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.
SAVE THIS EASY PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
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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Classic Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 8 cups all-purpose flour (1 kg by weight), also *see note
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (12 g)
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (10 g)
- 2 ⅔ cups lukewarm water (630 ml)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 ml) plus extra for bags if you plan to save dough for later
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl or the work bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the water and olive oil. Stir together with a sturdy spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Knead with floured hands or by stand mixer for 10 minutes on medium or until the dough is smooth, elastic and stretchy.
- Return the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean shower cap, plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1-2 hours., or until approximately doubled in size and puffy.
- Divide the dough into your desired size (see note). Use your hands to roll each piece of dough into a tight ball and allow it to rise for 20 more minutes before baking.
- This dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months before using.
- 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.
- To use refrigerated dough: place the dough in its bag on the kitchen counter and allow it to come to room temperature and rise for an hour before you want to use it and bake it.
- 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 and hour before you wish to bake it.
Notes
- This recipe will make 3 half-sheet-pan-size pizzas, 8 (12-inch) or 10 (10-inch) pizzas.
- When using the dough for sheet pan pizzas, preheat oven to 425°F, and bake for 25-30 minutes until crust edges are a light golden brown.
This recipe can also be made using 9 ½ cups “OO” flour (1 kg by weight) – an Italian-style flour. - Nutritional information has been calculated using one of the three pizza dough balls or for one medium pizza.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on July 30, 2020. It has been updated with pictures and in format on October 9, 2024.
Comments & Reviews
I am so glad you love the book! Thanks so much, Lynne!! Now I need to go make your pepperoni bread!!!
Rebecca, I cannot thank you enough for creating a book of such delicious, easy and straightfoward recipes! This one recipe has seriously changed my pizza game as well as the Pepperoni Bread. I’m so looking forward to incorporating it into many more!
If you want it take it up a notch add a teaspoon of honey. Also after you oil your pan, Sprinkle some cornmeal on it.
Great tips, Anita, thank you!
I always thought you had to add sugar to activate the yeast. NO?
Deanna, I know some bread recipes do require some sugar to proof the yeast, however this one does not, and it’s turned out beautifully the MANY times I’ve made it.
So where do we find the book???
LeAnn, you can find the book here on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3s8u6Ff.
Yum, want this!
Lin, you will absolutely love it!
Can I use a rapid rise yeast and if so how much?
Kim, you can substitute, rapid rise yeast for the active dry yeast in the same amount as called for in the recipe.
I only have the yeast that you have to “activate”. Can I still use it the same way or do I need to do something different?
Rosanna,
First, make sure that you’re using “Active Dry Yeast” and not “cake yeast”. If it is “cake yeast” then you’ll have to Google the equivalent.
Follow the directions as posted in the recipe, mixing it with the salt and flour, no need to activate it and let it rise in water first.
I’m new at this . you didn.t say what temp. to bake at or how long?
If you’re going to be making a sheet pan pizza, in the book, Rebecca says to preheat your oven to 425°F, and bake for about 25-30 minutes.
can i use bread flour
Judith, you can definitely use bread flour (in the same amount) as many people do use it for making pizza dough. Bread flour has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour, and the dough might be a little more difficult to form because of it, but you’ll get a nice crispy crust on the outside with a good chewiness and texture inside.
Hope you like it, and please let me know how it turns out!
What about Temps and times for the 8″ and 10″ round pizzas?
Jayy, When making the 12-inch (30 cm) or 10-inch (25 cm) round pizzas, preheat the oven to 425°F. and bake for 20-25 minutes or until crust is set and is golden around the edges. 8 and 10 inch pizzas would be the same temp and shorter cooking time as well.
Many pizza recipes call for par-baking. I’m not sure what the reason for that is, but how does this crust do without doing this?
Faye, there is no need to par-bake the crust. It cooks perfectly without doing so.
Thank you for the recipe! Can’t wait to make pizza this weekend!
I made this crust last night and was told this was the best pizza crust I have ever made. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Yay, Catherine! That is so wonderful to hear! I am so very glad you liked it and thanks so much for the rating, too.
terrible recipe!
I misplaced my “go to” recipe for Pizza Dough, so I resorted to the internet for something new, found yours, and gave it a try.
the dough was stiff and nearly impossible to work, flavourless, uninspired nonsense, and I hope you take this rediculous attempt at pizza dough down from your web site. I know you need filler recipes to keep your income stream alive and relavent, but this was terrible.
I’ve had better dough come out of premade pouches.
Wow. This may be the cooks mistakes and not the recipe itself.
