This Easy Pizza Dough is perfect for busy weeknights or whenever a craving for pizza strikes. Sometimes, all we want is a hot and fresh homemade pizza on the table fast and this recipe delivers, plus it’s perfect for beginners.
We’re definitely pizza lovers, and there’s nothing better than a pizza (or Calzone or Stromboli) made with homemade pizza dough. Watch the video tutorial below to learn how to make fast and easy pizza dough – the perfect base for all your favorite pizza toppings.
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EASY Homemade Pizza Dough
You asked for a family-friendly, quick pizza dough recipe, so we delivered (no pun intended). This quick pizza dough recipe comes together easily and bakes up hot and fresh with chewy, pillowy crusts in a fraction of the time.
Our original Overnight Pizza Dough calls for slow, cold fermentation. Which is great when you have the time! Meanwhile, this recipe comes together fast, so you can have homemade pizza on the table in two hours or less.
Quick Pizza Dough Video
Watch Natasha make this quick and easy homemade pizza dough. Learn how to make a perfectly bubbly, golden crust that’s ready to smother with pizza sauce, plus your favorite toppings.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 1 lb of pizza dough or enough dough for one large 14-inch diameter pizza crust. Below is a quick overview of what you’ll need, with the full recipe amounts available in the recipe card.
- Warm Water – We recommend using filtered water, warmed to 110-115ºF. Be careful that your water isn’t too hot as it may kill the yeast.
- Honey – Sugar is key when making dough. You can substitute honey with the same amount of granulated sugar.
- Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil adds richness to the dough and helps it bake up nice and crispy. Coating the bowl in oil also coats the crust which keeps it from getting soggy under the sauce.
- Yeast – We use active dry yeast. You can also use the same quantity of rapid-rise or instant yeast and follow the recipe as directed, keeping in mind that rapid-rise yeast will rise and proof slightly faster. If your yeast is refrigerated, bring it to room temperature before you start.
- Flour – Bread flour has a higher protein content and creates a better pizza crust texture.
- Salt – Don’t skip the salt – it’s key to a tasty pizza crust.
Sugar: The Secret Ingredient in Pizza Dough
Sugar (or honey) is important in quick-rise pizza doughs, as it helps to activate the yeast, and also breaks down gluten so that the dough is loose and pliable. This makes it easier for the pizza dough to expand in the oven to create those crisp, bubbly edges we know and love.
As the pizza crust bakes, it also undergoes what’s called a Maillard reaction: the sugars react with the proteins in the dough to create a flavorful, beautifully browned crust.
How to Make Easy Pizza Dough
- Activate the yeast – In a large mixing bowl, stir together warm water and honey. Sprinkle with yeast and stir to combine. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes or until it begins to foam at the top.
- Add oil, flour, and salt to the bowl with the yeast mixture, using a wooden spoon to bring the dough together.
- Knead – Turn the dough out and knead for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour if it’s too sticky but keep in mind, It will start out a bit tacky but will become less so as you knead. Continue until the dough is smooth and bounces back when you gently press it with your finger.
- Rest – Drizzle a new bowl with olive oil, then place the dough ball into the bottom of the bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise on the counter for 1 ½ hours, until it’s doubled in size. It’s time to turn your homemade dough into the pizza of your dreams!
Pro Tip: If your yeast isn’t foaming after 10 minutes, this could mean that your water was too hot or that the yeast you’re using is expired. You’ll need to discard the mixture and try again with fresh yeast.
Common Questions
Placing the dough in a warm spot, like a 100ºF oven, can help it rise faster. However, the crust texture turns out slightly better with a slower rise. Make sure it’s not too hot or you will kill the yeast.
Bread flour is our first choice for this quick pizza dough recipe since the higher protein content in bread flour produces a chewier crust with a better hole structure. You can substitute with all-purpose flour if that is what you have on hand.
Yes. To make two smaller pizza crusts, divide the dough into two portions and proof them in separate bowls.
Make sure your yeast forms a foamy layer when proofing which indicates your yeast is active and not expired. Also, ensure your water is warm, between 110˚F to 115˚F on an instant-read thermometer. If the water is too hot, it can ruin the yeast.
How to Make Pizza at Home
About 30 minutes before you’re ready to bake your pizza, get your oven and pizza stone preheated to 500ºF (an oven-thermometer is handy here). We recommend using a pizza stone, but you can also place an inverted baking sheet into the center of the oven instead.
