Easy Homemade Pizza Dough (Step-by-Step)

This homemade pizza dough is so quick and easy to make, and only takes 10 minutes of prep time. This dough makes pizza crust that is soft, airy, and deliciously tender. You can make thin-crust pizza or thick-crust pizza, you decide. From start to finish it takes 1 hour, and you will be sitting down and eating your pizza. Even beginner cooks will find this recipe a cinch to make with the step-by-step instructions.

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I have been making my family homemade pizza with this dough recipe for the last 5 years or so. Before that, I tried so many different recipes but I was never happy with them. It seemed the dough was too dry, tasted like cardboard, too stiff, or had a strong yeast taste. Then I discovered this recipe and it was perfect!

My whole family loves this pizza dough recipe. When we have pizza night at our house, everybody gets so excited. My teenage daughter even makes this recipe, and it always turns out great. We have declared her the official pizza maker.

🍕 Ingredients

This recipe will make two large pizzas, and only contains a few basic pantry items. You can easily halve the ingredients to make 1 large pizza, but we like to have leftover pizza to eat the next day for lunch. If I only make 1 pizza, I put the extra pizza dough in the freezer for later use.

• Flour, 5 cups: All-purpose flour makes this dough incredibly light.
• Lukewarm water, 2 cups. Not too hot, or it will kill the yeast. Think bathwater temperature.
• Yeast, 4 tsp: Any kind of yeast will work
• Sugar, 2 tsp: I use organic cane sugar. You could also use raw sugar or coconut sugar.
• Olive oil, 4 tbsp: I use organic olive oil. You could also use avocado oil.
• Salt, 2 tsp: This gives the pizza crust the flavor.

🥣 Step-by-step instructions

First of all, you need to proof the yeast. To do this, fill a glass measuring cup with 2 cups of lukewarm water. Add 4 teaspoon of yeast and 2 teaspoon of sugar. Stir together for 5 or 10 seconds, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It will start to get foamy on top.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together 5 cups of flour and 2 teaspoon of salt.

Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour, and add 4 tablespoon of olive oil.

Mix the dough together with a wooden spoon, or use the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer.

After the flour is all mixed in, if it gets too hard to work with the spoon, knead the dough by hand until the dough is soft and pliable. Add a bit more flour by small amounts if the dough is too sticky.

On a floured surface, use a rolling pin and roll out the dough to the desired size to fit into a greased pan. You can use either a round pizza pan or a cookie sheet.

Next, add your favorite pizza sauce and toppings. That's it!

If you want a thin crust pizza, bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. However, if you want a thick crust pizza, let the pizza sit for 15-20 minutes, or until desired thickness. The crust will get thicker the longer it sits. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

🍅 Is homemade pizza healthier than store-bought?

Absolutely! Store-bought pizza is loaded with preservatives, coloring, sugar, and highly processed ingredients. Homemade pizza is made with more wholesome ingredients and no preservatives.

This dough is made with all-purpose flour as it is the easiest way to get a soft, tender pizza crust. I also make a whole wheat pizza crust, but it is harder to make and involves a longer rise time. I will share that recipe soon.

For a healthier pizza, just be mindful of what toppings you put on it. Choose fresh grilled chicken or grilled steak instead of highly processed meat. Pizza with fresh vegetables and herbs as toppings also make pizza a healthy choice. Make your own pizza sauce without sugar, and try adding delicious toppings like broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and onions.

🌡️ Can you freeze homemade pizza dough?

Yes! Pizza dough freezes really well. Just wrap your pizza dough in plastic wrap and place it in a Ziploc freezer bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, put it in the fridge the night before you want to make pizza, or sit it out on the counter for 2 hours at room temperature. Once the dough is thawed, uncover the plastic wrap so it can expand, place it in a bowl in a warm place, cover with a dishtowel, and let it rise. Roll out the pizza as above, add your favorite toppings, and bake.

📋 What are good toppings for pizza?

There are so many toppings that you can use on pizza. Some of our favorites to try are:

• Peppers, any kind or color
• Onions
• Pineapple
• Spinach
• Mushrooms
• Tomatoes.
• Broccoli
• Chicken
• Sliced steak
• Shredded cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Herbs and spices like oregano, garlic powder, and Italiano seasoning

🥖 What else can you make with pizza dough?

Pizza dough is so soft and versatile. It can be used to make:

• Homemade breadsticks
• Garlic knots
• Chicken pot pie or turkey pot pie ins place of pie crust
• Homemade stromboli
• Pizza dipping bread

This pizza dough is so easy to make and so quick to put together. It takes nearly the same amount of time to make homemade pizza as it does to buy a store-bought pizza and bake it, and this way is so much healthier for you. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Please let me know in the comments below how you enjoyed the recipe, or send me an email on my Contact Page.

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📋 Recipe

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough (Step-by-Step)

This homemade pizza dough is so quick and easy to make, and only takes 10 minutes max of prep time. This dough makes pizza crust that is soft, airy, and deliciously tender. You can make thin-crust pizza or thick-crust pizza, you decide. From start to finish it takes 1 hour, and you will be sitting down and eating your pizza. Even beginner cooks will find this recipe a cinch to make.

4.99 from 79 votes

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Course: All Recipes

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 2 pizzas

Calories: 236kcal

Author: Jeri Walker

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Equipment

• ▢
  Non-Stick Round Pizza Pan
• ▢
  Non-Stick Rectangle Pizza Pan
• ▢
  Pizza cutter and lifter

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups warm water
• ▢ 4 teaspoon yeast
• ▢ 2 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 5 cups flour
• ▢ 4 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Add yeast and sugar to warm water. Mix with a spoon for 5 seconds. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it's foamy on top.
• In a large bowl, add flour and salt, and stir to mix.
• Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture. Add olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until it is all mixed in. If it is too hard to mix, use your hands to mix the dough together.
• Knead until dough is a soft and smooth ball. If the dough is sticky, add a little bit of flour and mix it in until it is not sticky.
• If you are baking right away, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a floured surface until it is the desired size for the baking pan. You can use a round pizza pan or a cookie sheet. Grease the baking pan before you lay the dough in it.
• Gently lift the dough and place it in the baking pan.
• Add pizza sauce and toppings of your choice.
• For a thin crust, bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
• For a thicker crust, let the pizza sit out for 15-20 minutes in a warm place to rise, or until desired thickness.
• When it's thick enough, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, and then place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
• I like to remove to a large cutting board to cut it into pieces.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 391mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g

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