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Homemade pizza has never been easier with this easy homemade Pizza Dough Recipe! Easy to follow, minimal ingredients required and always delicious. Turn your pizza dough into Stromboli, calzones or just whip up a plain old pie. You will love this recipe!
This is the BEST Pizza Dough Recipe with Yeast
The hardest part of pizza making at home is the crust. I’ve been making my own pizza dough for years but I could never get it just right. It was never chewy and/or crispy enough. But after lots of testing and switching over to bread flour, I recently perfected my crust, getting it up to par with the pizza restaurants. I did lots of research and lots of testing and I’m so happy to share this recipe with you today. It really is the BEST Pizza Dough Recipe!
If you’re looking for a whole wheat option try my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe!
Pizza Dough Recipe Easy ingredients
Ok, friends, here’s the list of ingredients you’ll need to make the best homemade pizza dough ever. Nothing crazy or out of the ordinary:
- Warm Water – warm water helps the yeast bloom faster. But if the water is too hot it can kill the yeast. So be careful!
- Yeast – fast acting or regular old active dry yeast is fine! This makes the pizza dough rise. This is my favorite brand.
- Honey – to help activate the yeast. You can use granulated sugar in a pinch.
- Salt – to season the dough.
- Olive Oil – or canola oil. The difference is the taste.
- Bread Flour – the best flour for pizza dough due to higher gluten content, yielding a chewier crust.
What kind of flour is best for Homemade Pizza Dough
For homemade breads, I always suggest using Bread Flour. Bread Flour has higher gluten content (12-14%) which gives you that chewy texture you want for a Ciabatta, French Bread or Pizza Dough. Kneading the dough develops gluten as you go, but starting with a flour that has a higher gluten to begin with is the trick for pizza dough that is just like the kinds you’d buy from the store or get at a restaurant. King Arthur Flour is my favorite bread flour.
In a pinch, you can absolutely use all-purpose flour which has a lower gluten content (8-11%), so the results won’t be quite as chewy but (pro tip!) if you knead the dough a little longer, you can develop more gluten and make it work. If you don’t have bread flour, don’t let that stop you from making this recipe. It will absolutely work with all purpose.
How to make Easy Pizza Dough
Step 1: Proof the Yeast
In a large mixing bowl, preferably the bowl of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Let yeast mixture sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking.
Step 2: Stir in Flour, Salt & Olive Oil
With the mixer on low, add in salt, oil and half the flour.
Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it, it doesn’t stick to your hands. The dough should also be cleaning the sides of the bowl but still sticking to the bottom. This is normal!
Step 3: Knead
Once you reach this stage, turn the mixer on a low to medium speed to knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away! Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes! That seems to be the magical number. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean!
Step 4: Rise
Lightly grease the bowl & the ball of dough with olive oil so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature 1-2 hours or until it’s doubled in size. That’s it! If your house is on the cooler side, place it in your oven with the light on.
Now you can turn this dough into anything your little heart desires (maybe try grilling your pizza). Divide into 2 separate dough balls if you want two 12″ pizzas, which is what this recipe makes. Feel free to divide them again for personal pan pizzas so everyone can choose their favorite toppings! To spread the dough you can use a rolling pin but I always just use my hands!
Forming, rolling and stretching your pizza dough into round pizzas shouldn’t be hard! I have found two main reasons why it can sometimes be difficult:
– You’ve kneaded too much flour into the dough, thus creating a dry dough making it difficult to rise and form into pizza crusts
– If you haven’t let your pizza dough rest long enough after kneading, the gluten won’t have relaxed, thus making it hard to roll out or stretch into a thin pizza crust.
Solutions? There isn’t much you can do about dry dough. It’s so difficult to knead liquid into already dry dough, so be sure to be careful when kneading flour into it initially. Better to err on the side of sticky dough than too dry if you’re worried. You can always knead more flour into your pizza dough. If it keeps shrinking as you’re trying to roll it out, try letting your dough sit and rest a little longer to let that gluten relax.