I’ve made this a number of times and it’s wonderful. If you’ve a problem with it then you’re likely doing something wrong.
Can I use almond or coconut flour to make this please
Julie, I have not used either almond flour or coconut flour to make this recipe, nor has Rebecca Lindamood, the recipe’s creator. That being said, if you’re going to try it, my suggestion would be to either half the recipe or make a third of it so that if it doesn’t work, you haven’t wasted a lot of money on ingredients.
Does the dough still need to rise before storing it in the refrigerator or freezing it?
Yes, you will need to have it rise before storing it in the refrigerator or freezer. Then before use, follow the instructions to let it come to room temperature and thawing before using.
When you say only use 1/3 of the pizza dough for the Parmesan bites is it cut the ingredients to measure down to 1/3 ? Or just make the Pizza dough in its entirety then only use 1/3 of it for the bread bites??
Nora, you’ll make a full recipe of the pizza dough, but then only use one third of the total pizza dough recipe for the Parmesan bites.
I always try different dough recipes to find the perfect recipe for my pizza and honestly after a million tests I think that’s absolutely the number one dough for me from now on.
Ana, that’s so awesome to hear! Thank you so much and I’m so glad you shared the feedback.
I made dough now ..so I can put my pizza sauce right on the unbaked dough right? And than all my other stuff? Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Yes, Esther, the sauce goes right on top of the unbaked dough then the cheese and toppings. Then you’ll put it into the oven to bake following my directions in the post on how long to cook the pizza. Hope you like it!
I cannot wait to try this. Love pizza.
Thanks so much, Peggy! I hope you love it as much as my family does!
This is a fantastic recipe…definately a family favorite. Simple, quick, truly makes plenty for 3 pizzas or more, and tastes absolutley delish!
This is a fantastic recipe…definately a family favorite. Simple, quick, truly makes plenty for 3 pizzas or more, and tastes absolutley delish
I have made this recipe about 3 or 4 times. Everyone loves it! I don’t have to go out buy pizzas anymore. Thank you!
Thank you, Melanie! I am so very glad you like it! Thanks for letting me know.
This looks very good.
I would like to use this dough for pepperoni bread how long would you bake it and at what temperature.
Pam, you can definitely use this dough for my Pepperoni Bread recipe. Just bake it at 375ªF for 20-25 minutes.
Enjoy it!
Can you use a rolling pin to shape. How can you get nice light airy pizza. Mine came out quite dry and hard.
How do I get ur cook book?
Edward, I don’t personally have a cookbook, but this pizza dough recipe is from my friend, Rebecca Lindamood’s, cookbook that you can purchase on Amazon. (this is an affiliate link – I may earn a small commission from products purchased without an additional cost to you.)
https://amzn.to/3Ox7Zlv
Can you use 4 cups of All purpose and 4 cups of bread flour?
Helen, from the author of the recipe, Rebecca Lindamood of Foodie with Family, “That’ll work fine…You’ll just have to let the dough rest a little longer because the extra gluten will make it a little harder to roll out. You can just mitigate this by letting the dough sit in the fridge a day or so before you use it.”
Hope that helps!
What are the measures for 1 large pizza.
I don’t have the measurements for one large pizza. My suggestion would be to make the recipe as is and then divide the dough in half so that you can make two large pizzas, and you can freeze the second ball of dough for later use.
Can you use regular oil. Don’t have any olive oil.
Good Morning
Can I use 4 cups 00 four and 4 cups of bread flour.
Thank you
Helen, you can use 4 cups 00 flour and 4 cups bread flour. You’ll be increasing the protein content, so it may take a little more patience to roll it out, but if you leave it in the fridge for a day or so it will relax, and be much easier. Enjoy!
Why did my dough come out tough and hard. I didn’t do the wooden spoon part just did it all in Kitchen Aide, is that what I did wrong
Sharon, it may be because it was over mixed, and either it was mixed too long in the KitchenAid and/or on too high speed. This article is great for explaining what can happen when using a KitchenAid and how you might want to do it if you chose to make it that way next time. Hope it helps!
https://mypizzacorner.com/pizza-dough/how-to-tell-if-pizza-dough-is-kneaded-enough/
Can you use this recipe to makes loaves of bread?
Ron, I have not done that, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. If you do give it a try, please let me know how it went!
Can you sub vegetable oil for the olive oil?
Bernadette, yes you can without any issues. Just substitute it for the same amount. Enjoy it!
