Homemade Pizza Dough

Using this 5-ingredient, Homemade Pizza Dough to make pizza at home isn’t tough at all and the results are fabulous. Get your kids involved and show them how making a quick yeast crust transforms your homemade pizza into one that will rival the best pizzeria.

Classic Pizza Dough

Lent has arrived and it’s always a challenge to figure out meals that the carnivore,  AKA “man of the house,” will approve.  I like fresh seafood; he likes salmon loaf and tuna casserole. As a compromise, I often pick up some Trader Joe’s ready-made pizza dough and create a pizza Margherita.  

But I knew I could make an even better crust from scratch. My plan was to whip up this homemade pizza dough on Thursday and give it an overnight rise in the fridge…well, life got in the way and I didn’t get started on the dough till Friday. The slow cool rise allows for extra flavor development, but the dough was quite lovely with a more traditional one-hour doubling in a warm spot.

My homemade pizza toppings include sliced Roma tomatoes which I had drained on paper toweling, sliced fresh mozzarella, a chiffonade of basil plus a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper. Easy ingredients that are readily available!

How to Make Pizza Dough at Home

• The first task is to check if your yeast is still active. There should be a date on the packaging, so check that first. If you have a jar of yeast, you can add some to warm (not hot) water with a pinch of sugar. It should start bubbling if it’s still good. If you’re down to one envelope of yeast, you probably don’t want to waste it on testing. 
• PRO-Tip: Did you know you can store yeast in the freezer? It will be good for years!!
• Next, follow the recipe and start kneading the dough in your stand mixer. You can start with the paddle attachment to mix, but switch to the dough hook to knead. The resulting dough should be elastic and slightly sticky.
• Let proof in a warm spot (PRO-Tip: 85 degrees is ideal) covered for at least an hour. For the best flavor, the dough can be refrigerated overnight. This gives the dough the time to develop flavor due to the byproducts of fermentation and structure.
• Once the dough has proofed (it only needs one cycle of proofing unlike most yeast bread), it’s time to shape and top.
• I stretch the dough by placing on on the back of my hands and allowed gravity to do its thing with a little help from my thumbs and knuckles to rotate.
• After the initial stretching, I place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and continue stretching, pressing with my fingers, and shaping it into a nice circle.
• The oven and pizza stone were preheated to 550º (the stone needs some extra time to heat thoroughly).
• Add toppings, and use a pizza peel to slide the pizza and parchment onto the stone. Bake as directed or until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbly.
• PRO-Tip: Do not overload with the toppings and make sure any soft ingredients are free of excess liquid or your dough won’t crisp up as well. I slice my tomatoes very thin and drain them on paper towels. If they’re too thick, the juices will make the pizza crust gummy. But don’t worry if that happens, as it’s still tasty!!
• Use the pizza peel to remove and place the pizza and parchment on a cooling rack.

The results were a simple, yummy meatless meal. Homemade pizza dough makes a world of difference! I hope you’ll give this pizza a try.

More Pizza Recipes You’ll Love:

• BLT Pizza from Never Enough Thyme
• Pizza Margherita Recipe
• Homemade Sausage and Mushroom Pizza
• Easy Fig, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Pizza
• Easy Pizza Casserole
• Fresh Fruit Pizza
• Apple Pie Pizza
• More Yeast Bread Recipes

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The Recipe:

Classic Pizza Dough

Prep Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Yield 2 pizza crusts

An easy recipe for a classic pizza dough made with yeast! Now your homemade pizza will taste like it came from a pizza parlor!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups warm water, 105-115 degrees (use a thermometer)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, (one 1/4 ounce packet)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (plus more to coat the bowl for the dough)
• 4 cups unbleached bread flour, preferred or all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine water, honey, yeast, and olive oil. Let rest for about 5-10 minutes..mixture should be foamy. Mix flour and salt the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the dough hook. Knead on low speed (check your manufacturer's instructions so you don't burn out your motor) or knead by hand for 10 minutes. The dough should be elastic and slightly sticky.
2. Oil a mixing bowl, add dough then turn to coat dough with oil. Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour. Or, if you have time, put it in the fridge for an overnight rise...for improved flavor development. If using this method, bring to room temperature before proceeding.
3. Punch dough down and divide dough in half. Pat out on pizza pan, top, and bake as directed in your pizza recipe.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Cuisine at Home.

This recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas.

Recommended Products

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• 
  Pizza Peel
• 
  Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets Non-Stick Parchment Paper, 25 Sheet, 4 Count
• 
  Pizza Cutter

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 377Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 798mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 10g

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