How to make pizzas with this Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
Your pizza dough should be easy to work with and be easily pressed out and formed into round pizzas. You can either use a rolling pin, use your fingers to stretch and press out the dough into a round shape or you can try tossing the pizza dough up in the air (like they do at those old school pizzerias) and use the back of your hands (think loose fists) to stretch the dough into shape. Boom. Hand tossed pizza!
Making this Pizza Dough Recipe with Yeast ahead of time
If you aren’t interested in freezing your dough but still want to prepare it ahead of time, you can! Follow the directions all the way through and then cover and refrigerate for up to three days. Letting your pizza dough sit in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 18-24 hours really develops that delicious yeasty flavor. Not a necessary step but a delicious one. Next time you make pizza dough, give this a try! It’s tasty 🙂
How to make cheesy garlic bread sticks from the Best Pizza Dough
I turned my pizza dough recipe into delicious Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks. Buttery, salty, cheesy, garlic-y goodness. 9 minutes in a hot oven and these bubbly bites come out ready to be eaten. And made our kitchen smell divine. Give them a whirl this weekend! (Recipe is found in the pizza dough recipe card down below in the notes section.)
- Preheat oven to 500° F with pizza stone inside. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, use an upside-down baking sheet.)
- Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
- Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. (This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.)
- Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired. (That step is totally optional!)
- Bake 9-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and cool 1-2 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, with marinara.
Pizza Dough Recipe Easy tips and tricks
Here are the details of my pizza dough recipe that you are going to want to know:
- Use Warm Water – not hot, not cold. Pleasantly warm. Yeast likes warmth. Don’t overthink this step. If it feels nice and warm like baby bathwater, then you’re good. If the water is too hot, you will kill your yeast. Aim for 107-110° F.
- Use Honey – I seem to get better results with honey, but you can use sugar if you prefer.
- Bread Flour – you must must must use bread flour. Bread flour means more gluten. More gluten means chewy crust. Chewy crust = good. The end.
- Knead, Knead, Knead – Kneading means gluten! And we all know what gluten means. Knead your dough for 6 minutes pretty please.
- Use a Pizza Stone – This is a great pizza stone. Put it in your cold oven, and then crank that baby up to the hottest temperature it will go to. For me, it was 500° F. Let the stone preheat in that extremely hot oven for at least 30 minutes before using. That will really give you a crispy crust like you get at the restaurants. If you don’t have a pizza stone use an upside-down baking sheet.
Can I freeze Homemade Pizza Dough?
Yes(!!!) you can freeze this pizza dough recipe to save it for later. And it’s the perfect recipe to do this because it makes two 12″ medium pizzas! Use half now and the rest later.
To Freeze: Simply follow the directions all the way stopping after you knead the dough for 6 minutes. This is the point when you could freeze your dough!! Divide into portions, place into freezer bags, seal, removing all air, and freeze for up to three months.
To Use: Remove from the freezer and place the frozen dough in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it defrost, then rise until it has doubled in size; 6 hours or so, depending how warm or cold your kitchen is. Then use it as you’d like.
Best Pizza Dough FAQ
30 minutes is the bare minimum you’ll want your dough to rest. Letting your pizza dough sit in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 18-24 hours really develops that delicious yeasty flavor.
For a more yeasty dough, cold fermentation works wonders. Add olive oil to the crust. Mix in dried herbs like rosemary or oregano into the raw dough. Add honey or sugar to the raw dough. Brush cooked dough with garlic butter. If you have sourdough starter, consider adding it to your pizza dough.
Need More Pizza Recipe Ideas?
I’ve got you covered, check out all of my pizza recipes here! Or just click on some of my favorites below:
- Margherita Pizza
- Chicken Alfredo Pizza
- Country BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Pesto Pizza
- Mediterranean Pizza
- Bruschetta Pizza
More Favorites from Lauren’s Latest
Be sure to save/print/bookmark this pizza crust recipe for your next pizza night, it’s a good one! The printable recipe card is below, enjoy. 🙂
If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.
Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water aim for 107-110° F
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups bread flour give or take 1/2 cup, depending on the heat & humidity
Instructions
Pizza dough instructions-
- In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking.
- Pour in salt, olive oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it, it doesn't stick to your hands.
