This is hands down the best pizza dough! It makes a New York-style pizza with a thin crust in the center and beautifully puffed on the edges. You will love this crust – it’s crisp, chewy and so satisfying. Make this and you will never want a store-bought crust again. And, you’ll be known for your pizza!
Unlike our Quick and Easy Pizza Dough (which is great if you’re in a hurry), this is an Overnight pizza dough. You can only get this kind of pizzeria-quality crust by letting it rest in the refrigerator and slowly rise overnight. It’s also easier than you think. Watch the video tutorial, and you’ll be a pro in no time!
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The Best Pizza Dough
This is a make-ahead pizza dough recipe that just gets better with time and it keeps really well refrigerated for at least a week. Here’s more good news: our classic red pizza sauce and creamy white pizza sauce also keep really well in the fridge so you can fire up a pizza whenever the craving strikes. An overnight pizza dough also makes throwing a pizza party stress-free and everyone will be super impressed by your pizza-making skills. P.S. This overnight pizza dough is also great for homemade Stromboli or even Calzones (i.e. pizza pockets).
Pizza Dough Video Tutorial
Watch the pizza dough video tutorial once and you will be a pro in no time.
The Secret to the Best Pizza Crust
Since most pizza dough recipes have the same ingredients: flour, salt, water, yeast – it’s the process that makes all the difference. This pizza dough seriously tastes like it came out of a high-end pizzeria and in fact, most New York pizza doughs are fermented for at least 24 hours.
The pizza bosses of the world know the secret to an incredible dough is to let it rest and give it time to rise in the slow/ cold fermentation step. This process makes the dough much easier to work with and forms the coveted texture, rise, and bubbles at the edges.
What is the Best Flour for Pizza Dough?
You don’t need any fancy flours to develop a gorgeous crust. We used organic all-purpose flour for making pizza. Bread flour will work equally well if that is what you have on hand and it will give you a slightly chewier crust. You can substitute bread flour for all-purpose flour in equal parts.
If you want to make a more Neopolitan-style pizza, a “00” Flour is a great choice as well.
You can dust the pizza peel with the flour you are using to make the dough, or dust with semolina flour if you have it on hand. It’s what the pros use for easier transfer from the pizza peel to the oven.
Pro Tip:
Do not use too much yeast! Most ‘quick’ pizza doughs use way too much yeast which makes the crust doughy and causes the center of the pizza rise while baking. If you use too much yeast, you will never achieve that thin crisp crust in the center.
How to Make Overnight Pizza Dough
- Mix together water, salt and honey. Sprinkle with yeast and set aside 5 min then stir.
- Pour the water mixture over your flour and stir to combine with a spatula, then knead by hand for 2 minutes. Cover and let rise 4-5 hours at room temperature.
- Transfer dough onto a floured surface and divide in half. Fold each piece of dough 8 times (rotating book fold) and form a ball. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight or up to 7 days. Your dough is done.
Why Fold the Pizza Dough?
Folding the dough balls 8 times with the ‘book fold’ and turning the dough between each fold strengthens the gluten threads and traps carbon dioxide created by the yeast, which helps form those beautiful bubbles in the dough.
How to Form and Bake Pizza Crust
- Remove the dough from the fridge 1 hour before using then preheat the oven with a pizza stone in the center to 550˚F.
- When the oven is preheated, place room-temperature dough onto a floured surface and dust lightly with flour.
- Gently press the dough down in the center with your fingertips, then place the dough over the back of your knuckles with both hands together and roll over your knuckles, rotating around the dough as you go, keeping a 1″ thicker border. Place 10-12″ diameter crust onto a floured pizza peel.
- Add white pizza sauce or red pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings. Give the pizza a shake over your pizza peel to make sure it’s not sticking then immediately slide it from your pizza peel onto the preheated pizza stone and bake at 550˚F for 8-10 minutes.
Tools for Homemade Pizza
The right tools will make the pizza dough making the process even easier. It will also make you look like a pizza ninja to transfer your pizza from a pizza peel onto your hot pizza stone.
- Pizza Peels (a set of 2 makes the process easier).
- Flexible Food Scraper – to scrape the dough out of bowls and cut the dough in half
- Round Pizza Stone – to bake your pizza in the oven
- Pizza Cutter – the easiest way to slice a pizza
- Instant Read Thermometer – to check water temperature
Pro Tip:
If you are looking for fresh pizza topping inspiration, you’ll love the Tuscan Pizza we shared in Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook (it uses this same overnight pizza dough recipe)!
Can I Freeze Pizza Dough?
Yes! It’s very easy to freeze this dough, and once it’s thawed, it tastes just as good as freshly made. See our tutorial for How to Freeze Pizza Dough.