- Shape the Dough – Gently roll the dough over your knuckles to start shaping it. Then, pop the dough onto a parchment-lined pizza peel and finish stretching and shaping the dough into a 14” circle. Leave a thicker crust around the edges.
- Add Toppings – Finish your pizza with your choice of sauce and toppings (see below for some of our favorite variations).
- Bake – Finally, use the pizza peel to transfer the pizza to your hot pizza stone. Bake at 500ºF for 10-13 minutes or until the crust is puffed and golden brown.
Pizza Toppings and Variations
As a rule of thumb, for a 12 to 14-inch pizza, we use one 1/2 recipe of red Pizza Sauce or White Pizza Sauce and about 12 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Margherita – use crushed whole tomatoes for sauce and top with fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil.
- Pepperoni – add 10-14 thin slices of pepperoni on top of shredded mozzarella.
- Hawaiian – with Canadian bacon and pineapple chunks.
- Chicken Pizza – with chunks of sautéed chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, basil
Pro Tip: Be careful not to overload your pizza with toppings or it will take longer to bake through.
Make-Ahead
This pizza dough keeps well. Here’s how to store your homemade pizza dough:
- To refrigerate: Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover it refrigerate for up to 3 days. Take the dough out and let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before you make your pizzas.
- To freeze: Once the dough rises, you can freeze it and keep this homemade pizza dough frozen for up to 3 months, and defrost it in the fridge overnight. Check out our tutorial on How to Freeze Pizza Dough.
- Reheating leftover pizza: You can reheat a slice of pizza in the oven, or toaster oven at 375˚F for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted. An air fryer is even faster at 350˚F for 3-4 minutes. You can also microwave for 30 seconds but the crust is more likely to get soggy.
This quick and easy pizza dough is sure to become a go-to for easy pizza nights. What are YOUR favorite pizza toppings? Let me know in the comments!
Pizza Pairings: Delicious Sides and Appetizers
Now that you’ll be enjoying homemade pizza on the regular, here are some easy sides to serve on pizza night.
- Dipping Sauces – Who doesn’t love a side of dipping sauce with their slice of pizza? Try Homemade Ranch, our easy Marinara Sauce, or Pesto.
- Salad – Serve with a classic Caesar Salad, or Caprese Salad.
- Appetizers – Garlic Bread or Bruschetta are great appetizers for a pizza party.
- Drinks – Keep it refreshing with sparkling water or Iced Tea.
- Sides – Meatballs pair well with pizza and add protein to the meal.
Quick and Easy Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm filtered water, 110-115°F
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp active dry yeast, at room temperature
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups bread flour, plus 2-3 Tbsp more to dust or as needed
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
How to Make Pizza Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water (110˚-115˚F), honey, and yeast. Stir together and set aside for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. You should see it form a layer of foam at the top. This indicates your yeast is active.
- Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, flour, and salt and stir together with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Transfer to a clean work surface and knead for 5 minutes or until the surface of the dough is smooth and springy. The dough should be slightly tacky and will get less sticky as you knead. If it is too sticky to knead, sprinkle on a little bit of flour at a time until you have a workable dough, but don't add too much flour.
- Add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large clean bowl and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the dough ball and turn to coat it in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature (72°F) for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in volume.
How to Make Pizza With the Dough:
- About 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 500°F with a pizza stone in the center of your oven, or use an inverted baking sheet.
- To easily transfer the pizza dough, Line your work surface with a large sheet of parchment paper (about 15”x 15”). Roll the dough over your knuckles to start shaping it into a pizza crust then place it on a parchment-lined pizza peel and gently stretch it to a 14-inch diameter circle, keeping a thicker crust around the edges.*
- Add your favorite sauce and toppings. Use a pizza peel or baking sheet to transfer your pizza with parchment paper to your hot pizza stone and bake for 10-13 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (timing can depend on oven temperature and thickness of your crust so keep an eye on it).
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Made this tonight! I can’t describe how awesome this crust is! The bubbles around the crust..whoops. mamamia! Thanks so much! I can’t wait to make second one!
Fast , delicious and so easy to make. I made it with 00 flour and it was truly delicious.
That’s so great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful review with me!
