Once you see how easy it is to make this pizza dough, you will make it often, and you won’t have to order take out pizza. Nothing is better than homemade!

Pizza Dough.

Now that school has started, pizza could be a great quick and easy week night dinner. You can prep your toppings and the dough ahead of time and dinner will be ready in no time.

Options

This easy pizza dough recipe makes enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, and you have more than one option for making the pizza.

  • You can make the dough, let it rise, and make your pizza the same day, or
  • You can make this pizza dough and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator and simply add your toppings and bake the next day.
  • You can also make two pizzas at one time, or freeze 1/2 of the dough for later.

Easy Pizza Dough Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (between 100 – 110 degrees F)
  • 1 standard packet of yeast (I used Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast), but any active dry yeast will work.
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, (spoon & leveled) or bread flour*
  • Cornmeal, optional

Easy Pizza Dough Instructions

Proof the yeast

  1. Add the warm water, yeast, and sugar to a large warm mixing bowl. (I warmed my water in a measuring cup in the microwave here, then proofed it and added it to my mixing bowl).
  2. Allow it to rest for at least 5 to 7 minutes, or until you see bubbles or foam forming in the mixture. Mix in the salt.

Mix all ingredients together

  1. Add the flour.
  2. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix until all of the flour is moistened, and the dough comes together in a shaggy looking ball, about 1 minute.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands, knead the dough for about 3 minutes, until it’s smooth and springs back when poked with your finger. It should form a smooth ball. 

Note: You can feel free to mix the dough in a stand mixer bowl with the hook attachment if you like. The dough will look a little smoother, but I prefer to knead it by hand. It’s so easy.

Pizza dough.

The rise

  1. Lightly grease a large clean bowl with the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning it over one time, so that both sides are coated with oil. Place a thin kitchen towel over the bowl.
  2. If baking your pizza the same day: Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 70 to 90 minutes. Here’s what I do. I preheat my oven to 120 degrees and turn it off, before starting the recipe. Then when I’m ready to let it rise, I cover the bowl with a thin lint free towel, and place it inside of the oven. I leave the oven door slightly ajar. In the winter, I’ll go ahead and shut the door after 15 minutes. If you don’t want to use your oven for this step, make sure to cover and place the bowl in a warm spot, free of drafts in your kitchen. It might take a little bit longer this way, especially on a cold day.
  3. If you’re baking your pizza the next day: Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, place it in the refrigerator overnight. The dough will slowly rise overnight. The next day, transfer the bowl to a counter about 30 minutes before you’re ready to use it. If it’s not quite doubled in size, leave a few minutes longer. It should look like the picture on the right below when it’s doubled in size.
Pizza Dough.

Punch it down

Punch the dough down with your fist to deflate it.

Divide the dough and form it

  1. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in half. If you’re only making one pizza, freeze or refrigerate the other half.
  2. Form the half into a smooth round disc using flour as needed, but try not to add too much flour. It will result in a tough crust if you over do it.
  3. Using your fingers stretch the dough out into a 12-inch circle. You can also pick it up and allow gravity to pull the bottom down as you hold the top edges and slowly rotate it. Alternately, if you’re an expert, you can toss the dough into the air. I’m not that good. Once you stretch the dough, use your fingers to poke the dough all over to get rid of any air bubbles. Then turn the edges up to make a small rim around the circle of dough.
  4. Rub some olive oil over the top of the dough.
Pizza Dough.

Add toppings and bake

  1. Add your favorite pizza toppings.
  2. Bake the pizza for about 15 to 20 minutes until the edges of the dough are golden brown.
Pizza Dough.

I recently used this dough recipe to make my easy White Pizza recipe pictured above.

