This is my quick and easy pizza dough recipe. If you're craving pizza in the next hour, you can totally do it with this recipe. Made with simple ingredients like flour, salt, water, and yeast, it is the perfect canvas for all your pizza toppings. The crust is crispy, and the inside is light and fluffy. Perfect for pizza night at home.
Looking for more easy dinner recipes? Try my homemade breadsticks next!
About This Recipe
I know a thing or two about pizza. Growing up, my family ran a pizza place for over 20 years. I used to work there every Friday night, and I was involved in the entire pizza-making process!
Our dough was made in big batches. We had an industrial-sized dough machine, and one batch would typically make enough pizzas for 1-2 days. We did a two-rise process and then refrigerated the doughs after pressing them into pans. The doughs always tasted the best after resting overnight.
Typically, when I make pizza dough at home, I like to let it ferment slowly, around 18-24 hours. This ensures the crust is beautifully chewy on the inside. But sometimes a pizza craving strikes out of nowhere, and I need dough fast. In that case, I always turn to this recipe. Although it is not as chewy, it is still absolutely delicious and satisfies all my pizza cravings. The crust comes out nice and crisp, and the inside is light and fluffy.
Key Ingredients
Flour: On this website, I typically use all-purpose flour for all my recipes. If you use whole wheat or bread flour, please keep in mind that those flours require more water than I have listed.
Sugar & salt: To flavor the crust. Sugar also helps feed the yeast.
Instant yeast: I like instant yeast because you do not have to bloom it in warm sugar water first. You just add it to the dry ingredients directly. If you use active yeast, you'll have to bloom it for 10-15 minutes.
Water: Make sure to heat up your water to around 110°F. This will make the rising time much shorter.
Olive oil: Olive oil serves two main purposes. First, it lubricates the crumb so the crust does not taste dry. Second, it adds delicious flavor. If you don't like olive oil, you can also use melted butter.
Instructions
STEP 1: Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer bowl.
STEP 2: Add the water and olive oil. Mix with the dough hook, or knead by hand, for 5-7 minutes until the dough is relatively smooth.
STEP 3: Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
STEP 4: Let the dough rest in a warm place for 45 minutes. For the warm place, I preheat my oven for 30 seconds, turn it off, then place the dough inside with the oven light on.
STEP 5: Preheat your oven to 450°F. Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll the dough into a 10 or 12-inch circle and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
STEP 6: Add your pizza sauce and toppings, then bake for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned. Enjoy!
Quick and Easy Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cups warm water (around 110°F)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, instant yeast, and salt.
- Add the warm water and olive oil. Mix with the dough hook - or knead with your hands - for 5-7 minutes until relatively smooth.
- Transfer to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for 45-60 minutes in a warm place until doubled in size. For the warm place, I typically turn my oven on for 30 seconds, turn it off, and leave the bowl inside with the light on.
- Divide the dough into two balls.
- Roll the dough into either 10" or 12" circles. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined pizza pan or baking sheet.
- Spread on pizza sauce and add your desired toppings, then bake at 450°F for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned on top. Enjoy!
Virginia Gross
Easy and turned out perfect! I used King Arthur Pizza flour. I used this for a Stromboli recipe. It makes 2 large Strombolis.
Grumpy
Awesome, Virginia
Bailey Gibson
We have been actively using this recipe for a year! It is the best pizza crust recipe. What about freezing pre-made crust? Any recommendations there for this recipe?
Grumpy
We used to freeze leftover dough when business was slow at my parent's pizza restaurant. U can freeze it once you make the balls, but you have to let it defrost completely before baking it. We used to thaw our dough overnight in the fridge or at room temp for a few hours. Most of our doughs were already pressed into pans so we just stuck the entire pan in the freezer.