- Once you reach this stage, knead on low for 6 minutes. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be mostly clean! (*This is the point when you could freeze your dough!! Divide into portions, place into freezer bags, seal removing all air, and freeze. To use, remove from freezer and let sit out to get to room temperature and double in size; 6-8 hours. Then use as you'd like.)
- Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Once pizza dough has risen, you can use as desired.
Video
Notes
- Preheat oven to 500° F with pizza stone inside. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, use an upside-down cookie sheet.)
- Mix 2 tbsp salted butter and 2 cloves of minced garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
- Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.
- Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with 1/4 cup parmesan and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired. (That step is totally optional!)
- Bake 9-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and cool 1-2 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, with marinara.
Have you tried freezing half of it for later? What is a good defrosting method?
I have a recipe to add to your pizza dough masterpiece. Sauce!
Here’s my favorite sauce recipe. It makes a lot so you can freeze it in 2 cup increments. 2 c sauce = 1 pizza. It takes two hours to simmer so I make it just start it before I start dinner. By the time I make dinner, serve it and clean it up, (I’ve been stirring it occassionally while in the kitchen) it’s time to take it off the heat and let it cool down a bit while I get the kids in bed. Then I put it into ziplocs for flat freezing.
Pizza Sauce
-saute 4 tsp. garlic and 4 tbsp olive oil for 2 min in pan. add:
4 28 oz cans diced tomatoes (112 oz total)
1 c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
-simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Mash tomatoes with potato masher. Freeze in quart-size bags for pizza.
[…] laurenslatest.com via Sophie on […]
[…] out Lauren’s Latest to the recipe for these Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks. Yummy! These would go perfectly with a weekly pizza […]
Hi,
I made these today for our family SuperBowl party-yum! My youngest child could NOT stop eating them!
I’m linking to this page on my blog. Thanks!
Hi-
This looks great and super easy! I’m wondering if I can freeze it? About to have baby two and looking for some easy frozen meals! 🙂
Yes, you can freeze it!
I have a question- Can you make this by hand if you don’t have a kitchen aid mixer? I want to make it for Super Bowl snacks for my family (I’m 13). And if you don’t have bread flour will it turn out okay? Thank you so much. 🙂
This recipe will work just fine if you knead it by hand with all purpose flour.
All your recipes are so easy and well worth the time to make from scratch! I’m looking for a thin pizza crust recipe to which I can add herbs – need less carbs but it still should be able to hold a few veggies and a little cheese. Any ideas? Thanks!
Google cauliflower pizza crust- it’s amazing!!
I have searched and searched for the perfect dough recipe!! I’m so excited to say this is the BEST pizza dough I have ever made!! Thank you!!
[…] We want you to bring your best game! Think of weighty appetizers like Loaded Baked Potato Dip, Pizza Dough and Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks, Sriracha Honey Buffalo wings, or Asian Turkey Meatballs then round out these hot and savoury […]
I was wondering if you can use a regular eletric hand held mixer to make this?
[…] From Lauren’s Latest […]
[…] homemade pizza for dinner (I use the Fail-Proof Pizza Dough recipe for my […]
I don’t have a large kitchen-Aid Mixer, so do you think that this would be a big undertaking by-hand? It looks so yummy! Thank you for posting! And how do you keep so small if you eat this once a week?
I’d say knead this by hand for an extra minute. It’s really not too bad! I’ve done it by hand before! And, I go to the gym…a lot!
[…] — Homemade using Basic Pizza Dough […]
So when u put th dough in the oven at 500 degrees do u go ahead and put the toppings on it first or cook the dough for a bit then put the toppings on? And do u turn the oven down at all?
Make the entire pizza on the uncooked dough and put the whole thing into a preheated 500 degree oven. Don’t turn the oven down! Watch your pizza carefully–should be done around 8 minutes!
Can you freeze easy pizza dough?
So, I ran across your page and gave this a try. It was a stretch getting the dough to “take” 2 cups of flour, let alone 3 (we must be pretty dry around here today!). I did replace some bread flour with whole wheat (1/2- 3/4), and added a pinch of water to help it become incorporated fully. This dough is SO forgivable! I forgot about it for several hours, then by the time I remembered it was too late to cook…so I just tossed it in the fridge overnight. The next day, it baked up beautifully for some of the most magical cheese sticks.
