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 comes out, so good every time! I love how versatile it is!
best pizza dough i have ever made..i usually start at 1/4 C water, and add the rest i prefer a wetter dough, it creates perfect texture and a crisp crust….i add olive oil to the edges and sprinkle on garlic powder.i use Pampered Chef stoneware, i do not preheat, my pans are well seasoned. I add a small spritz of olive oil and spread the dough on , add toppings, .bake at 465 degrees (I do not prebake)for 15 minutes..perfect..
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Diana!
Hey Natasha from Northern Ireland! I love this recipe and how it turns out, but would love to try it in an Air Fryer. Have you ever attempted this? I really hope you have the perfect solution 🙂
Hi Kenny! I’m so glad you’re loving the recipe! I have not attempted this in an air fryer (yet) but if you test it, let us know how it turns out.
Hi Natasha, I’ve had one good result in the Air Fryer but last time I got a huge air bubble when pre cooking the dough first. It went crispy and cracked leaving a hole in the centre, so a lotta work to be done with my technique.. 🤣
The best pizza dough recipe ever, we love it, my kids call it “our mom makes the best pizza” thanks to you Natasha❤️
Aw, that’s so sweet. I’m so glad this recipe is being enjoyed. Thank you for sharing.
You should right up front warn people your dough has to sit overnight in addition to 4-5 hours before anyone should bother with it. It’s nothing special after the ridiculous wait.
Hi Heather! I’m sorry to disappoint. I did explain this in the blog but at the very top of the recipe card for every recipe, you’ll find the prep time, cook time, etc. is included. I always recommend reading the full written recipe before attempting a recipe, this ensure you have ample time and all of the ingredients available.
For a quicker dough, I have my Easy pizza dough recipe.
Your failure to read the recipe is not that author’s fault. The entire process is clearly laid out.
I’ve created pizza monsters. Every time I have my grandkids over for sleepovers we have to make this pizza. No buying or frozen just this. They love helping and very proud of themselves when we have dinner. Excellent recipe.
What a fun memory and tradition to have!
I am an avid follower of you, but I have to say I did not like the crust nor the sauce… I followed your recipe to the tee,except that I didn’t use organic flour. I used all purpose flour. I felt like the crust did not have much flavor at all and that the sauce was very watery. I guess I should say that I like mine a little bit more spicy. I baked it for eight minutes, but felt like that wasn’t enough, so I let it go two more minutes, which I thought was may be too much because my cheese became too brown, I don’t know if I did something wrong. I don’t know where I made the mistake. I love all of your recipes, but this one just was not to my liking nor my husbands. If you can figure out where I might’ve gone wrong, please let me know. I watched the video four times before I proceeded to make this recipe , I measured all the ingredients as you suggested perfectly. The dough did rise, but took the complete five hours. I also put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. I would love to be able to make this recipe but unfortunately it just really was not to our liking but thank you.
Hi Candice, I’m sorry it didn’t meet the usual standard for you. Reading through your message, I wonder if maybe your yeast was either expired, or overheated which would deactivate it. If the dough did not rise, the recipe would not turn out right.
First off thank you for sharing your recipes! This is one of our favorites and I make it weekly! With that being said I like to prep the dough and make it a few days in advance. So far I have been leaving the dough in the lightly oiled bowls, covered with plastic wrap, in the fridge, until the day I use it. But lately the top of the dough forms a little crust or is getting hard, like its been dried out. Should I be storing it differently?
Thank you again, I really do love your recipes!
Hi Sylvia, I would cover right away after the dough goes into the bowl and also make sure your bowl isn’t overly large. Air on the dough can cause it to dry out. Also if you want to keep the dough for longer storage, check out our tutorial on how to freeze pizza dough.
Hi there, I have been making my own pizza for years but until now I have not been totally satisfied with the results. Until now!!!! Stumbled on your recipe for pizza dough and it worked out amazing. Your recipe is now my go to recipe for making pizza dough. Your comment about cutting back yeast, did the trick. Also your method of working the dough before refrigerating, I never did that before. Everything work out great. I always refrigerated my dough for at least 48 hrs before but still was not completely satisfied until now. Any way thanks for posting your recipe for pizza dough. Much appreciated.
You’re so welcome, Terry! We love this pizza dough recipe and I’m so glad you do too! Thank you for your lovely comment.
Great recipe. Can i use the dough same day? I like this recipe way more than same day recipe.
