Description
Easy homemade pizza dough - ready to bake in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup warm water (about 100° - you should be able to comfortably hold your hand in it at this temp)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups (300g) all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- Your favorite pizza toppings!
Instructions
- Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water in a large bowl (you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook). Let stand 3-4 minutes until yeast begins to foam.
- Add olive oil and salt to yeast mixture.
- Stir in most of the flour, reserving about 1/2 cup, until dough starts to come together.
- Take a look at your dough. If it is still too wet, add remaining flour a bit at a time and knead between each addition. The dough should pull itself into a ball as you stir but should still be slightly sticky to the touch. If the dough is too dry, add a splash of water or olive oil and stir or knead to work the liquid into the dough.
- Cover dough with a tea towel and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. (If you have more time, let it rest for up to an hour to develop more flavor).
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll or shape normally.
- Top with your favorite sauce, cheese, and toppings, and bake with your favorite method! We like to bake pizza on a hot baking steel at 450-500°F for 10-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is browned.
Notes
How much dough does this recipe make? This recipe makes enough for one sheet-pan sized pizza, two 10-12" pizzas, or 4-6 individual pizzas (depending on size and how thin you stretch your dough!) If you don't need that much pizza, you can keep extra dough in the fridge (in a large mixing bowl, covered, with plenty of room to rise!) for up to 24 hours - when you're ready to use it, punch it down and let it warm up on the counter for an hour or so, then use normally (you get great flavor this way!)
How to bake pizza dough. We prefer baking on a hot baking steel or pizza stone. You can also use this dough for deep dish pizza in a cast iron skillet, grilled flatbread, or a pan pizza. Read the full post above for more on our favorite baking methods!
How long should I let my dough rise? Because pizza can be pressed into shape, the dough is a bit more forgiving than when you make a loaf of bread - which is why we can get away with just a short 10-minute rest (instead of a 1-hour rise) if we need to. But if you have time, let this dough rise for up to an hour to build more flavor and produce a chewier, airier crust!
Adding flavor to this dough. Because we're baking this dough so quickly, it won't have the same depth of flavor as dough that's been through a long rise time (but it's still a tasty back-pocket recipe for busy weeknights!) Add dried herbs, chopped or roasted garlic, Italian seasoning, fresh ground pepper, or shredded cheese (parmesan, sharp cheddar, asiago) to this pizza dough to give it an extra boost of flavor. You can also brush the pizza with herb- or garlic-infused olive oil (or melted butter) when it comes out of the oven!
Suggested toppings. Use a thin layer of marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella for a classic cheese pizza! We also love adding extra cheeses (parmesan, cheddar, gruyere, fontina, ricotta) meats (pepperoni, sausage, sliced meatballs, grilled chicken) and veggies (bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, spinach, you name it!) to our homemade pizza. For some topping inspiration, check out our Corn and Cilantro Pizza, Mushroom Flatbread, Breakfast Pizza, or this Italian Sausage and Arugula Pizza.
To easily remove sticky dough from a mixing bowl, run your hand under cold water and then run your wet hand around the edges of the dough as you flip the bowl towards your floured surface. The dough will release easily and in one piece.
Substitutions. Use bread flour in place of the all purpose flour for a chewier crumb. Use honey or agave syrup in place of the sugar. If you have a jar of active dry yeast, you can use the 2 teaspoons called for in the recipe. If you just have a packet of active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) it's fine to use the entire packet so you don't have leftovers!
Looking for a whole wheat version? Try our whole wheat pizza dough!
Adapted from AllRecipes.com