Homemade Pizza Dough

When making homemade pizza, go the extra mile and make your own Homemade Pizza Dough! This pizza dough recipe from Rebecca Lindamood’s cookbook, Ready, Set, Dough!, is without a doubt the best homemade pizza dough I have ever made. Just 5 ingredients and simple instructions make enough dough for THREE pizzas, and it is now the ONLY dough I will use to make my Pepperoni Bread.

This post will show you not only all the ins and outs of homemade pizza dough, but you’ll also get some great tips for making and baking pizza, as well as some new recipes to try with this easy dough recipe!

Why You Should Make Your Own Pizza Dough

Making your own dough brings your pizza game to a whole new level! You can experiment with taste and texture, and the freshness can’t be beaten.

Another advantage is saving some money. With the cost of everything rising these days, the ingredients for making pizza from scratch cost far less than ordering take-out pizza, and your ingredients stretch further to make multiple pizzas!

You can get the whole family in on pizza night, too! One person makes the dough, another makes the sauce, and even your youngest kids can help with the pizza toppings! You might just want it to be pizza night every night of the week! Pair this great recipe with strawberry spinach salad and it will be a dinner the family won’t soon forget. 

You can skip the pizza restaurant and make THE best pizza pie at home thanks to Rebecca Lindamood of Foodie with Family, and her cookbook, Ready, Set, Dough! Beginner Breads for All Occasions. Rebecca most definitely knows her stuff and her way around the kitchen. She’s a phenomenal teacher as well, giving clear and easy instructions in ALL of her recipes – whether in her books or on her blog. 

I cannot stress this enough– you and everyone you know need this cookbook! And I’m not saying that because Rebecca’s a really good friend or because she’s a fellow avid Red Sox fan. If you like carbs (and I know you do!), and or baking bread, this book is a must-have in every kitchen. From the World’s Fastest Sandwich Bread, English muffins, to pretzels, bagels, and more, this book’s got it! It will make a great gift for all of the novice AND experienced bakers in your life, too.

What tools do I need to make my own pizza dough?

You’ll need the following equipment to make this homemade pizza dough:

Electric mixer or stand mixer with hook attachment

Measuring cups and spoons

Mixing bowl

Sheet pan, pizza pan, or pizza stone

plastic wrap or disposable shower caps – great for covering foods for get togethers, too!

Plastic wrap and/or freezer bags for storage

What are the ingredients I need to make this easy homemade pizza dough recipe?

It’s important to use high-quality ingredients in your homemade pizza. Make sure your flour and yeast are fresh so they activate correctly, and use a light-tasting olive oil for the best results.

8 cups flour 

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 2/3 cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

What is the best kind of flour to use?

You can use either all-purpose flour or “OO flour”, which is an Italian-style flour, for a traditional crust. If you like a chewy, bread-like pizza crust, use bread flour. For a gluten-free option, use almond flour for a cracker-like crust, or gluten-free flour blends for an option that mimics traditional crust.

How to make delicious pizza crust from scratch

This recipe will make 3 half-sheet-pan-size pizzas, 8 (12-inch) or 10 (10-inch) pizzas. Store whatever you won’t be using right away in the fridge or freezer using the directions below.

Whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a large bowl. 

Pour in the warm water and olive oil.

Stir together with a sturdy wooden spoon until a shaggy dough is formed. 

Knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and stretchy. This can be done by hand or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on medium speed.

Place the ball of dough back into the bowl, cover, and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours until double in size.

Shape dough with your hands on a lightly floured surface, transfer to a baking pan, and top as desired.

Recipe Tips

Your dough should be slightly sticky, but still workable. Pizza dough needs moisture so it gets the right crust texture when baking. Flour your hands and your surface, but don’t add too much flour to the dough.

The water temperature matters. The ideal temperature is between 110 and 115 degrees, although, with instant yeast, you can go a little warmer. Don’t use hot water, though, or you will kill the yeast.

And no, this recipe does not use sugar to help bloom the yeast! Yeast made today doesn’t require it as it might have when your grandma made her pizza dough.

Baking the Pizza: Times and Temperatures

When making a baking sheet pan pizza, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the crust is set and has golden brown edges.

When making the 12-inch (30 cm) or 10-inch (25 cm) round pizzas, preheat the oven to 425°F, top the pizza with your favorite toppings, and bake it on a pizza pan for 20-25 minutes or until crust is set and is golden around the edges.

How long does pizza dough last in the fridge?

This dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

To store: label a zipper-top freezer bag with the size of the pizza. (Use one bag per round of dough you wish to use later.) Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil in each bag, rub around with your hands to make sure the inside is well coated, and insert one dough ball into each prepared bag. You can also wrap it in plastic wrap before placing it in the bag.

To use refrigerated dough: place the dough in its bag on the kitchen counter, then allow it to come to room temperature and rise for an hour before you want to use it and bake it.

Can I freeze pizza dough?

You most certainly can! One thing I absolutely LOVE about this recipe is that it makes enough dough for me to use for dinner and then I can freeze the rest to use later.

You can store it in the freezer for up to 3 months before using it. Follow the directions above for storing it in zipper-top freezer bags.

To use frozen dough: transfer the bag of dough to the refrigerator the day before you plan to use it, then onto the counter to come to room temperature an hour before you wish to bake it.

Can I freeze a homemade pizza to bake later?

In order to freeze a whole pizza, par-bake the crust first. Press out the dough into the size pizza you’d like. Bake the dough for about 3-5 minutes. The dough should still be very pale, but it should feel dry. Top the pizzas, then double-wrap each pizza and freeze. These pizzas are fine to go straight into the oven from the freezer for an easy weeknight meal.

All Your Favorite Pizza Toppings

Top your own pizza dough with some homemade pizza sauce and your favorite toppings for a delicious pizza pie! You’ll notice a huge difference when you make it yourself! Here are some of my favorite pizza combinations:

Hawaiian Pizza: Pineapple and Canadian Bacon or Ham

Meat Lover’s: Crumbled cooked sausage, pepperoni slices, and bacon

Four Cheese: Combine Romano, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, and Mozzarella Cheese (or substitute any of your favorite types of cheese)

White Pizza: Use a white sauce made with garlic, olive oil, salt, and cheese for a great flavor! Add veggies or meat on top if desired.

Margherita: fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil, plus a drizzle of olive oil

Artichoke pizza: Olive oil, pesto, sauteed artichoke hearts, mozzarella, and just a hint of lemon zest. So good!

More Recipes Using Homemade Pizza Dough

As I said earlier, this is the best pizza dough recipe and is the ONLY one I will use from now on when making my pepperoni bread or spinach pepperoni bread. It just makes both of these recipes SO much better! The crust is light, fluffy, and so much more delicious than the dough I’ve used in the past.

Of course, it is the perfect pizza base for Rebecca’s Classic Homestyle Sheet Pan Pizza from the book (page 40).

I’ve used it to make these Parmesan Bread Bites, and they were delicious! They’re super easy to make once the dough has been made, and lots of fun to pop into your mouth after dipping them in some marinara.

I’ll also be using it for my taco braid, Denver scrambled breakfast braid, and this Spaghetti Meatball Braid, too! I’m also going to have to use it for the grilled Margherita pizza and Grilled spinach, Feta, and chicken pizza.

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Keep an eye out for more of my easy recipes each week!

This post was originally published on July 30, 2020. It has been updated with pictures and in format on October 9, 2024.

The post Homemade Pizza Dough appeared first on 365 Days of Baking.