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4.62 from 26 votes

Homemade Pizza Dough

Making Pizza Dough can't get any easier than this! If you've been scared to try to make homemade pizza dough try this recipe. It comes together quickly and is perfectly thick, chewy and delicious!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Raising Time35 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Calories: 304kcal
Author: Julie Evink

Ingredients

  • 2 cups warm water
  • 2 packages instant quick rise yeast .75 ounces each
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl add water, yeast and sugar. Stir and then let proof for 5 minutes.
  • Add salt, honey, garlic powder. Slowly add in 2 ½ cups flour while mixing in stand mixer with dough hook. Add in remaining flour ½ cup at a time, until dough doesn't stick. This may take more or less flour, adjust as you add it. 
  • Form into ball and kneed with dough hook until smooth. 
  • Spray second bowl with non-stick cooking spray and place dough into bowl. Cover with towel, place in warm area of kitchen and let raise 30 minutes. The longer it rises the better. You want it to at least double in size. 
  • When ready to make pizza divide dough in half. Turn out one half of dough onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with more flour if needed so you can stretch and flatten the dough to your desired pizza size. 
  • Top pizza with desired toppings. Transfer dough to pizza stone. Place in preheated oven at 500 degrees F. Bake 8-12 minutes. You can also use a pizza pan if you don't have a pizza stone. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the pan you're using and place pizza pan in oven as it preheats. Removed from oven once it is preheated, please be careful as the pan is hot. Place your pizza dough on the parchment paper on pizza pan. Top with desired toppings. Place back in the oven and bake.

Notes

TIPS FOR MAKING PIZZA DOUGH:

  • Make sure you use warm water, not hot, not cold, just warm. Your yeast won’t work if you use hot or cold water.
  • Salt. Salt adds a bit of flavor to the pizza dough. All the toppings in the world can’t add flavor to the dough, so don’t miss this step.
  • Use quick rise yeast. This is my yeast of choice, it rises quicker and who doesn’t love quicker pizza production? Also, quick tip, keep yeast in the freezer. It extends the shelf life for months past the expiration date!
  • If the dough is snapping back while you are rolling it out, let it rest! Cover the dough with a damp paper towel and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Then go back to shaping it again. The short rest helps the gluten in the dough relax and it becomes easier to work with. The dough will also be less prone to tearing when you give it he rest that it needs.
  • Brush a little olive oil around the edges of the crust. This lets the exposed crust become a golden brown while baking in the oven.
  • After rolling out the dough use a fork and stab it a few times. This helps so you don’t get those air pockets when it bakes.

TO FREEZE & THAW PIZZA DOUGH:

  • Divide the dough in two pieces. Transfer to lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and then place in quart-sized Ziploc bags.
  • Freeze for up to  three months.
  • When you plan on using the dough, take dough out of freezer in the morning. Keep it in the bag and transfer to fridge.
  • When it’s dinner time take the dough out of the Ziploc bag and plastic wrap. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Cover the dough with a damp paper towel and let it stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Then prepare like normal!
  • You can also par bake pizza dough or grill it (minus the toppings) and then freeze the prepared dough between parchment paper in Ziploc bags for easy dinners.

TIPS FOR THE PERFECT PIZZA:

  • Use a pizza stone to get the pizza to evenly cook all over. A pizza stone also helps make the bottom of the pizza perfectly crisp and the inside soft and chewy.
  • If you are using the pizza stone make sure you place the pizza stone in your oven while it preheats. Then let it sit in there for 30 minutes after it comes to temperature. Just start this process while you make the dough!
  • Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza from being rolled out to the pizza stone.
  • If you want to use corn meal I recommend placing parchment paper on top of the pizza peel and sprinkling cornmeal over the top. Move the dough ball to the pizza peel and roll out with rolling pin or fingers. Then slide off the parchment paper and onto the pizza stone once you have prepared your pizza.
  • Bake pizza at 500 degrees F for 8-12 minutes. This seems like a high temp but this is how you get it crispy and we want crispy!
  • Or you can grill it too! You want the grill HOT again. Then follow these steps – Place pizza dough on grill, olive oil side down. Brush top of dough with olive oil. Cover grill and cook 1-2 minutes. You’ll want the dough set, but not crispy. Flip dough over, top with toppings. You want to do this quickly, if you want to take more time, remove pizza dough and top then place back on grill. Cover grill and grill 3-5 minutes or until ingredients are hot and cheese is melted and the crust is crispy around the edges.
  •  You can also use a pizza pan if you don’t have a pizza stone. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the pan you’re using and place pizza pan in oven as it preheats. Removed from oven once it is preheated, please be careful as the pan is hot. Place your pizza dough on the parchment paper on pizza pan. Top with desired toppings. Place back in the oven and bake.

Nutrition

Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 8g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 3.8mg