Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe (5 Ingredients!)
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Forget takeout! Whip up restaurant-worthy pizzas at home with this Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe made with 5 simple ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, and olive oil. Add your favorite toppings, from melty cheese to spicy meats to zesty veggies. Bake until crisp and bubbly, and enjoy homemade pizza that’s way better than delivery! No fancy flours, no complicated steps, just pure pizza-making satisfaction.
I Can’t Wait To Tell You About This Pizza Crust!
Pizza is a meal that we have at least once a week. It’s never the same thing twice! There are so many options when you have homemade crust. To be honest, making homemade pizza was something of a necessity. Both my kids were competitive swimmers, which translates to “heavy on the carbs”. Pizza was the easiest meal because it had the required carbs and we could top it with healthier toppings. However, the store bought crusts had ingredients I couldn’t even pronounce. (That can’t be healthy, right?) The solution was to learn to make my own.
That was around 20 years ago that I decided homemade had to be better. In the beginning, I flavored my crust because I didn’t think it could stand on its own. I’ve learned so much since then! Over the years, I’ve changed brands and types of flour a few times. I have varied the amounts of water and olive oil. I have tweaked the amount of salt, and even played around with the amount of yeast. What I discovered through all this is that pizza crust can be stunning on its own with no flavoring. Just simple ingredients tweaked to achieve the desired results.
Why You Will Love This Stunningly Simple Pizza Dough
- Versatile. This dough is a great base for any sauce from a simple drizzle of olive oil to a creamy Alfredo to a rich tomato sauce. Craving a Margherita pizza? Its light and airy texture provides the perfect canvas for fresh mozzarella, tangy tomatoes, and fragrant basil. Feeling adventurous? Pile on all the fixings for a supreme. This dough also transforms into stunning flatbreads, perfect for inventive toppings, or even into irresistible breadsticks and cheese sticks, ready to dip in your favorite sauce.
- Quick and Easy. This pizza dough takes about 10 minutes to mix and knead. You can proof it in an hour. Or, if you’re in a hurry, skip the proof and go straight from mixing to baking.
- Fresh. Forget cardboard crusts and mystery ingredients. Homemade dough is bursting with the fresh, natural flavors of simple, high-quality ingredients. You can taste the difference in every bite!
- Chewy, airy perfection. Nothing beats the satisfaction of sinking your teeth into a perfectly risen, homemade crust. The right balance of chew and airiness creates a textural experience that pre-made doughs simply can’t match.
- The satisfaction of creation. There’s something incredibly rewarding about transforming simple ingredients into a delicious masterpiece. And it’s a heck of a lot of fun trying to toss it like a pizzaiolo!😉
What Ingredients Do I Need To Make This Pizza Dough?
- All Purpose Flour – The protein content in all purpose flour is mid-range, which results in a light, airy structure. It also allows the dough to be manipulated easier.
- Instant Yeast – The leavening agent that creates the rise in this dough, instant yeast does not need to be rehydrated before using.
- Kosher Salt – It enhances the flavor helps the dough hold its shape.
- Water – Determining the hydration level of the dough and the length of the proof, water activates the gluten in the flour and acts as a catalyst for the yeast.
- Olive Oil – Adding a small amount of fat to the dough to create softness, olive oil adds richness. It also helps the crust brown if brushed on before baking.
Now That I Know What Goes In It, How Do I Make It?
Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in an electric mixer.
Add water and olive oil. Turn the mixer on low and mix until everything is hydrated. Increase speed to medium. Continue to knead until dough forms a smooth mass that cleans the bowl.
Place dough in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
FAQ’s and Troubleshooting
No. You can mix in whole grain flours with the all purpose, if you want a “healthier” crust. Bread flour will yield a chewier crust. And “00” flour will give you the closest to a true Neapolitan crust with a crispy exterior and just the right amount of chew.
There are a couple of reasons your dough might not be rising. First, check your yeast to make sure that it’s active. If that isn’t the problem, the water could have been too cold or too hot. If it was too cold, it will slow down the rise. If it was too hot, it will kill the yeast. It could also be that the temperature in your kitchen is too cold.
The dough should be noticeably larger that it was, about double the size. When you press your finger into it, it should spring back slowly. If it springs back quickly, it’s under proofed. If the indentation stays, it’s over proofed.
No. You can make this dough by hand. Keep in mind, it will take quite a bit longer to knead.
Yes! This dough will keep beautifully in refrigerator for about 3 days. It will continue to develop flavor during that time.
If you have as much fun making this crust as we do, here are some other recipes you can make with it.
When you make this Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe, be sure to leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe (5 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 3½ cups all purpose flour*
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1½ cups lukewarm (100℉) water
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Combine flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- Add water and olive oil.
- Turn on mixer and mix until all ingredients are hydrated and dough is shaggy, about 3 minutes.
- Increase speed to medium.
- Knead until dough is smooth and cleans the bowl, about 5-7 minutes.
- Place dough in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Allow to rise until dough is noticeably puffy, about 30 minutes.
Notes + Tips!
- Make sure your water is room temperature.
- If your mixer bogs down kneading the dough, you can finish kneading by hand.
- If the air is particularly dry, you may have to add a small amount of water to help the dough come together. If so, add it a teaspoon at a time.
- Don’t over work the dough.
- If the dough is too elastic when you start shaping, cover it and let it rest for ten minutes.
- If you want to pre-bake the crust, roll it out, dock the top, and bake on a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven for 5 minutes, or until just starting to color. Take it out of the oven and let cool. You can wrap the crust in foil and freeze until needed.
- Making the dough a day ahead and allowing it to develop in the refrigerator overnight will yield a more flavorful dough.
- This dough will make three 10 inch pizzas or two 15 inch pizzas.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Can you freeze the dough?
Hi Nadine! In my experience freezing raw pizza dough is hit or miss. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Your best bet would be to roll out the crust, dock it, and par bake it. Let me know if you have any other questions.
What if you don’t have a fancy machine with a bread hook?
Hi Penny! You can make this recipe by hand, but you will have to knead it longer. Hope this helps! Xo, Caylie.
Thanks for helping out, good info .
I’m glad it helped!