4/18/23, 1:53 AM Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners - Sally's Baking Addiction

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.9 from 690 reviews
Author: Sally Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes Yield: 2 12-inch pizzas

Follow these basic instructions for a thick, crisp, and chewy pizza crust at home. The recipe yields
enough pizza dough for two 12-inch pizzas and you can freeze half of the dough for later. Close to 2
pounds of dough total.

Ingredients
1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, plus more for pan and brushing on dough
1 teaspoon salt
3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) unbleached all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for
hands and surface
sprinkle of cornmeal for dusting the pan

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Instructions
1 Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer
fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you
don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden
spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.

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4/18/23, 1:53 AM Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners - Sally's Baking Addiction

2 Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a
lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 5 minutes (for a visual,
watch me do it in the video above). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it,
but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should
still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger – if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to
rise. If not, keep kneading.
3 Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray– just use the same bowl you used for the
dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with
aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room
temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a
particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside,
and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After
about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s
doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
4 Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes as you shape the
pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking
sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives
the crust extra crunch and flavor.
5 Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide
the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See
freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or
rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly
floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the
dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly for
5-10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up
to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza
stone, place the dough directly on baker’s peels dusted with cornmeal.
6 Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few
minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings. I suggest pepperoni & green peppers or jalapeño
slices, extra cheese pizza, Hawaiian pizza, pesto pizza, spinach artichoke white pizza,
or homemade BBQ chicken pizza.

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4/18/23, 1:53 AM Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners - Sally's Baking Addiction

7 Top & bake the pizza: Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent
bubbling. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with
olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the crust is
golden brown.
8 Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator.
Reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
1 Freezing Instructions: This recipe yields enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, a little less
than 2 pounds total. After the pizza dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 5), you
can freeze one of the balls of dough to make pizza at a later time. Or you can simply freeze
both balls of dough separately. Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or
olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into individual zipped-top bag(s) and seal tightly, squeezing
out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen pizza dough in the
refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from
the refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Preheat the oven and continue
with step 5, punching down the dough to release air if needed.
2 Overnight/All Day Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 3, but allow the dough to
rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler
water in the dough which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) The slow rise
gives the pizza dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 4. If the dough didn’t
quite double in size overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before
punching down (step 5).
3 Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer | Dough Scraper | Pizza Pan | Pastry Brush | Pizza
Cutter
4 Yeast: Red Star Platinum yeast is an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead. The rise
time will be at least 90 minutes. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common
yeast FAQs.
5 Pictured Pizza: This recipe yields 2 pizzas. For each, top with 1/2 cup pizza sauce, 2 cups
shredded mozzarella cheese, pepperoni slices, thinly sliced green pepper or jalapeño, and a
sprinkle of Italian seasoning blend or dried basil.
Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Addiction in 2013

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