Hooray for family pizza night! Instead of waiting for delivery or buying premade dough with ingredients you can’t be sure of, here’s a sure thing…make your own pizza dough with this simple pizza dough recipe. With just 5 easy ingredients, you can make your own favorite pizza recipe your way. Let the kids add their favorite toppings all the while you can feel secure knowing you’re serving them fresh and wholesome ingredients that help you make some of the best pizza in town!
Best Pizza Dough Recipe
This best pizza dough recipe comes out perfect every single time..soft and chewy in the center and crispy on the outside. I love to make extra and freeze it so that it’s always ready whenever my family craves pizza. Homemade pizza crust is wonderful and you can top it off any way you like it – red sauce, white sauce, no sauce, extra mozzarella cheese, sausage, pepperoni, fresh basil, sea salt, all veggies – you name it!
Pizza Dough Ingredients
- Flour – as with any dough, flour is the key element for any pizza crust recipe.
- Instant yeast – you want your pizza crust to bake up with that glorious texture which is why you need active dry yeast.
- Water – it’s what takes dry ingredients and turns them into dough.
- Kosher salt – your pizza crust will taste flat and bland without it.
- Olive oil – pour a little in the bottom of the bowl to keep your dough from drying out.
Easy Pizza Dough Recipe
Learn how to make pizza dough step by step with this easy pizza dough recipe that requires just 5 simple ingredients. Next time you’re in the store, go look at the premade pizza dough and you’ll see a lot more in there than necessary to make primo pizza dough. This quick pizza dough recipe takes just 10 minutes to put together and the rest is all about letting the yeast do its thing to make it rise.
How do You Make Pizza Dough from Scratch
Making pizza dough by hand couldn’t be easier. Plus, the results are so delicious, you’ll want to make it all the time. You’ll combine the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Then you’ll add water and knead away (no stand mixer necessary). After that, you’ll wind up with a big ball of dough that you’ll coat with olive oil, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Much of it involves letting the dough rise to the occasion and the rest is simply planning ahead so it’s ready when you want to use it.
The Secret to the Perfect Homemade Pizza Dough
Here’s what few people know about making homemade pizza dough. You have to keep the flour you use in check. When you add too much flour, it ruins it. You want the dough to be a bit sticky. Sticky dough is the secret to your best homemade pizza dough!
Tips for Homemade Pizza Dough Success
This recipe will give you 4 balls of dough which means you get 4 pizzas. When you’re ready to make your pizza, make sure it’s not too cold so it’s easy to roll out.
As for baking it, a pizza stone makes it extra delicious if you have one. But if not, you can use a baking sheet and still have it turn out great. The hotter the oven, the better and faster your pizza will come out.
What is the secret to pizza dough?
Do not add too much flour. And if you somehow add too much, you can add just a few teaspoons at a time of warm water to correct the mistake.
What can I add to pizza dough for flavor?
Don’t forget the salt. It’s crucial to adding flavor to the dough. Of course, when you bake your pizza, use quality and fresh ingredients to make your pizza taste amazing.
What kind of flour makes the best pizza dough?
This recipe calls for bread flour, but if you don’t have that, you can use all-purpose flour. It makes great pizza crust and is the best flour to use, especially if you like it thin. All purpose flour tends to give you a chewier crust if you prefer that. If you’re gluten-free, you can use a gluten-free version but it will change the texture significantly.
Can all-purpose flour be used for pizza dough?
Yes, you can use all-purpose flour to make pizza dough. It has less gluten though so it will have a thinner profile.
Is bread flour good for pizza dough?
Bread flour contains more gluten and protein than regular all-purpose flour. With more glutens, it has a more structured feel that stretches and rises. You can absolutely use bread flour for pizza dough, though if you only have all-purpose flour, you can work with that too.
Is pizza yeast the same as instant yeast?
No, but you can still use active dry yeast for a fluffy pizza dough recipe. The difference between the two is that pizza yeast has dough relaxers while instant yeast does not.
Is pizza flour the same as plain flour?
No, however, plain flour is ok for making pizza as is bread flour. They have good protein levels that make it come out beautifully.
What is the difference between bread dough and pizza dough?
Bread dough has a lower protein level than pizza dough. That’s the only difference since they both use yeast, salt, and water in the recipe.
How to Store Pizza Dough
When you’ve finished with your pizza dough, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in a tightly-sealed container. Don’t wait too long though…it loses flavor after 3 days.
Can You Freeze Pizza Dough?
Before you freeze pizza dough, you have to let it rise. And you should divide it up into portions so it’s easy the next time you want pizza. It keeps in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat Pizza Dough
All you need to do to reheat pizza dough is thaw it in the fridge overnight. Then, make as normal!
How to Long to Bake Pizza Dough
Pizza cooks best at about 500F on the lowest rack. It helps to brush the dough lightly with olive oil and poke it with a fork to pre-bake. You should do that for about 6 minutes which will keep your crust from getting soggy. Then take it out to add the pizza sauce and toppings and bake for 8 to 15 minutes on a pizza pan for best results. You’ll know it’s ready when the crust is nice and golden and your cheese is all melty and delightful.