Homemade Pepperoni Pizza has never been easier with this simple recipe made with homemade pizza dough! Easy to follow, minimal ingredients required and always delicious.
Course Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Keyword homemade pizza dough, how to make pizza dough, pepperoni pizza recipe, pizza dough, pizza dough recipe
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, 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!*
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.
to make two 12" pepperoni pizzas-
Preheat oven to 475° F with pizza stone inside. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, use an upside-down cookie sheet with parchment paper.)
Using a pastry cutter or sharp knife, divide dough into 2 even portions.
On a floured surface, gently stretch and spread each dough ball into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to your prepared pan.
Carefully remove hot pizza stones from oven and and transfer to the pizza dough to the stones, repositioning it to keep its shape and cover the entire stone, creating a small edge around the outside to hold the toppings.
Spread about 3/4 cup of pizza sauce evenly over each crust, leaving a small border for the crust.
Sprinkle 2 cups of grated mozzarella over each pizza.
Add pepperoni slices to the top of each pizza.
Optional: Brush the exposed crust with olive oil.
Bake for 9–12 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is golden brown.
Remove from oven, allow to rest for a couple of minutes, then slice and serve.
Notes
*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
Storage Instructions
Leftovers: Store slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 375° F for 8 minutes to crisp back up.
Make Ahead Dough: Refrigerate dough up to 24 hours before using. Let it sit at room temp 30 minutes before stretching.
Freezing Dough: Freeze raw dough portions in freezer bags. Thaw on the counter 6–8 hours before baking.
Freezing Pizza: Bake, cool completely, then wrap tightly in foil and freeze. Reheat at 400° F until hot and bubbly.