What to Serve with Pizza
Once you have mastered your pizza-making skills, you will want to throw a pizza party. Once you throw a pizza party, you’ll need sides to go with it. These are all great options:
- Avocado Ranch or Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Caesar Salad – a fresh and crisp green salad
- Avocado Corn Salad – so vibrant and satisfying
- Cobb Salad – beautiful and delicious
- Garden Salad – A restaurant-style side salad
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob – the juiciest way to cook corn
Overnight Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups warm water, 105-110˚F
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 Tbsp fine sea salt
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, (measured correctly) plus more to dust*
Instructions
How to Make Pizza Dough:
- In a small bowl, stir together water, honey, and salt then sprinkle the top with 1/2 tsp yeast and let sit 5 minutes then stir.
- Measure 3 1/3 cups flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour yeast mixture into the center then stir with a firm spatula until the dough comes together. Knead by hand 2 minutes (dough will be sticky). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 4-5 hours or until doubled in size.
- Transfer dough to a floured surface, turn to coat lightly in flour so it isn’t sticky then divide in half. Fold each piece of dough in half 8 times, gently pulling the sides over the center like closing a book, turning the dough each time and repeating for 8 folds. Form a ball in your hands and transfer each piece of dough to a lightly oiled bowl seam-side-down, cover and refrigerate overnight (18 hours) or up to 1 week.
How to Form a Pizza Crust:
- PREP: Remove the dough 1 hour before using to let it relax and come to room temperature. Before forming the pizza crust, fully preheat your oven so pizza can be baked right away. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet onto the center rack of the oven and preheat to 550˚F. Also, lightly flour a pizza peel and prep toppings.
- When dough is about room temperature and oven is preheated, transfer 1 piece of dough to a floured surface, turning to lightly coat in flour. Pat the center of the dough gently with fingertips. DO NOT pop any bubbles present.
- Lift the dough over both knuckles and roll your knuckles under the center of the dough, working outward as you rotate the dough along your knuckles and leaving a thicker crust at the edge. Continue working the dough until a 10-12” pizza has formed. It will shrink slightly so make it a little bigger than you think. Place the dough down on a lightly floured pizza peel. Give the pizza peel a little shake to make sure the pizza slides over it and is not sticking.
- Spread on desired pizza sauce and toppings. Give the pizza another jolt to make sure it slides on the pizza peel (you don’t want it to stick while transferring it into the oven). Slide pizza onto the preheated pizza stone and bake at 550˚F for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and some of the larger bubbles on the crust are lightly scorched to ensure a crisp crust.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi Natasha,
Thank you very much for all the receipes you make and share with us 🙌🙏 happy to be one of your followers 😁
For the pizza dough is it possible to get the measurements in gramme pls?
Kind regards Rose
You are very welcome, Rose Thank you for your great comments and feedback. You can convert the recipe to grams, click on Jump to recipe and click on Metric. Hope that helps!
Super great, sounds good 😊 thanks for quick answer 🙏😁💐
You’re welcome!
I’ve tried numerous pizza dough recipes and my family says this is the best! Love all your recipes.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Jan!
Hi Natasha, we love all your recipes but I measured just like you said and the dough came out so dry. I’m crossing my fingers it still comes out once it rises. We shall see.
Hi Tonya, please share with us again how it goes. I hope it becomes a success!
Hi I made this and it came phenomenal the first time. However the next 2 times i had trouble with the dough. It kept forming holes in the middle and it would not stretch out as big as the first time. also my pizza peel will not slide the pizza off even with the flour!! HELP!!
Hi Angela, make sure to let it rest at room temperature after refrigeration as described (this helps relax the dough and gluten strands) and flour your hands to roll it over your knuckles which should help.
thanks for replying! you guys always follow up!
This EXACT thing happened to me, Angela…it kept tearing in the middle…it ended up way smaller than the first dough I made and it tasted like bread. What did I do wrong. Followed the recipe to the T!
Same here! I thought it was just me! I really struggled with the dough as it kept ripping in the middle! Natasha makes it look so effortless, but this one obviously takes a lot of practice and trial and error! !
I’ve made this 3x and it only came out perfectly the first time ugh! idk it’s so frustrating. trying one more time! lol
Hi Angela, consider if you using different flour, or making any substitutions? Letting it rest at room temperature and in the refrigerator for the same amount of time? Heating the oven adequately? I’d also suggest watching the video tutorial to see where things started to look different.
This pizza dough is literally the best I have ever made. With my boyfriend we keep making it since last week and this is just extra delicious. Thank you for a great recipe 😊
You’re welcome, Eloise! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
We have tried a few recipes and this one is the winner! I don’t think we will order pizza any time soon because this hits the spot!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Another winner- the best pizza dough recipe ever! I’ve made with both sauces- just made it with the white sauce recipe and added fresh basil, mushrooms and shrimp to recreate one we’ve missed during covid at our favorite Italian restaurant. It was perfect!!
