How To Make Homemade Pizza Dough

Here’s an easy recipe for homemade pizza dough that you can use for your next pizza night! No need to let the dough rise – just mix it up, add toppings and bake!

We’ve been making homemade pizza for a while now. Sometimes we buy storebought crust and add our own toppings but recently my kids have started enjoying the process of making homemade dough.

This recipe is so simple and while it does use yeast, which can be intimidating for some, it doesn’t require any rising time so you can’t really mess it up!

How To Make Homemade Pizza Dough Step by Step

To make this dough you only need a few simple ingredients:

• Warm water – you want it to be about 110 degrees F. Warm but not hot if you stick your finger in it.
• Yeast – we use active dry yeast.
• Sugar – to feed the yeast and help activate it. My kids love watching this part!
• Salt – for flavor!
• Oil – we use avocado oil but olive or canola oil would also be fine.
• Flour – we use bread flour. If we don’t have that, we use AP flour. Sometimes we do a combo of half AP, half white whole wheat flour.

To make the dough:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a baking sheet or pizza stone inside.
• To activate the yeast, combine the warm water with sugar in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for 5 minutes and you see it start to bubble and foam.
• Add the salt, oil and flour and mix until well combined.
• Then add some flour to a clean spot on your counter and knead it for a few minutes, adding more flour as needed until the ball is tacky, but not sticking to your fingers.
• Spread the dough as thick or thin as you want to – or divide and make multiple small pizzas.
• Add your sauce and toppings.
• Carefully transfer to the hot pan in the oven and bake about 8 minutes.

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Watch my six-year-old make pizza dough here:

https://youtu.be/nA0WH4dvymY

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And here’s the recipe:

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How To Make Homemade Pizza Dough FAQs:

What is basic pizza dough made of?

Almost all pizza dough is made of five basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, salt and oil. Different types and ratios are what gives different doughs slight variations.

What flour is best for pizza dough?

Most flours will work just fine for homemade pizza dough but there are now specific types on the market like ’00 which are typically considered the ultimate pizza flour. It’s basically flour that has been very finely milled allowing for a light and airy crust. Try this ’00 flour from King Arthur.

Can you use regular flour for pizza dough?

Yes! The texture will be slightly different, maybe a bit denser but hardly noticeable for most people so just use what you have!

What is the best yeast for pizza?

Instant dry yeast is easiest because it doesn’t need to be activated. Just skip the first step of the instructions above and mix it right in with the flour. I rarely have that on hand so I use active dry yeast. It only takes a few minutes in water with some sugar to activate it!

What is the best cheese for pizza?

Mozzarella is the most popular choice. Play around with a mix of fresh mozzarella and shredded to find what you like best. I typically use finely shredded mozzarella because it melts quickly.

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Need more staple dinners with Italian flair? Try:

• Spaghetti & Meatballs
• Pizza Grilled Cheese
• Easy Homemade Lasagna
• Pepperoni Bread
• Spinach & Feta Meatballs
• Braciole (stuffed flank steak)

Enjoy!