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
Why follow your ingredients when pour liquid mixture to flour.is dry not like your video shows is sticky.pls let me know what is the reason.with many thanks
Hi Ee, did you possibly use 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.
Wow excellent recipe. My family loved it. We cooked it in my wood fire pizza oven at 500 on pizza stone. Cooks in less than 5 minutes. Going to make it again this weekend!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.
Love this recipe. What can you substitute for the honey if you don’t have any.
I think it would work just fine to substitute maple syrup for honey in equal amounts.
THE best recipe I have tried. I have been looking for a good recipe for the longest and this is the ONE! I used instant yeast and no difference. The one thing I had to adjust was the water. I had extra flour but a little bit of water fixed the issue and the dough looked just like yours in the picture after. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Lauren! I’m so happy you loved it!
Made the pizza dough last night. It is awesome pizza dough, best ever. Thank you for sharing
Hello Iona, thank you for the awesome feedback. Happy to hear that you love this recipe for pizza dough!
This sounded so good we are trying this tonight. The dough is rising as we speak…will let you know….
I hope you love it, Patricia! Pizza night sounds fabulous!
Made this last night with the white sauce and it was absolutely phenomenal! Can’t wait to try it with the red sauce!
Yum! so good! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is my go-to dough recipe! I’ve used it multiple times. Usually I use it within 24-48hours or I’ll freeze the dough and use it later. This time, I did a double batch to make pizza twice in the same week. I’m exactly one week out from when I made the dough and when I pulled it out to use the second half today it smells VERY fermented. Is this normal? Is it still safe to eat?
Like I said, I will always stay loyal to this pizza dough recipe because it really is the best!!! Just wondering if up to one week in the fridge is accurate? Thanks!!
Hi Melissa! I’m so glad this isyour go-to! We best enjoyed within 3-5 days. You are welcome to freeze this dough if you need it to store longer, you can let it ferment in the fridge after it thaws, but I would recommend using in within a couple of days for the best results.
I have made your dough a couple times. Everyone loves it. The kids gave it two thumbs and ten toes up!!
I have a daughter who is allergic to honey and does not tolerate sugar. Can I sub pure maple syrup for the honey?
Hi Yvonne, I’m so glad your children enjoyed it and I think that would work just fine to substitute maple syrup for honey in equal amounts.
Hi Natasha, I just found your website and I am anxious to try your recipe. I do not have a pizza stone, can I just bake it in my regular rectangle pan?
Hi Carmen! Yes, that would be just fine. One of my other readers shared that she uses just a regular pan and loves this dough.
Excellent recipe! Used instant yeast as I didn’t have active dry yeast. Easy to follow recipe and the best pizza recipe tried at home so far (have tried many many before). This recipe is a keeper! Thanks Natasha
So glad that worked out well! Thank you for the review and for sharing that with us.
I wish you had listed the flour by weight. I know how much cups can vary.
Hi Ellie, click on “metric” underneath the ingredient list and it will convert to grams for you.
Terrific! Thank you so much! This should make everything much less to chance!
You’re very welcome!
Can you substitute starter for the yeast? If so how much? If not do you have a recipe that you can use starter with?
Hi Lucy, I haven’t tried this with a sourdough starter so I can’t advise on that but it sounds like a great idea. Let me know if you test that out.
Yes Lucy, you absolutely can. I’ve used 60-70 grams of active sourdough starter and it worked amazing !! Honestly, I like the flavor of the dough better with sourdough then commercial yeast.
Natasha!
BEST pizza crust I’ve ever made (and I’m 65, and this is not my first pizza rodeo! 😉
The family was very pleased, we loaded it up with a little of everything and it came out beautifully with a crispy and chewy texture that was delicious.
Thanks so much for yet another outstanding recipe!!
I’m so glad it was a hit with your family, Bubbie! It sounds like you found a new favorite! That’s so great!
WOW! i followed directions to a T. SO GOOD. left in fridge for 48+ hours and it was so so good. Made in gas oven on 550. did a slight broil at the end to crisp up the top. SO GOOD AND EASY! thank you natasha!! will keep this one in my recipe stash 🙂
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Sophie!
Not sure why this happened but I had way more flour left in the bowl. I will not use this recipe again.
Hi Deata, sorry to hear that but I have never encountered an issue following this recipe and it’s hard to tell without being there when you tried it. But were the ingredients measured exactly as it’s recommended in the recipe?
l did as well and l measured my flour, water exact. All l did was add extra water. I put it to the side to allow it to rise. We’ll see what happens!
Thank you, Natasha. I have been looking for a pizza dough recipe that would make crust like you get at good pizzerias. This is it. Wow, the secret of less yeast and the overnight or longer fermentation time is definitely the key. It mess the best crust ever. The crunch is just like you have in your video. My family loves it.
I’m so happy this was a hit with your family, Andrea! That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Can you substitute 00 flour instead of all purpose flour when making this recipe, if so do you use the same amount.
Hi Baxter, 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.
After trial and error, used 00 flour cooked it in Ooni 12 in pizza oven at a temperature of 625 to 650 came out Niceeee. Definitely will be making this again. Crust puffed up and used your pizza sauce recipe 5 stars
Awesome! Thank you for the great review for this recipe.
Love this pizza dough. I was wondering if I were to double/triple the recipe, would I also double the water, honey and yeast mixture?
Hi Joana, I have made a double batch before without issues. I doubled all ingredients.
I have more of a question than a comment although I would like to mention how much I love this recipe and have made this dough many times.
My question is, is it OK to use the dough on the same day as it is made or is it a must to refrigerate overnight? I made it in the morning. After rising it will be ready for the folding mid afternoon. Can I bake it at dinner if I refrigerate a couple of hours?
Hi Barbara, I have always refrigerated but here is what one of my other readers said, “This is the best pizza dough that I have ever done…we use it regularly and quite often on the same day, and it still works perfectly.” I hope that helps.