Pro tips for this recipe

  • If dough usually sticks to your pizza pan, lightly sprinkle it with cornmeal. This keeps the pizza crust from sticking to the pan. You only need a little. Most restaurants use too much cornmeal and all you taste is the cornmeal on the underneath side of the crust. If you’re using a pizza stone, you might use a little more.
  • In case you have problems with your pizza sticking to your pizza stone, especially if it’s a new one, here’s what I do. (I use my pizza stone for pre-baking pie crust instead of pizza). I place my pizza stone on the bottom rack in my oven and preheat my oven to 475 degrees. Then I place my pizza on a pizza pan and place the pizza pan on top of the pizza stone in the oven. My crust gets perfectly baked.
  • The more toppings that you add to your pizza, the longer it will take to bake. Mine usually bake anywhere from 15 to 17 minutes, but yours might take 20. It depends on the toppings.
  • If you like a mild garlic flavor…I buy an olive oil that’s infused with garlic. I think it’s excellent on pizza dough. Make sure you rub about 1 tablespoon of either olive oil, or if you don’t have it, canola or vegetable oil on top of your dough before adding your toppings. This helps to seal the top crust so it’s not soggy or under baked.
  • If you try stretching your pizza dough and it wants to keep shrinking back into place, allow it to rest for about 5 minutes and try it again. Sometimes the dough just needs to rest for a few minutes. I usually use my hands first, then sometimes my rolling pin to help stretch it out, then I do the final shaping with my fingers.
  • If you use 1/2 of your dough and refrigerate the other half, try to use it within a couple days.
  • If you freeze the dough, rub the disc lightly with olive oil, and place it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place it in the refrigerator overnight.
  • You can use a stand mixer with the dough hook to make this recipe, but you don’t need too. The dough might look a little smoother with the mixer, but I simply mix it with a wooden spoon or spatula then knead it by hand for about 3 minutes.
  • If you prefer a chewier crust you can use bread flour.
Pizza Dough.

If you make this recipe please rate it, and leave a comment below on how you liked it. I love hearing from you! 🙂

Wanna see different recipes each day? Feel free to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, & Instagram.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Pizza Dough.

Easy Pizza Dough Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Cindy @mycountrytable
  • Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 pizzas 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Italian
Print Recipe

Description

This easy pizza dough recipe is enough for 2 pizzas and it’s so easy to make. You can also use half and freeze half for later. You’ll love this easy recipe.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (between 100 – 110 degrees F)
  • 1 standard packet of yeast (I used Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast)
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, (spoon & leveled) or bread flour*
  • Cornmeal, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat an oven to 120 degrees and turn it off.
  2. Proof the yeast: Add the warm water, yeast, and sugar to a large warm mixing bowl. Allow it to rest for at least 5 minutes, or until you see bubbles and foam forming in the mixture. Mix in the salt.
  3. Mix all ingredients: Add the flour, and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix until all of the flour is moistened, and the dough comes together in a shaggy looking ball, about 1 minute.
  4. Knead: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands, knead the dough for about 4 minutes, until it’s smooth and springs back when poked with your finger. It should form a smooth ball.  If it doesn’t spring back, it’s not ready yet. Keep kneading for an additional minute and poke it again. Once it springs back it’s ready to start rising.
  5. Lightly grease a large clean bowl with the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning it over one time, so that both sides are coated with oil. Place a thin kitchen towel over the bowl.
  6. The rise: Place the bowl in the turned off oven, and shut the oven door. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. If you don’t want to use your oven for this step, make sure to place the bowl in a warm spot, free of drafts in your kitchen. If you want to make your pizza the next day, omit this step. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Proceed with step 7 the following day.
  7. Preheat an oven to 475 degrees. Allow the oven to heat while you shape the dough and add your toppings. If you’re using a pizza stone, place it in the oven while the oven preheats.
  8. Deflate the dough: Once the dough has risen, (either in the oven or refrigerator), punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. If it’s been refrigerated overnight, I let it set for about 30 minutes at room temp before using it. Divide the dough in half. If you’re only making one pizza, freeze the other half. See freezing instructions in notes below.**
  9. Shaping the dough: On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a flat disc. Then use your hands to gently stretch the dough out into a 12-inch circle. If the dough tends to bounce back, allow it to rest for about 10 minutes then try it again. Keep stretching the dough gently until you have a 12-inch circle.  Using your fingers, poke the dough on top to remove any air bubbles. Pinch the edges of the dough together and upward to form a rim around the edge.
  10. Add toppings & bake: Lightly brush the dough with olive oil. Add your favorite pizza toppings.
  11. Bake the pizza for about 15 to 20 minutes until the edges of the dough are golden brown.

Notes

  • Prep time includes rising time.
  • *If you want a chewier texture you can use bread flour.
  • **Freezing instructions: To freeze the dough, lightly coat it all over with olive oil. Place the dough in a freezer bag and seal tightly. Try to remove all the air from the bag. I seal the bag, leaving one small opening at one corner. Then I use a straw to suck the air out of the bag. I know…but it works. Later, thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Transfer the dough to a counter and leave it to rest for one hour. Continue with step #7.
  • This dough recipe is enough to make two 12-inch pizzas with a thin crust.
  • If you’re using a pizza stone, sprinkle a small amount of cornmeal over it. This keeps the pizza from sticking to the pizza stone.