Hi Natasha,
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It turns out amazing every time. I have a slight problem with my dough though. Sometimes it turns out too springy after proofing. It becomes really hard to stretch the pizza to shape. What does this mean and what could be the culprit?
Sometimes ifyou knead the dough too much or for too long, the gluten can become overly developed and it makes the dough more elastic and harder to stretch. Kneading the dough should take about 8-10 minutes by hand or 5-7 minutes in a stand mixer.Try to avoid adding extra flour too unless needed.
Made your pizza dough recipe many times my husband and i love it, as well as my parents thank you Natasha.
We have made your crust a few times now. We love this crust and how simple and easy it is. Thank you for this easy recipe so we can have homemade pizza! We like to make one batch and split it between 2 pizzas and we roll it out with a rolling pin because we love thin crust pizza. Delicious!! Baked at 475 for about 15 minutes on a preheated stone. Loved it and will be in our rotation now!! I made the dough last night and let it rise for an hour then placed in the fridge until this evening, only let it sit maybe an hour before formed pizzas. Husband said it rolled out great. Loved it!
I want to make the dough in the morning. To refrigerate, to use later, should I let it rise first?
Hi Mary! Yes, and then proceed with the refrigeration instructions in the “make-ahead” section above.
Hi Natasha,
I tried this today and loved it. I have a question. In the ingredients it calls for a teaspoon of active dry yeast. I only have the packages. Should I be taking a teaspoon from that or use the whole package?
Hi Rosemary! Yes, you’d need to measure it out.
Hi,
What if I don’t have a pizza stone? Can I bake on cookie sheet? If so, at what temp?
Thank you!
Hi Nicole, That should be fine. Several of my viewers have reported using a regular pan for this as well. Just keep an eye on it in the oven since heat is conducted differently in metal.
So glad I tried this recipe! It’s the first time in years of cooking that I made a delicious pizza! Now this will be the recipe I use. Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Natasha, I love your pizza dough,however when make it, the dough turns tough a heavy feel. Help please
Hi Terry, I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe! Overworking the dough could be the culprit, be sure to knead the dough just enough to develop the gluten. Also, be sure to measure your flour correctly, too much flour could result in a tough dough. Be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup. I hope that helps.
If my dough has risen but I’m not ready to put in the oven for another 2 hours, is it ok to just leave it out on the counter until I’m ready to bake it?
Hi Colleen, this could be ok in a cooler room which would keep it from continuing to rise. If you let it rise too much, it can overproof and exhaust the yeast.
I have used this recipe several times and his has been reliable on each attempt. I also appreciate that a stand mixer is not necessary, and fortunately, my oven has a proof setting making the rise a success. And Natasha’s pizza sauce recipe works very well with this.
Hi !!! I love this dough!
can i use my stand mixer w dough hook?
Hi Susann, I imagine that work! I think it’s a great time saver. Hope you love it!
Hi Natasha! I would like to try this pizza recipe of yours but I am wondering if it is the same temperature and amount of time if I am using oven gas range for cooking the pizza. I don’t have electric oven though.
Hello there! You need to ensuring that your oven is properly preheated and monitor the pizza during baking since gas ovens can sometimes have slightly different heat distribution compared to electric ovens.I recommend checking the pizza after 8-10 minutes.
Thank you for sharing your recipe’s. It gives me ideas for are family eat
You are welcome!
Hi Natasha! Thank you for this recipe, it’s so delicious! We use your homemade sauce too and it’s amazing. Lately, the last few times we made it, the dough is coming out way too sticky, to the point where it can’t be worked with properly. Can you help troubleshoot? We measure everything properly and knead for the right amount of time. We’ve also tried adding several extra tablespoons of flour and it doesn’t help. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!!
Hi Jennifer! It could be temperature or climate related too.
A few things I would try-
Kneading for a little while longer. Letting it rest for 15-20mins to allow more time for the flour to absorb the water which will make it easier to handle. Also- if your kitchen is too warm, the dough will be stickier. Chilling the dough a bit may help.
I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha! I love this pizza dough recipe! I made it for lunch so good 😊
I’m so happy you’re loving it. Thank you for your feedback.
Hi Natasha. I love all your recipes, they are so easy and delicious. I have one quick question on this easy pizza crust recipe. I want to make it to use tomorrow, do I deflate it before I refrigerate? Thank you so much
Hi Anne, there’s no need to deflate the dough.