The Best Pizza Dough
This Best Pizza Dough recipe is so easy to make. It creates the most delicious dough ever. My family asks me to make this all the time!
There is a huge debate over who has the best pizza. New York? Chicago? Italy? Well, my friends, let me be the one to answer this puzzling question and say that it’s none of them! That’s right! With my Best Pizza Dough recipe, the world’s greatest pizza will come straight from your oven, and the best part is that it only requires 6 simple ingredients.
Combine water, honey, yeast, and salt in a stand mixer. Once these are all mixed begin to gradually add the flour. When the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl it only requires a quick knead for a few minutes. This gives it some love and helps keep the dough tender. Cover and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
Once the dough is ready, it’s time to get creative. Flatten out the dough to fit your baking pan and then go nuts with your sauce and toppings. PRO TIP: If it’s difficult to spread and flatten the dough into a pizza shape, let it rest for another 5 minutes or so. Your dough is ready when it is easy to work with.
We love having pizza nights at our house. It’s one of my favorite dinner activities to have with my family. Everyone gets to be their own chef and have whatever they want on their personal pizza. Pizza memories made in your very own kitchen is by far the best pizza in the world.
HOW MANY PIZZAS DOES THIS DOUGH MAKE?
This dough recipe creates 1 large pizza, OR 2 small pizzas, OR 4 personal size pizzas.
CAN I FREEZE THE DOUGH?
Yes! This dough freezes beautifully. Place it in a freezer-safe bag. Make sure to squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing the bag. Freeze dough for up to two months. Let the dough thaw in the refrigerator for at least 10 to 12 hours, then let sit on the counter to bring it to room temperature before making a pizza. You want the dough to be soft, and workable.
CAN THIS BE MADE GLUTEN FREE?
Yes! Substitute gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour.
ENJOY THIS RECIPE? HERE ARE A FEW MORE TO GET THE FAMILY INVOLVED!
Mexican Pizza – Tortillas filled with ground beef, cheese, refried beans, and enchilada sauce.
Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs – Tender marinated pieces of chicken, pineapple, onions, and bell peppers.
Margherita Flatbread Pizza – Roma tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese, and garlic on flatbread.
Ham and Cheese Sliders – Tender ham, melty cheese, on a toasted slider bun.
The Best Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (100 degrees F.)
- 1 tablespoon honey (or granulated sugar)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, mix the warm water, honey, oil, yeast and salt. Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (The dough should be soft and smooth. You can add up to another 1/2 cup of flour, but no more than that.)
- Knead the dough for 3 minutes in stand mixer.
- Cover dough with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Shape and flatten dough out onto a greased pizza pan or greased baking sheet. Top evenly with your favorite sauce and pizza toppings.
- **If using a pizza stone, place stone in the oven while it preheats. Shape the dough out onto a large circle on parchment paper. Then carefully transfer the pizza dough onto a pizza peel that is dusted with flour and cornmeal. Top dough with pizza sauce and toppings, then carefully slide pizza onto the stone and bake.
- Bake pizza at 450 degrees F. for 12 to 14 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly, and edges of crust are a nice golden-brown. Carefully remove from oven. Allow pizza to stand and cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
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Can this dough be left overnight. Have to make a bunch and dont want to get up so early to make them. Rather make them at night for the next day.
Yes you can absolutely make this one day in advance. I do it all the time. The dough will rise and expand in the fridge as it sits, so be sure to store it in a large bowl, loosely covered, to allow it to expand. And make sure all the dough is covered too, so it doesn’t dry out or exposed to too much air.
When you’re ready to make the pizzas, I would let the dough sit out at room temperature for a bit so it’s easy to work with and shape. 🙂
Used regular yeast, proofed with sugar, then added a shake of garlic powder and a teaspoon of italian seasoning. Topped with vegies, red pepper, onion, spinach, sausage bacon crumbles, assorted cheese. Yummy. Great dough recipe. Thanks. Mixed in our ninja. Perfect results.
This is the only pizza dough recipe i use. It’s easy and absolutely delicious! I made it two days ago. Last night we had company come over for a pasta dinner. I didn’t have bread so I made a loaf using this recipe. It turned out being fantastic!
How can I make it if I don’t have a stand mixer?
Several years I attempted making pizza dough and after many failures I quit. Lately I said to myself if I can make rolls, crusty loafs why is a damn pizza so hard to accomplish. After researching several if not a hundred, YOURS called me out. Im not religious but it was like an epiphany happening. OMG OMG this is so easy! I added oregano and thyme to the dough and let raise for 45 mins. It was a bit sticky so I added a pinch of flour and cooked on perforated pan for 15 mins. The Mrs and I each had 2 pieces. Thank you for saving my modest culinary world!!
Aww I am so happy my recipe won your heart and worked great! Yay! I make this dough at least 3x a month. We just love it. 🙂
I only ever make a positive comment if the recipe I use is a 5 star, this is one of those! Will be my now forever pizza dough! Effortless.
I hate to temp fate since I finally mastered making this wonderful pizza dough which we have enjoyed several times. I’m curious however that many followers have mentioned using a cast iron pan. I’m wondering on the size pan they are using ,do they preheat it first,is cooking temp and time the same. Thanks again Tony
Thanks for sharing this good recipe! I decided to sift the flour and it had amazing texture.
I am going to FINALLY leave a review! I have made this recipe more times than I can count, and it’s my absolute favorite! All 6 of us in this household love it! The only thing I do that is slightly different is that I let the dough rise for a few minutes while I get all my other pizza toppings together. There are also times where I haven’t let it rise. This is a no fail dough, and a winner in my book!
I am so happy to hear this! Thank you for your super sweet comment. I love it when people love this dough as much as me. 🙂
Hi Holly,
I tried this last night (with mainly GF Flour) and while it rose well and tasted great, it all pulled apart and tore while trying to get it onto the heated pizza stone. Any tips on how to MANEUVER it once its ready to be cooked?
Thanks Kim.
Hi Kim! I updated the recipe card with these instructions when using a pizza stone:
**If using a pizza stone, place stone in the oven while it preheats. Shape the dough out onto a large circle on parchment paper. Then carefully transfer the pizza dough onto a pizza peel that is dusted with flour and cornmeal. Top dough with pizza sauce and toppings, then carefully slide pizza onto the stone and bake.
This was the first time I made this recipe for pizza dough. It turned out beautiful! I am definitely going to use this recipe again and again!!