Hello Elizabeth, sounds delicious! I’m happy to know that you were able to recreate your favorite pizza. You can now make it at home anytime you want to!
I am looking for a recipe for a thin crust chicken bacon ranch. Any suggestions or recipes?
Hi Darlene, I don’t think I have a recipe similar to that yet but thanks for your idea and suggestion. I’ll try to add that to our list!
Hello Natasha, my family and I love your recipes and I have recommended your website to many folks. I have a question about the pizza dough. Can it be frozen? I see in your instructions that it can be refrigerated up to seven days, but I didn’t see anything about freezing it. Thanks and God bless.
Greg
Hello Greg, wow thank you so much for recommending my recipes. Yes you can freeze the dough. Freezing will work fine. To Freeze Pizza Dough: 1. Let the dough do its cold ferment overnight before freezing. 2. Lightly coat the dough with oil and transfer to a resealable freezer-safe zip bag and squeeze out the excess air then freeze up to 3 months. 3. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter and come to room temperature 1 hour before shaping.
Hi
Yours is the first pizza recipe I have made (I mostly make all my own bread) and have now made it twice and turned out very good. The crust looked great with lots of air holes just like it was from a good pizzeria. The only thing I found was the crust was a little tough and too chewy. Any suggestions? If I don’t use both portions within the week, can I freeze and how?
Hi Sandra, make sure to measure the flour the same way. A tough dough sounds like too much flour. I also always recommend following the same process and tools whenever possible before making adjustments.
I did try again being careful to measure flour carefully (I fluffed with whisk and remeasured). Best one so far and got a 10 from friend I shared with.
Thank you
Wow, the perfect rating is awesome! Thanks for sharing, Sandra.
I also ordered the pizza kit you listed. I was tired of struggling and not having the right equipment! Excited to have it all! Thanks, Natasha!
I’m so glad you got it! I hope you love this recipe!
This is the best pizza dough I’ve ever tried. It’s now my go-to! Question: About how much cheese do you use on your cheese pizza? I don’t think I used enough though it looked generous at the time. Thank you for all your recipes, I’ve tried several and they are ALL keepers!
Hi Peggy! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. We like a nice generous layer of cheese. I recommend watching the video for reference; shortly after the six-minute mark, you can see how much we added.
Littile bit confused with water ur water look more in jug when I measure its very less can u give me water measurement in ml or oz
You can convert the ingredients to grams/ml, just click Jump to recipe to go to the recipe card and then click Metric.
I also have tried a few dough recipes and although the others are good nothing compares to this one! I have a ball on the counter right now!
Thank you for your great feedback and review, Catherine. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi Natasha, you are my go-to chef….I made this pizza dough. The first pizza was great. I froze the second half and used it 2 weeks later. It was not good…what do you think I did wrong? It was tough and flat.
Hi Michele, it’s hard to say without being there, you can freeze the dough. Freezing should work fine. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when freexing. To Freeze Pizza Dough: 1. Let the dough do its cold ferment overnight before freezing. 2. Lightly coat the dough with oil and transfer to a resealable freezer-safe zip bag and squeeze out the excess air then freeze up to 3 months. 3. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter and come to room temperature 1 hour before shaping.
I have tried many pizza dough recipes in search of one that is close to a pizza shops in my neighborhood. This recipe is exactly what I was looking for. Its the best pizza dough recipe. Thank you for sharing it.
Fantastic! You are very welcome. Thanks for giving this recipe a try, I’m happy that you loved it!
omg, the best pizza crust ever. thank you so much for the recipe.
Glad you loved it! Thanks for your great feedback.
Definitely the best pizza dough recipe I’ve ever done. I thought that maybe I had done it a bit wrong at the start because it was a bit sticky but it all came together to make a really great pizza
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Tried it and it is so crispy and delicious
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I tried this recipe twice now and had to throw out the dough during the first steps. I mixed the water, salt, honey and yeast, then added it to the flour. I triple checked the measurements and each time I added the wet ingredients to the dry and stirred with the spatula the mixture became so dry.. not at all like it looked in your video. Not sticky, but very powdery and dry. Can barely knead it. Help! what am I doing wrong?
Hi Felicia, I’m curious if it’s your method of measuring flour. Be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon, then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape it 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.
Hi natasha I always try your pizza and it taste excellent but the dough is not crispy and nice as yous what can be the problem
Hi Hana, make sure your pan is preheated and hot. Were any steps or ingredients altered by chance? I recommend reading through the entire recipe post for tips.