Homemade Pizza Dough

5 from 3 ratings

from kristineskitchenblog.com

This pizza dough recipe is sure to become your go-to! It's easy to make and makes the best chewy, crispy pizza crust. This recipe makes two balls of pizza dough, to make two 14-inch pizzas. If desired, you can freeze half or all of the dough for later; see the recipe notes below for freezer instructions.

Prep Time40

Cook Time16

Total Time1 45

Servings: 14-inch pizzas

Calories: 262kcal

Ingredients

1 ½ cups warm water 110-115° F
1 tablespoon rapid rise or instant yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder optional
4 cups 00 pizza flour or bread flour or all-purpose flour

Instructions

Make the Pizza Dough

Add warm water, yeast and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir gently to combine. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until yeast becomes active. Yeast should be bubbly. (Instructions on making dough by hand, without a mixer are included in the notes below.)
Add the olive oil, salt, garlic powder (if using) and flour to the bowl. Begin mixing on low speed using a paddle attachment until combined.
Next, remove paddle attachment and knead the dough with the dough hook on low speed.
Check the dough after 5 minutes of kneading. If the dough is more than a little sticky when pressing on it with your finger add an additional tablespoon of flour. Continuing kneading to incorporate all flour for an additional 3 minutes.
After about 8 minutes of kneading, the dough should spring back when lightly pressing on it.
Transfer the dough to a clean, dry and lightly floured work surface. If the dough is overly sticky, light rub with flour.
Split the dough in half and shape each half into a ball. (Freeze half of the dough if only making 1 pizza).
Cover each dough ball with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 500° F and place an oven rack one space above the bottom rack position.
Oil pizza steels or baking sheets with a high temperature cooking spray or vegetable oil. Do NOT preheat the pizza pans.

Shape the Dough

Punch the dough down to release any large air bubbles. Shape the dough into a ball by tucking the sides under.
Use a rolling pin and a lightly floured work surface to roll the dough out into a 14-inch diameter circle. Roll from the center outward in all directions for a circular shape. Use a more oval shape if you are using a baking sheet in place of a circular pizza pan.
Place the rolled out pizza dough onto the prepared pizza pan. If the edges are larger than the pizza pan, fold them over a bit (towards the pizza) to form a nice thick crust on the edges. Repeat with the other half of the dough on a second pizza pan if making two pizzas.

Assemble and Bake Pizzas

Add pizza sauce, cheese and toppings as desired. Bake pizzas, one at a time, for 7 minutes. You may need to bake an additional 1 - 2 minutes until the crust and cheese are lightly browned. Let pizzas rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Video

Notes

To make dough by hand (without a stand mixer): Follow the instructions above, stirring the ingredients together instead of mixing with the mixer. Knead the dough using your hands on a lightly floured work surface until it is smooth, stretchy and springs back when you press it with your finger.
To bake pizza without a pizza steel: If you do not have pizza steels or pans, use a large baking sheet and roll the dough in a more oval shape to fit.
To freeze pizza dough: After you finish kneading the dough, you can freeze all or half of the dough. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a ball. Dust lightly with flour and store in a zip-top bag for up to one month. When you are ready to use the pizza dough, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Then place the dough on a lightly floured surface, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 2 hours at room temperature before rolling it out.
To refrigerate unbaked pizza dough: After kneading the dough, you can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before using. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about 2 hours before rolling it out (place it on a lightly floured surface and cover it with a clean kitchen towel while it rests).
Nutrition information is for pizza dough only because sauce, cheese and toppings will vary.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is only an estimate.