A super simple recipe for the best homemade pizza dough that comes together in no time using simple pantry ingredients...pizza night will never be the same again!
Today we will master a recipe that everybody needs to know how to make. Homemade pizza dough!
This is a recipe that can't really be sugar coated. It's nothing fancy, it's not beautiful or covered in salted caramel or the most delicious thing you've ever eaten (hmm, well, that's debatable) but it's one of those recipes that you NEED in your life. Because you like pizza right? Good. Let's continue.
If you like pizza - which I suspect you do because, um hi, this is a whole post talking about how great homemade pizza dough is and I'm thinking if you don't like pizza you must REALLY like me, plus I have never met anyone in my LIFE who doesn't like pizza (do you exist pizza haters?) - you need to know how to make pizza dough. There is no way around it. Store bought pizza crusts are ok, but they've got nothing on homemade. It might seem like a lot of effort in comparison to picking up a base from the supermarket but they are not hard to make. And once you've had homemade pizza crust, you will never go back.
This dough recipe makes a pizza crust that is soft and chewy, just the way I like it. 6 basic ingredients and a little bit of time are all it takes. Yeast, water, flour, salt, sugar and olive oil - all things you probably have in your pantry right now! And when I say it takes time, that is mostly sitting around waiting time, which in my house means time to play with the puppy, not fold the washing and watch re-runs of Friends. Time well spent!
The recipe makes enough for 3 pizzas or 2 deep dish pizza breads <-- coming later this week.
It's a super simple process. Activate the yeast in warm water for 5 minutes, add the flour, salt, sugar and olive oil and knead for 7 minutes. I use my stand mixer for this which makes it even easier but you can definitely do it by hand. It's worth noting that even once the dough is kneaded it will still be quite sticky. This is good! Too much flour makes the base too chewy which is not what you want. As long as you oil the bowl you let the dough rise in and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface when you shape it, it will be fine.
Once the dough has been kneaded, turn it into a large bowl, cover it and let it rise until it has doubled in size. Depending on the temperature where you are, the alignment of the planets and what you had for breakfast that morning it will take between 1 and 2 hours. You with me? Bread rising is super hard to pinpoint for exact time. I had it sitting on a sunny windowsill and it took 1 ½ hours. And in case you were wondering, I had these overnight oats for breakfast.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down gently and split it into 2, 3 or even 4, depending on what size pizzas you are making. Let it rest for 10 minutes and then roll or stretch it out into a pizza base. You can even freeze the dough in portions, pull it out of the freezer and have pizza dough ready for when you get home from work...yussss for you smart people who plan ahead! If you aren't a forward planner, you're still only looking at 2 hours from start to finish so it totally works for a late dinner 😀
Top with your favourite toppings and you have the best Friday night dinner that is a real crowd pleaser.
Homemade pizza dough for the win!
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Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water 325ml
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 3 ¾ cups flour
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add water, yeast and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and combine using the dough hook. Allow to sit for 5 minutes for the yeast to activate.
- Add the remaining ingredients and knead for 7 minutes on the lowest speed. This can also be done by hand.
- Lightly oil a large bowl and once the dough is kneaded, transfer it to the oiled bowl, Cover in gladwrap and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (1-2 hours)
- Once risen, gently punch the dough down and split it into 2 or 3 portions. Leave them to rest for 10 minutes and then stretch and shape them into your pizza bases or wrap well and freeze*.
- Add your favourite toppings and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.
- Slice and serve immediately.
- * To thaw frozen pizza dough, sit it in the fridge for about 8 hours. When you are ready to make the pizza, take the dough out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before continuing from step 4.
Nutrition
Homemade pizza dough is absolutely the best and I love how simple this recipe is! I also love kneading dough by hand, so I love that you included that option--there's something so calming about it, and it lets me imagine I'm a pioneer kneading tomorrow's bread dough or something 😛
Do you know Claire, even when I use my mixer I still take the dough out for the last 2 minutes or so and knead it by hand...it's so satisfying...I totally get that pioneer thing too!! 😀
I seldom make my pizza dough as I'm just to lazy when we decide on a whim to make pizza.
So the base is either foccacia or lebanese bread instead.
My mum however has been playing with fresh pizza doughs, using the bbq to make homemade pizza. I was going to do some tasty pizza recipes on the blog using the BBQ. They come up nice on the BBQ.
I'll have to share this recipe with her, I think she'll love it.
Thanks for linking up to Your Weekly Feed hun. xx
That is usually my problem too...the "I want pizza and I want it NOW" situation! Oh wow, I have never made pizza on the BBQ...I bet they're AWESOME!
Hi Laura, found you pizza dough via Boiled Eggs & Soldiers Your Weekly Feed linkup party. Pinned for later to give a try when I feel like pizza 🙂 See you next linkup x
Hi! So glad you found me! I hope you like it, see you next link up! 🙂
Storebought pizza bases are more often than not super disappointing, I find! They always seem too thick and chewy to me - eugh. Homemade is always best and this recipe looks fantastic. I can't wait to see those pizza recipes, Laura!! x
They are so disappointing! I'm super excited I've finally cracked an awesome base recipe...all things pizza will follow! 🙂