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 made this recipe yesterday and baked the best Pizza I ever had, using your Pizza homemade Sauce (I used Pomi brand chopped tomatoes because they taste delicious and they have no salt and zero added sugar). Thank you for helping us enjoy pizza without the 2000 mg of sodium and lots of fat. Your crust was also beautifully crusty
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Antoinee!
Tried this pizza crust recipe and it did not disappoint. Made it with the white sauce and added pesto sauce to the white sauce. Added mushrooms, red onion, roasted red peppers, tomato slices, fresh basil and topped it with mozzarella cheese. It was so good.
Thank you for sharing, Michelle! That sounds amazing. 🙂
Your site is very inspiring and informative. Could you please tell me if your dough receipe is good for pan pizza?
Thank-you
Michael
Canadian Pizza Addict..lol
Thanks Michael and yes, that will work too!
Hi Natasha, thank you for the amazing recipe! When I spread out the dough and put it in the pizza pan, it shrinks back up. Do you have any idea on why that might be?
Thank you for your response!
Hi Darya, I suggest watching the video tutorial to see the process from start to finish. It sounds like it could also be too much flour added if you see it shrink back too much. Be sure to measure the flour correctly since too much will make the dough difficult to work with.
Hello! I made a mistake and used 3 1/2 Cups flour instead of 3 1/3 cups flour. Can I still use it? Will it just be a denser pizza? or worst cass scenario? Should I throw away and start over?
Hi Rachelle, I hope it still works out for you. It’s a bit more flour than called for so the dough may be a bit more dense.
Is there a reason why you don’t add oil??
Thanks for your response!
Hi Marie, that’s right, none. We do oil the bowls that we put the dough into but it isn’t necessary to put it into the dough itself and the texture is perfect!
You are awesome and so are your recipes. Your videos are so helpful. Keep doing what your doing. I have made many of your recipes that have become family favourites. Thank you🥰
🍕 turned out awesome and I now make my own pizza sauce
Hi Julia! Thank you so much. I’m glad you love my recipe.
How would you adjust this recipe using sourdough discard rather than dry yeast?
Hi Matt, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Delicious! I made this last night, in the middle of a hurricane. I used a whole packet of yeast and let it rise for 1 hour. Turned it out on a baking sheet and made 1 large rectangle Mexican pizza. We loaded it with ground beef (mixed with taco seasoning) cheddar cheese and baked for about 30 minutes at 425. When it came out, we topped it with diced tomatoes,
shredded lettuce and sour cream. It was sooooo good! I can’t wait to try this as a regular pizza with tomato sauce and mozzerella cheese.
Perfect time to try this recipe and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha!
This recipe is fantastic! I followed it to the T and my grew-up-on-the-east-coast-with-great-pizza husband absolutely loved it! 🙂
I do have two questions – (1) If I double or triple the recipe for a party, is it better to make one big batch, or two/three different smaller batches? (2) do you recommend keeping the small balls of dough in their own bowls to ferment, or will they be okay if I use a big container to store them all in one?
Thanks in advance for the advice and happy Fall Equinox!
Hi Crystal, I have made a double batch before without issues. I doubled all ingredients. I preferred to keep them in the smaller bowls, it was easier to separate them beforehand.
This is excellent. However, I highly recommend weighing flour with a scale in grams. I’ve made it both ways and get MUCH better results when weighing.
Thank you so much for that suggestion, Katie! If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option where you can see weight measurements 🙂 You can also check out our post on measuring which should help.
just my partner and myself…..can I freeze this dough after 2nd rising in fridge? Or should I bake it without toppings then freeze?
Love your recipes!
Hi Carol, see this blog post for reference, “how to freeze pizza dough.”
Hi regarding my previous post back in March. I learned the secret to the nice stretchy, flavorful cheese like in fancy pizza parlors. It’s using whole milk mozzarella instead of part skim. It makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, shredded whole milk mozzarella is hard to find. I only find it at Sam’s club in 5lb bags. Price is same as part skim. Thanks
Hi Luke! Thank you for sharing that with us. 🙂
I accidentally used 2 1/4 tsp of instant yeast , will that effect the dough?
Hi Judy, I haven’t tried this with instant yeast, so I’m not sure how that will affect the rise in the fridge.
After many fails at making pizza dough, I have finally figured out how to make a good crust by following your excellent video. Discovered I wasn’t treating my yeast properly or measuring flour correctly which threw everything off balance. Can’t tell you how happy I was when I turned out that nice silky dough onto my board. Success finally! I also made your white sauce recipe and it turned out excellent. Lots left over so I might use it as a layer in lasagne. Thank you so very much. I learned a lot. Quite happy with the results.
Hi Lita! That’s wonderful! I’m so glad that it turned out for you. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I’m getting rid of all my other pizza crust recipes. This is perfection. I’ve made it before and it was great so I thought I’d give it another go. I had it in the fridge for just shy of 24 hours before using it, and divided it for 3 personal pizzas. This time I added a brush of garlic butter over the crust and pre-cooked it for just 2-3 minutes before putting the toppings on. Can you say DROOL?!? It was perfect! Thank you for bringing my search to an end!!
Love it! Thanks so much for your awesome feedback and review, we’re so glad you love it!
I have made this a few times now. I really like using bread flour over AP if anyone wants to try it that way. It turned out really good. Great recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Cheryl! I’m glad it turned out great!
Nice recipe.
Can I use 00 flour?
If so, same measurements?
Hi John, 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.
Very good pizza dough and I’ve tried so many over the years! The only downside is that the dough is so sticky that when kneading by hand, I feel I lose a good chunk of it and feel it is a bit wasteful. Instead of kneading by hand (not the second book folds), I could use a stand mixer with a dough hook? Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes with us!
Feel free to try that if it will make the process easier for you. Thank you for your good comments and feedback, Sophie!
I’ve tried many pizza dough recipes and this is my favorite by far!
So glad you love this recipe, Monique!
hi! i just made the dough and waiting for the first rise. i would like to use the dough for dinner tonight, so about 8 hours from now, and NOT putting in the fridge over night, is that ok?
thanks!
Hi Morgan, this dough really needs the overnight cold fermentation process to rise properly since it doesn’t have a ton of yeast. This is what differentiates it from a quick dough, it’s well worth the wait. Check out this homemade individual pizzas recipe instead.
This is a good recipe, as I prefer the thin crust pizza myself. I’ve made the dough exactly as the directions state and refrigerated only one half overnight, while I baked the other half immediately after the first rise. I honestly could not tell a difference and nobody else in my family could either. Unless you make/eat a lot of homemade pizza dough, I don’t believe you will either.
I’m an idiot. Let the dough rise and forgot to put in the fridge overnight.. think it’ll still be good?
Hi Sara, I’m not sure. Please update us on how it goes!