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
I just tried this. I wanted to use the last of my 00 flour so I added 1/4 more. It is still way too hot to use my oven so I put my stone on my gas grill. This is the best crust I have ever made. It stayed crunchy in the middle but thin and big and puffy on the edge. Thank you!
I meant to say 1/4 cup more
Thank you for your good comments and feedback, Kathleen!
I made this pizza dough last night, was the best pizza. I like that it has less yeast, makes perfect sense. Thank you for sharing your beautiful recipe.
You are so welcome! I’m happy to know that you enjoyed it.
Hi Natasha- my dough isn’t sticky after mixing and kneading 2 minutes. Will it be ok?
Hi Jill, it sounds like there may be too much flour. 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.
Hi Natasha,
I followed the recipe exactly but the dough was very dry.
What can I do to fix this?
Hi Ame, It’s hard to say what caused that without being there. I recommend checking out post on measuring to make sure too much flour was not used.
Just getting ready to mix the dough.. can’t wait to try. I have read some reviews about the dough being dry. Even when I make bread, if the dough is dry sprinkle a bit more warm water it until it gets sticky. You definitely do not want the dough dry. Hope this helps!
I dont have any honey, can I use sugar?
Hi Vikki! It can be substituted with 1 tsp of sugar.
I think I am missing something. I want to use this for calzones, so do I put the whole ball into the refrigerator and then divide it into eight balls the next day? I’m cunfused.
Hi Barbara, yes, that will work for calzones. You can use my Calzones Recipe here.
I was wondering if I could use this pizza dough the same day, letting it rise for a few hours and then using it.
Thank you
If I leave it out longer than an hour, it puffs up a little too much which is why 1 hour is ideal. You want it to do the extra puffing in the oven rather than on the counter.
hi Natasha. Great video and receipe. After I have done all the steps. Can I rest the dough in room temperature for more than an hour like 3 hours or more before I will mold it and put it to the oven to cook it already? what is the maximum number of hours you can rest pizza before you can mold and cook it?
Hi Mitzi, I have found that if I leave it out longer than that, it puffs up a little too much which is why 1 hour is ideal. You want it to do the extra puffing in the oven rather than on the counter.
I have tried your recipes and really enjoyed it… thank you for great recipes..please help me with this recipe. There are no bubbles/foam after rest in my yeast mix. Yeast is new. What should I do? I really want to try this recipe
Hi Ghanyah, I recommend reviewing all the steps and ingredients to make sure nothing was missed.
Hey Natasha! Hi, I happen to notice in your recipe for your pizza dough that in your oven, your pizza stone had a carrying rack. I checked the link that you posted on where to buy your pizza stone but it does not say it comes with the rack do I was wondering where you got the rack from?? Please and Thank you!
Hi Sandra, the stone that we use is one that came with our oven, and I don’t think it is available for purchase separately from the oven, but a rack is not necessary, and we typically just let the stone cool down inside the oven as the oven cools.
Sorry… I should have read some of the other comments before I asked… I see that you’ve already answered my question !
No worries. I haven’t tested it myself so I’m not sure if the substitution is exact straight across but I have had one reader report good results using 00 flour.
Hi, apologies if this has been answered already on the comments(haven’t seen it yet, so far). I just want to ask if it’s okay to not have pizza stone? Will there be any changes to the procedure in making the dough? Thank you.
Hi there. Please see the first step prep. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet onto the center rack of the oven and preheat to 550˚F.” It works great without a pizza stone.
Instead of all purpose flour or bread flour for pizza dough…could I use 00 flour? Never tried pizza dough..alittle nervous
Thank you
Hi Sherry, I haven’t tested it myself so I’m not sure if the substitution is exact straight across but I have had one reader report good results using 00 flour.
Natasha this is my second time making we love it both being a diabetic, just love your pizza dough recipe tysvmmmm
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Aline! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hi Natasha, What would I change in the recipe to make a double batch of your dough?
Thank you!
Hi Dale, yes, this recipe can be doubled. I haven’t tried it myself, but I would double everything equally.
I made the pizza first time I had bubbles , second time it did not get bubbles ,I used instant yeast instead of regular yeast don’t know what happened that it did not get. Bubbles
Hi Mary Ann, since there is not a lot of yeast in this recipe, you want to make sure to let it ferment the full amount of time. Some room temperatures are cooler than others – it may just have needed slightly longer. Lastly, make sure you allow the dough to come to room temperature before forming and baking it. Also, did you make any changes in the recipe or type of yeast used?
Hi
If I were to freeze the pizza dough for future baking, should I double the quantity of yeast in the dough? Thanks
Hi LS, Yes you can freeze the dough. Freezing will work fine. To Freeze Pizza Dough: 1. Let the dough do it’s 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 can’t wait to try this recipe! Can I cut the recipe in half and only make 1 pie?
Hi Michelle, that would still work, although you might consider freezing pizza dough for the second disk.
I did not use my full yeast packet. Is it possible store what is left and save for next time? If so how should it be stored?
Hi Will, Newly purchased yeast (with good purchase-by date) can be stored in a cool location (pantry or cabinet), refrigerated, or frozen for up to two years. Once the yeast is opened, it’s best kept in the refrigerator to use within four months and six months – if kept in the freezer.
Can’t thank you enough for this recipe. I have been making pizza for over 20 years, in search of the perfect dough, and thanks to you, I have finally made the perfect dough.
So airy. So soft yet crunchy. So authentic. So EASY!
And so grateful
Wow! Thank you for this lovely comment! I’m so happy you enjoyed my recipe!