I used this recipe last night to make two large round pizzas. While this is certainly simple to make, the finished product was quite doughy/chewy and tasteless, not something I would eat and I would never serve this to family or guests. If I could give it a zero-star rating, I would. Not one to ever try again.
Raymond, I am sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out for you, and I appreciate your feedback. If the finished product was as you say, “quite doughy/chewy and tasteless”, it could have been that the dough was kneaded too much and/or that too much flour was added. Not knowing exactly how you made it, I can’t say exactly what the issue may have been.
I am not finished yet, but I wanted to know if you could help me! The dough was so dry and tough!! It is an hour and a half in, and it is rising, but not double. I used 00 flour, (8 cups – I can’t imagine 9 1/2 cups!), bough new yeast, which started bubbling the minute I put the water in! and followed the directions to a tee. It was so hard to manipulate, I wet my hands three times and kneaded for 15 minutes, then said a prayer and covered it. I would appreciate any constructive criticism you could give me. Thank you!!
Hi Elizabeth, Sorry you’ve been having a problem with the recipe.
Can you tell me how you measured the flour? I’m wondering if that may have been the issue.
Question: do you bake the pizza for 25-30 minutes without the toppings first?
How long after you put the toppings on? (If the case)
Siry, you will bake the crust with all the toppings on it, no need to bake the crust first. Please be sure to read the section in the post about how long to cook it depending on the size you’ll be making.
Enjoy it!
I made this yesterday and we loved it.. Will be our go to recipe for homemade pizza crust.. Going to use one ball of it today for bread sticks
I’ve made this dough twice. Both times, the results have been perfect!! I use Caputo 00 Flour and followed the 1KG guideline. Simply perfect! The crust was cracker like outside and chewy on the inside. I do a bunch of different doughs (Napoli, Detroit, Sicilian). Bang for the buck goes to this one! You get soooooo much dough. I made two XL baking sheets and they were perfect in thickness. I also did the three pan as suggested and they were equally as good. Super flexible and excellent overall recipe!!
Thanks a bunch!!!
Mike C
This was a very easy and very good dough. We had a family pizza party and they all loved it.
Thanks, Julie! I’m so glad it was family approved!
What happens if you accidentally leave your pizza dough in the refrigerator for 10 days is it still safe to use it
Tanya, I would advise against using it. When left more than 6 days, the yeast won’t allow the dough to rise while it’s baking and harmful bacteria might begin to develop. You aren’t alone! I’ve left so many different things in my fridge with the best of intentions for dinners, etc. only to throw them away because things have come up or we’ve gone out to eat.
I would suggest giving it another go and use some fresh dough.
Awesome recipes
I’m new learning about pizza dough.
Question: why add the yeast to dry ingredients and not activate in water first?
Sue, I spoke with the creator of this recipe, Rebecca Lindamood of the website, Foodie with Family, and she said: “because it disperses more easily and it’s totally unnecessary to dissolve modern yeast we get in the US first! It’s made by a different process than our grandma’s yeast so is much more vigorous much more quickly!”
I didn’t know that either, so I’m glad you asked!
Hope that helps!
This is my go-to recipe for pizza dough! Thanks!
Annette, thank you!! I am SO very happy to hear that, and I’ll pass your kind words on to my friend, Rebecca, who created the recipe.
I appreciate the rating and that you took the time to let me know. ❤️
This pizza dough was fabulous!! Definitely the best taste and texture of any homemade dough I’ve made in the past. I love that I can put the extra in the freezer and take it out when I want to make pizza again!
This crust is so good! It rose beautifully, shaped just as nice, and baked it on a pizza stone which made the bottom so crispy. Definitely a keeper recipe! So glad I have 2 more in the freezer.
Kelly, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it so much! Thank you for the rating and taking the time to leave the comment. Besides the taste, and ease of this recipe, I love the fact that it makes two additional loaves so there’s more for later! ❤️
I would like to try smoking a pizza. We are thinking because our smoker doesn’t get hot enough to bake the crust we should bake it for a few minutes in the oven before adding toppings then put in the smoker, any advise? Also can a baked crust be frozen?
Pam, I have no experience with a smoker, so unfortunately, my guess is as good as yours. I would suggest Googling how to do it as I’m sure there’s someone who’s done it, and can tell you how to do it perfectly.
Also, a baked crust can be frozen. Bake the crust without any toppings then cool it off completely before wrapping tightly in plastic wrap. It should be good in the freezer for up to 1 month, so be sure to put the date on it. To thaw, put it into the fridge overnight.
enjoy!
Excited to try this!
PIZZA DOUGH LOOKS EASY I JUST ORDERED YOUR BOOK