Hi James! I’m glad you love it! It’s been our go-to pizza dough recipe. 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 recipe which uses more yeast. Not allowing the proper time compromises the texture and outcome.
I would like to use fresh yeast, is there a conversion for dry yeast to fresh yeast that you could provide?
Hi Paula, while I haven’t tried that, here’s what one of my readers wrote: “We made it with fresh yeast. Used double the amount of yeast that you asked for and it turned out amazing! My kiddos love this pizza and want it everyday. My oldest loves following your recipes. You are our go to. Will get a pizza stone as we made it on a baking sheet, but still the best recipe.” I hope this helps!
I’ve tried a number of different pizza dough recipes over the years and this one is the BEST!!!! It was so crispy but chewy, exactly how you said it was going to be, my husband even said it’s a winner, thank you Natasha!
Delicious. Loved how crispy the bottom of the crust turned out. Worth the wait!!! Thanks for the recipe ❤️
You’re so welcome! Good to hear that you loved the recipe!
Natasha, I adore you and your recipes. I NEVER search for a recipe without including “Natasha” in the search terms. (I’ve tried to get my guy to watch you because he’s a great cook and he loves hot women. For some reason he’s hooked on a YouTuber chef named Rachel-not-Ray. Oh well. I’ll keep trying!) This pizza crust recipe is OUTSTANDING. It is so easy and almost foolproof. It yields a pizza crust that is flaky, crisp, and flavorful, with the perfect chew. I used to worry every time I made pizza dough because it was a roll of the dice whether it would be edible. Until I tried your recipe. Now my pizzas are perfect every time. I multiply the ingredient quantity by 1.5 and make two 18″ pizzas. Thanks Natasha for being my go-to for delicious food that is accessible to a home chef. I appreciate that you briefly touch upon the science of cooking so that I can understand why following the directions is important. Thank you! You’re the bomb! (Bombs are also hot!)
Hi Anne! Thank you for the great feedback. I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes!
how much time does instant yeast requires to rise the dough and does the quantity for instant yeast is same as the dry yeast?
Hi Simran! I have not used instant yeast in this recipe but other readers have reported good results using it. Here is what one of my readers said, “I used instant yeast and just added it to the dry ingredients and omitted the honey. No need to proof. I let it raise 4 hours then in the fridge for 18 hours.”
I used instant yeast and followed your instructions to the t, added it over the warm water and then mixed it in the flour, and then let it rise for 5 hours in a warm spot and then in the fridge for 24 hours
Hi I think your measurement of flour is wrong 3 1/3c flour does not weight 420gm in my measurement it is 500gm. When I make with 420gm it’s to sticky and doughy.
Hi Hannah. 1 cup of all purpose flour is roughly 125g in weight. That’s the measurement it’s based on which is what you’ll find in most conversion charts online too.
Love Love Love this recipe! If you follow the recipe just as written, it is perfection! We top ours with spicy Italian sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and cheese, then drizzle honey over it right when it comes out of the oven…so good it’s almost criminal. Thanks so much for the recipe, I’ll never use another 🙂
Is it really only 1/2tsp of yeast? The crust tasted awesome, but didn’t rise much at all
I used 1/2 teaspoon and mine rose very well. Maybe you didn’t let it double? Mine actually doubled in 2 hours
I halved this recipe and only used 1/4 tsp yeast and it rose beautifully
Hi Natasha, this recipe looks real good, and the comments are making me hungry! Is it possible to use instant yeast?
Hi Alisha! planning. I have not used instant yeast in this recipe but other readers have reported good results using it. Here is what one of my readers said, “I used instant yeast and just added it to the dry ingredients and omitted the honey. No need to proof. I let it raise 4 hours then in the fridge for 18 hours.”
Just finished eating the pizza! Turned out amazing!
Made two and tried both instant and normal yeast. Both tasted great! Thanks for the reciped Natasha! Crispy on the outside but not hard, the crust was fluffy on the inside. Definitely recommend trying this recipe.
You’re so welcome, Alisha! I’m so glad you enjoyed this pizza dough recipe.
Hey Natasha,
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. I am going to try it very soon; however, I am wondering if I can split the pizza dough in three parts since my pizza stone is only 12″. Thank you.
Hi Albena! Yes, you can split and make the dough into smaller pizzas. Just watch them in the oven as they may bake a little faster.