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
THIS IS THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH EVER! I MADE THIS FOR MY IN-LAWS AND IT WAS PERFECT!!!
Love love your recipes 😍😍😍
My husband and I we love you!
God bless you
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Cassia!
Hi Natasha, I was little disappointed with the dough, first my oven didn’t have 550F, and when I cooked it the bottom was still white but the top was cooked. I followed your recipe as is and still wasn’t happy about it.
Hi Christine, that could be due to the temperature. I would try to get it as close to the 550 as possible. If you’re baking it at a lower temperature, you must adjust your bake time.
always have trouble making any kind of dough, its always to dry. i have to add way more water, sometimes almost double. this time i tried weighing the flour instead, it was better but still wasn’t sticky. what am i doing wrong ?
Hi Ron, are you using a different kind of flour? Some flours contain a higher gluten content and require an adjustment in measuring. It sounds like either too much flour or not enough water.
What if you don’t have pizza wheel. What can we use to transfer pizza to oven
HI Rose, I would put it on parchment paper in that case and slide it off the back of a baking sheet.
I have no experience making dough, baking bread or any of the sort and this was so easy to make. I only cold fermented for an hour cause I didn’t have time. It turned out so beautifully. My family loved the crust and by far this is my favourite crust. This crust is better than I have had in any pizza. Thank you for this recipe. I love this so much!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Rosie!
Hi Natasha! If I don’t cut the dough in half will that just make a large pizza big enough a large pizza stone? I’ve made this dough before and I love it but cutting it in half only gets me a small pizza. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Amy, this recipe makes two, 10-12 inch crusts so the full recipe should be good for one large pizza if you aren’t cutting the dough in half.
I made the pizza very good 👍 that’s going to be my new Rezepte thank you 😊
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review, Nadine!
We made this pizza for Christmas Eve. This is exactly the dough recipe we’ve been looking for. Light, a little crispy and chewy. 10/10!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Jamie!
Dear Natasha,
I’d appreciate a quick answer since I have 4 dough balls in the fridge already. My question is can I keep the dough in the fridge for 9 days? I refrigerated my dough on 18th and want to use it for a pot luck on 27th? Will it go bad by then?
Hi Mindy, you can refrigerate the dough for up to a week. I haven’t tried refrigerating it longer that day to know it’s safe. I recommend a Google search tho to be sure.
Thanks for the quick response Natasha. I decided to freeze the dough around 6th day and then defrost it on 8th day so I can make pizza on 9th day. I hope frozen and thawed dough works just as good. 🤞
Hi Natasha. My new house almost burned down making this pizza. Any suggestions on a lower temp?
Hi Eyobed, I would wonder if something was wrong with the oven or if you are possibly trying to use parchment paper which is not safe at that high of heat? Also, keep an eye on the pizza since it will cook faster at that temperature. A traditional pizza oven can get over 700 degrees Farenheight and cook a pizza in just 2-3 minutes, but this is the safest way to do it in your oven to achieve the same crust results. If you are concerned or if you suspect there is something going on with your oven, I would definitely suggest getting an in-oven thermometer to test your temperatures and you can turn the heat down by 50 degrees and bake slightly longer.
Natasha, I found that I had a film on my dough from the first rise. I had it covered tightly with plastic wrap although I let it rise under my warming lamp on my range hood. It raised nicely but do you think the film formed because of the lamp.?
Hi Barbara, that may be the culprit, especially if it got too hot!
Hi Natasha, There seems to be a lot more yeast in your photo than your recommend. !/2 teaspoon ?
Hi John, those ramekins are pretty small so that may make it look like there’s more in there, but it’s one small layer of yeast. Yes, we used just a 1/2 tsp active dry yeast. I hope you love this recipe!
Hi Natasha,
For the cold ferment you mentioned it can be refrigerated for up to 1 week after the fermentation without freezing, is that right? Does the dough turnout ok? Does it change anything and stays fresh?
Hi Jose, With our pizza dough, we let it go through the cold fermentation process overnight first to let the yeast work in the dough. Once it’s done with the cold fermentation process (before bringing it to room temperature for an hour), it can be frozen. We have more notes on that in the recipe. I hope that helps!
I love this pizza dough and have made it several times, but when I bake it at 550 for 8-10 minutes the cheese starts to burn. Should I try baking the crust half way through before adding the cheese?
Hi Dayna, there is no need to blind bake this crust. I recommend calibrating your oven, and the pizza is not too close to the heating element.
This is a winning recipe! I made pizza from one dough ball after about 30 hours in the refrigerator, best pizza crust ever! I have the other one proofing in the refrigerator, can’t wait to try that this weekend and see how the flavors will be developed from longer fermentation. Thank you Natasha, I use many of your recipes in my cooking, they always deliver! Keep up the good work.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Shermila!
Looking for advice. I’ve never had any luck with making bread items. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. This recipe is a perfect example.
Everytime I try to let it rise and double in size, but it never rises that far. I let it sit for 6 hours, and it maybe rose 25%.
I still went through with putting it in the fridge over night, and it remained about the same size.
When I went to fold it, it was pretty stiff after about the third or fourth fold to the point is began to tear apart.
When i try and spread the dough into a circle for the pizza, it also tears and seems stiff.
When I bake it, I never get the bubbles.
Any suggestions would greatly help.
Hi Glenn, I recommend watching through the video and reading the recipe in detail in case a step was missed. I’ve found in the past expired ingredients can also cause the dough to not rise properly. Also, 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 never go wrong with any of your recipes! You’re down to earth with them, exuberant and a lovely cook/chef! 👍
Thank you for that wonderful compliment!
This is by far the pizza crust recipe I’ve tried. Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Arshiah!
Can I use the dough right away? if so, how long do I let it rise after folding it and putting into a greased bowl?
I also used instant rapid yeast, hopefully, it doesn’t interfere with the recipe. I just love your recipes. I especially enjoyed the hamburger siders.
I hope it works out for you! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying my recipes, May!
Hi May, this dough really does need the overnight cold fermentation process to rise properly since it doesn’t have a ton of yeast in it. This is what differentiates it from a quick dough, but it’s well worth the wait.
Natasha, I was wondering if this dough can be used for a grilled pizza on a gas Bbq grill???
Hi Josephine, our readers have reported excellent results using a grill. Here’s what one of our readers commented: “We love this pizza dough recipe and love to use it for grilled pizza on our Big Green Egg!”
Natasha, Last time I tried this recipe with instant yeast and quite messed up but still it was delicious. Now I wanna give it a try again but I can’t find active dry yeast anywhere. So Is there any way I can make this with instant yeast?
Hi Sendini, I haven’t tried this with instant yeast so I’m not sure how that will affect the rise in the fridge, but other readers have reported trying it and following the same method.
I made this with quick rise yeast and it turned out great! The only difference is the first rise was much shorter. It took maybe an hour and a half for it to double.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m glad the pizza dough turned out great!
Costco has a large bag of dry yeast. I keep mine in the freezer and it stays fresh.