Thanks so much for the amazing recipe!!
Whole wheat flour sucks up liquids much faster than regular bread or all purpose flour…that’s why you used less flour. Glad everything still worked out!! 🙂
Ok, so I plan on making a large batch of the dough & then freezing. Has anyone tried this? I plan on quadrupling the recipe & then when dough is done divide it into 4 equal pieces & then freeze.
Bread dough freezes wonderfully! Then can take it out & put it in the greased bowl covered with plastic wrap. It can thaw & rise. It will just take longer like 3 -4 hours to thaw & rise.
Next month, I’m getting a Bosch mixer….I think I can do up to about 8 recipes at a time with it. Will try 4 at first. Eventually, I would like to try with wheat flour.
I would love to have a healthy pizza dough that is still convenient to use by just taking it out of the freezer. I have so many good recipes that call for pizza dough!
This was my first attempt at making homemade dough and it was so easy. I only used about 2cups of flour total and it turned out great. Very easy to work with after the dough had time to rise for 2 hours. Will no longer be buying the dry pizza crust mix. Thanks so much for sharing.
Do you start the timer when it goes in the oven or when the oven reaches 500 degrees?
You put the cheesy bread into the 500 degree oven. Once it’s in there, start the timer.
So delish! Easy to make and work with. The garlic bread… the best I’ve ever had! Thanks for sharing!
I dont have a kitchen aide mixer but I do have a bread maker! Do you think I could make the dough in it?
Yes, it should work!
I have never ever dared to do anything with yeast before. Got this link from a friend and dared to try it out. Amazing. This dough is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you SO much for this recipe. I spotted it on pinterest. This was the first from scratch pizza dough I have made and it did indeed turn out perfect. Really easy and the crust was lovely! I made the garlic cheese bread and the whole family loved it. One question/tip? What is your technique for stretching out the dough, do you do it by hand? A rolling pin? I tried on parchment paper but the paper moved all over the place and was super thin in the middle, super thick on the edges… so I ended up kind of stretching it between two fists and letting gravity help, then put it in the pan and stretched it further from there. Thank you so much!!
I try to stretch it and make the dough bigger just with my hands in the air, sort of like the people at the pizza parlors, except I don’t look as cool. Then once it’s a little bigger, I put it on my pizza pan and punch it out to even out the dough. Then the last thing I do is press it out with my fingers. I’ve never used a rolling pin…just my hands! Hope that helps!
Thank you for the help… I too don’t look as “cool” stretching it out either lol.
I made this the other night and did one sausage and olive pizza and one garlic cheesy bread. The only thing I changed was to use half King Arthur bread flour and half freshly ground hard white wheat. My family loved both and said the cheesy bread tasted like it came from a restaurant. Thanks!
Hey there. Thanks so much for recipes. I will surely try them. We have movie night each FRI with our kids and we normally make our own. Like you, we like our crust, but it’s never “just” right. I am excited to try yours.
I wanted to ask a question….What type of sauce do you use for regular pepperoni pizzas? We usually buy marinara (I can’t stand jarred pizza sauce).
I use Prego. Just the plain original or traditional kind.
I also hate jarred pizza sauce but found that Hy-Vee brand pizza sauce in a can is very, very good. And only 99 cents! If you don’t have hy-vee, I would suggest any other canned pizza sauces. It’s trial and error.
This is the EXACT recipe I use except I use all purpose gluten free flour blend from Dakota Prairie to make it gluten free and safe for us to eat! Best recipe ever…. THANKS!
I found this through Pinterest & can’t wait to try it. I have gluten to add to my regular flour — so I’ll have to experiment with it a little. I want to try it for our Friday pizza night – but doubt I’ll be able to get out to store today for bread flour. We’ve been experimenting with pizza doughs & decided to get the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten to add to our regular flour for pizza dough making (hubby did all the research on is smart phone while we were shopping a few months back).
This looks like the kind of thing that would make my husband SUPER happy 🙂
Dear Lauren
I have been wanting to find a pizza dough recipe that was easy for a very very long time! Thank You so much for being so generous with your gift!!! I will def be making this soon!! Rita
Do you let your dough rise in a particular way? Under heat, in frig, etc. Thanks for the fantastic recipie!
