Homemade Pizza Dough

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 base 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. You can also turn it into pizza rolls which I really love for lunchbox fillers.

Making the pizza dough is a very 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. Are 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!

Homemade Pizza Dough

A super simple recipe for the best homemade pizza dough...pizza night will never be the same again!

4.94 from 16 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Rising time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 pizzas

Author: Laura

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ cups warm water (325ml)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sugar
• ▢ 3 ¾ cups flour
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons 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. At this point you can also freeze the bases (see notes)
• Add your favourite toppings and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.
• Slice and serve immediately.

Notes

1. To freeze pizza bases, roll out the base and place on a flat tray lined with a piece of baking paper. Place the tray directly into the freezer and freeze overnight. Once the base has frozen, remove from the tray but leave on the baking paper and place the frozen base into a large ziplock bag, an airtight container or wrap tightly in gladwrap and store in the freezer. 
2. When you are ready to use the base, remove it from the freezer and unwrap, place the base on the baking paper directly onto your oven tray, add toppings and bake. No need to let the base thaw all the way before cooking.
3. You can also add your toppings before freezing. I like adding sauce and grated cheese and then adding the rest of the toppings before baking.

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Pizza Dough

Amount per Serving

Calories

670

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

11

g

17

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

6

%

Sodium

 

786

mg

34

%

Potassium

 

192

mg

5

%

Carbohydrates

 

123

g

41

%

Fiber

 

4

g

17

%

Sugar

 

3

g

3

%

Protein

 

17

g

34

%

Calcium

 

27

mg

3

%

Iron

 

7.3

mg

41

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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