It’s easier than you think to make homemade pizza dough. What you get is a super soft dough that turns into the chewiest, most tender crust ever.
Whenever I’m in a pinch, which is at least more than once a week, instead of reaching for the take-out menu, I throw together this super easy pizza dough recipe and make homemade pizzas, stromboli’s, calzones etc. It’s such a better option than ordering out because not only are you saving money, but you can tailor it exactly how you want it and there’s nothing more satisfying than making a pizza from scratch! This dough is ready to go in just under an hour with little prep time. I have made this dough over and over and over again so it is absolutely fail-proof!
To prepare this dough, you only need a few simple, basic ingredients – flour, water, yeast, garlic powder, olive oil salt, and sugar. I use my stand mixer and have never made it by hand but you can absolutely do so but I find my mixer + dough hook is much easier because it does all the work for me!
You will notice that as you are making this dough, on warmer/humid days you may need more flour – this usually happens during the Summer and during the cooler months when the air is much drier, you may need less flour. I normally use anywhere between 2 1/2 -3 cups of flour and adjust from there. Your dough is perfect when it is still slightly tacky. The dough should be sticky but manageable. If it sticks to your hands, you probably need more flour. If you add too much flour, then you run the risk of having a tough or dry pizza crust, and we don’t want that! We want chewy, tender crusts here. It WILL stick to the bottom of the bowl slightly while kneading but should pull right off. You want your dough to be smooth, soft and supple like a baby’s bottom!
Before & after rising:
The dough will rise in an oiled bowl for about 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size and then it’s ready to go. Punch that big fat puffy dough baby down and get to work!
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My Favorite Fail-Proof Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 standard packet
- 1 tbs granulated sugar
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 1/2-3 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add warm water and sprinkle yeast and sugar on top. Turn mixer on low and mix to combine and let it sit to proof for 5-10 minutes until the top looks frothy.
- Once the yeast is proofed, add olive oil, salt and garlic powder. Mix to combine. Add 2 cups of flour and turn mixer on low speed to combine. While mixer is running, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky. You want it to be tacky but not sticking to your hands. The dough will stick to the bottom of the bowl and this is OK. Once your dough is the right texture, leave mixer running on low speed for 7 minutes to knead the dough.
- Grab a bowl and oil it with olive oil very well. Once dough is kneaded, pull the dough out and knead in your hands slightly to create a round ball. Place dough into greased bowl and roll it around to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit in a warm place for 30-45 minutes or until it is doubled in size. I like to turn my oven to 170 degrees, turn it off and then place my dough in there because it creates the perfect warm environment.
- Once dough is doubled in size, you will punch it down to get the air out (if you are making pizza, this dough is enough to make two pizza crusts so you will cut the dough in half) and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. At this point you can add toppings to make pizzas, Stromboli, calzones or whatever you desire!
- I normally bake this dough at 500 degrees. No need to pre-bake - just pack all the toppings on and bake.
I love pizza but always felt intimidated to make pizza dough from scratch. Thanks for sharing your foul-proof recipe! It’s wonderful and easy to follow. I will definitely give it a try! Thanks for sharing!
Yummy! Homemade pizza is the absolute best, but I think I spend way more money on it than ever just buying pizza-it’s because I want it to be good and add all of these delicious gourmet toppings. I’ve not made my pizza dough from scratch before though, so I should try this!
This recipe sounds great! I adore homemade pizza!
I have not made pizza in over 5+ years, these days I am just so busy I am always on the go but loving the pizza dough, might need to do some baking this festive period.
I tried this recipe last night and it came out perfect, thank you so much for sharing!
That’s wonderful! You’re very welcome! 🙂
Can you freeze this recipe? Or how long will it keep if I refrigerate it? I only cook for myself and my husband so two pizzas would be too much for us. Can’t wait to try this recipe out, anytime I can make something in my stand mixer it makes me happy!
You can absolutely freeze it! After the dough rises, punch it down and place the half you are not using in a freezer bag and freeze. When you are ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. When it comes time to use it, allow it to come to room temperature before rolling it out to use. If you decide to refrigerate it, I would only keep it in there for a day or two. Hope this helps. 🙂
Once you put your toppings on the pizza, how long do you bake it for?
I like to bake mine for 9-12 minutes for a nice crispy pizza!
500°? Is that an error?
Nope! The temperature is correct.
just made this and it was yummy loved how easy it is and everyone asked for the recipe. thank you 🙂
In the narrative you said you use the dough hook, but in the instructions you said to use the paddle attachment… which is it?
I was also wondering the same thing.
Dough hook! Sorry about that. I have updated the instructions to reflect the change.
Have you ever made the pizzas ahead of time (crust with sauce, cheese, toppings) and then placed in fridge or freezer to make the next day? Is that possible?
You can freeze it what I do is make the pizza up and lay it on a sheet tray that is lined with parchment paper it want stick and put it in the freeze until it is firm aka frozen and then I take it out and cut one of my large food saver bags and vaccum seal it now I have homemade frozen pizza and its good
This is such an amazing idea! I am so doing this – Thanks, Crystal!
My son requested homemade pizza night to be on Vday next week (it’s his 6th birthday & get to pick dinner if choice!). I’ve used your homemade pizza sauce for a year now and it’s my favorite ever. Gonna make a batch tonight! I’ve never tried your pizza dough though. The garlic powder caught my eye. Do you taste it a lot? I’m sure I would love it but my boys are so picky, I’m afraid they’d notice LOL but I’d love to try it.
This turned out great! I made half for pizza and put the rest in the freezer I will use the rest tonite for supper ,can’t wait so good.
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Yum!! That’s usually what I do too.
– Jessica
I just made the dough, waiting to rise so I can make the pizza & get creative with the toppings 🙂
Super easy to make! Thank you so much!!!
Woo! I hope it turned out great! 🙂
Just finished fermenting the dough for 3 days in the fridge. It smelled like pizza already as I punched it down and divided it! The long ferment allows the yeast to make alcohols and deconstruct the gluten mesh a bit for a great texture and depth of flavor. I prefer thin crust. I understand that in Italy, it’s all about the dough/crust and sauce and not so much the toppings.
I measure everything in grams, not cups but it’s not difficult because almost all flours weigh between 130-140 grams per cup (it’s a carry-over habit from 10 years of gluten free baking). Weighing “tare” on the scale adding ingredients into the mixer bowl saves on cleanup.
Going on the hunt for your sauce recipe now and grab some pointers from you. Take care.
So interesting! The dough definitely does play such a HUGE part in the flavor! I hope you love my recipes for both the dough and sauce! 🙂