I just set mine on the counter. Nothing fancy!
This is now my daughters favorite “dinner”. Gotta luv finicky klids lol. atleast tonight when I said we need a vegetable with dinner she said “ok I’ll have corn with my cheesy bread” lolol
thanks bunches, and super easy!
Hi! This sounds really great. Do I really HAVE to use the bread flour?
If you don’t use bread flour, you won’t get the same result. If you’re going to use all purpose flour, knead the dough an extra minute.
Thanks! I’m going to make the garlic cheesy bread, looks sooo yummy!
Candace I used regular flour and it was still awesome!!!
Question, I have never heard of grated mozzarella cheese. I found shaved and shredded, but not grated….
And what exactly do you mean by “get the real stuff” when it comes to grated parmesan?
Grated is the same as shredded. In this case, I want you to buy a block of mozzarella and grate or shred it yourself. Real parmesan cheese is called Parmigiano Reggiano and it will say so on the rind.
I love the photos showing the correct consistency of the dough. That’s the part of dough making that I’m always unsure but your pics are a huge help! I am definitely trying this recipe. Great job!
This looks so good! Do you think there is a way you can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate or do you think you have to use the dough right away?
Totally refrigeratable!
I tried this recipe and they were DELICIOUS! My fiance and I loved them. My do not look as good as your however, since my oven is the devil, but they were truly incredible. I didn’t use the garlic though since my fiance doesn’t like garlic, but they were still fantastic. You are right the dough is fail proof! Thank you so much. I also blogged about my experience with it. 🙂
http://scottierica.blogspot.com/2012/01/cheesy-garlic-bread-sticks-minus-garlic.html
OMG! I just made this but added 1 tbsp + of garlic powder to the dough…..holy cow my finicky 9 yr old thought it was the best crust ever!!! tyvm
I used this recipe to make cheesy garlic bread and a pizza… it’s the best pizza crust I’ve ever made! The 1-2 hours of waiting time is worth it!
This was a huge hit in my house!! Made it just as above and it was great! Thank you!
Can you make this with whole wheat flour and if so would you use the same amount?
I just made pizza, using a stone and it is amazing! Crispy bottom, chewy crust. I will be sharing this recipe with all my friends. Thank you!
Guess what’s for dinner!?! I will get back to you after cleaning up from the drooling my family will be doing in anticipation!
[…] I need to try making these cheesy garlic bread sticks. […]
I am hoping you get this in the next 2 hours :p I want to make this tonight. I was going to go home at lunch time and make the dough and let it rise….will it matter if I let it rise for 5 hours? I have to come back to work….and by the time I get home I won’t really have time to make the dough and then let it air or 2 hours 🙂
Laureen – this recipe looks great and given all the positive comments, I can’t wait to try it! Do you pre-cook the pizza dough before topping it?
I know someone mentioned cooking on the [pizza stone on the] grill, which is one of my favorite ways to cook pizza in the summer, and she suggested pre-cooking on booth sides which is usually what I do with a store bought crust (I know, shame on me!).
I’ve never pre-baked my crusts. Always put the toppings on and bake it all together in a really hot oven!
[…] start this week off, I made a double batch of pizza dough using my new favorite recipe . Thanks Lauren – I love this recipe! I actually made the dough a few hours before my cooking […]
I love it all except the part about waiting 1-2 hours for it to rise. I don’t get home from work until 5:30, so it would be almost 8:00 before we could eat. Any way to make this up ahead of time and keep it until it’s ready to use?
You can make the dough in the morning before work, cover it and let it rise in the fridge. Then let it sit out 30 minutes before trying to work with it. That should work just fine! Good luck!
[…] pinned this recipe for Joey, who loves making homemade pizza. It’s a recipe by Lauren’s Latest called “Fail-Proof Pizza Dough and Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks.” This recipe was fantastic! It tasted exactly like the Olive Garden’s flat bread pizza […]
How can I adjust this for a bread machine, since I don’t have a stand mixer ? This looks soo yummy, I must make!