank you very much.
Love your pizza dough recipe..thank you..I could never make it..but tried yours& woola😅 it was great!!!! And your smile is beautiful.
Yes, I made this pizza dough saw the recipe on YouTube, turned out fantastic! Best pizza dough recipe I have found!
This is the absolute best pizza dough I’ve ever made!
I always overthink my pizza dough. How come I mess it up so often? This dough recipe is no fuss, which I think is the answer to my problem. Don’t overwork it. Keep the toppings light so you’re not saturating the dough.
Perfect pizza dough. Will never uae any other recipe. I did use rapid rise yeast that made it quicker! Thanks!
Best pizza dough ever. I added a little granulated garlic to the dough which was delicious. I’ll never make any other dough
Are you saying leave the parchment paper under the dough when you transfer to board in oven? Meaning bake it with parchment under it?
yep
Is it cool to use unbleached all purpose with a slightly higher gluten, or would that require more kneading? Also one dough for 16 inch be fine?
Hi Doug – unbleached AP flour will work fine. And yes, the 2 pound dough round can accommodate a large 16 inch pizza. Enjoy!
Great recipe
3rd time……great….ez…..tkx
I have just made this for the family in our pizza oven and it the best dough I have ever had easy to make and taste out this world and has made about 3x 10-12 inch pizza and still got loads of dough left could easily make another 3 x10 -12 inch pizzas we love it thank you so much will be 100% making this from now on forget the shop brought stuff this is just out this world
Works great. I use 3 cups OO flour and 1 cup bread flour instead for a crispy crust
If refrigeration is necessary, do you refrigerate after the first rise or the second 10 minute rise? And then how long does it need to sit out before baking?
Let it rise completely before storing. It will continue to rise even after the second rise.
Just made this Pizza dough, thank you so much for sharing, we love it, getting ready to make the second one, such a easy recipe, we sprinkled some cornmeal on the bottom
Very easy to make and turns out every time. Easy to stretch to fit your pizza pan.
Always been afraid to try my own pizza dough. We ran out of the pre-made/heat and serve ones we usually buy. I will probably never buy them again. Best pizza dough EVER!!!!
This recipe never ever fails me – I’ve used it over a dozen times. Thank you for sharing this gem!
This recipe was amazing and so easy to follow. I doubled the batch as we were making a lot of personal size pizzas. I did add garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning to the dough and let it sit over night. This will definitely be our easy and delicious go to dough