Pizza Dough Recipe – easiest and tastiest pizza dough you’ll ever need. No stand mixer required or any fancy equipment. Taste as good or even better than store-bought ones!

I have never yet met a person who doesn’t love pizza. We all love pizza! And here at home, we can have pizza days any day of the week using this super EASY and TASTY pizza dough recipe. To be honest, making homemade pizza dough isn’t the sexiest or most interesting topic to discuss. As a matter of fact, pizza is always about the TOPPINGS and never the crust. But I’m changing that perspective from now on.

Instead of your usual bland pizza crust, we’re jazzing up the pizza dough with a couple of seasonings to make it as appealing as the toppings itself. Shall we dive right in?

Pizza Dough Ingredients

Flour, water, salt, and yeast – with these four you can already make a pretty decent pizza dough. But you probably know me by now. I don’t settle for that, there’s got to be an extra “something something” to make a recipe stand out. In this recipe, I decided to use these following ingredients to create the BEST EVER pizza dough:

Warm water – too warm will kill the yeast (ideally around 105-110F or 40-46C temperature)
Sugar – for browning and a boost of flavor
Active dry yeast – check the expiration date before using
All-purpose flour – yields softer crust compared to bread flour
Garlic powder – flavor boost
Homemade Italian seasoning -to take this dough to a whole new level
Salt – flavor and seasoning
Olive oil – flavoring and keeps dough tender

Can I Substitute Olive Oil?

I intentionally use olive oil for this recipe as it adds flavor into the dough and keeps it tender. If you don’t have olive oil on hand, feel free to replace it with any cooking oil like canola, sunflower, soybean, vegetable oil, etc. But then again, it all comes down to the flavor.

Can You Freeze Pizza Dough?

Oh yes, you can. Make sure to let the dough rise before freezing it, then divide it into your desired pizza portions. Wrap it up tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to make pizza, just thaw the dough overnight in the fridge, bring it to room temperature and roll it out. Have fun with the toppings!

Can Pizza Dough Go Bad?

Good question! Since there’s a presence of yeast in a dough and we want to take advantage of its qualities when it’s at its peak, 3 days would be the standard but up to five days is fine. Some would say that cold fermenting is a thing and have tried using a week old dough which taste somewhat like a sourdough. Doesn’t taste bad, but then again, it’s not the same when you use a freshly made dough. So best move, I’d say, is to freeze the dough on the 3rd day if you can’t use it yet.

How Do You Stretch Pizza Dough?

I remember as a kid how I’d fancy being a pizza artist ’cause of how they stretch the pizza dough, twirl it around and throw it in the air. It was just fascinating to watch, even to this day! Though I haven’t mastered that move YET (still hopeful though), you can stretch your pizza dough using a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a circle.

Alternatively, you can use both of your bare hands to stretch and flatten it out to your desired width. I prefer using my hands ’cause I love to feel the texture of the dough. And a little bit of heat from your hands does wonder when it comes to the texture of your crust – just my personal observation.

Pizza Toppings

When you’re done with your dough, you can go ahead and top it to your heart’s content. Here are some of our favorite pizza toppings:

pizza sauce (Homemade HERE)
pepperoni
sliced onions
sausage
bacon
black olives
mushrooms
bell pepper
cheese
spinach
pineapples (Oh yes! This has to be on the list, my friend.)

Fancy More Italian Recipes? Check These Out

How To Make A Pizza Dough

How To Make Pizza Dough

In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar and instant yeast, allow to sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes foamy.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt, mix to combine.

Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients a little at a time and mix after each addition. Add in olive oil and use a wooden spatula to stir vigorously until mixture is fully incorporated forming an elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 6 to 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. The dough will still be slightly sticky but should be manageable with your hands.

Drizzle a separate, large, clean bowl generously with oil and use a pastry brush to brush up the bowl including the sides. Place dough in the dough and cover with a kitchen cloth. Place in a warm place and let it rise for about 1 hour or until dough doubles in size. Preheat oven to 425°F (215°C) at this point so that it will have reached temperature once your pizza is ready to bake.

How To Roll the Pizza Dough

Once the dough has risen, use your hands to gently deflate it and transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth, about 3-5 times. Using either your hands or a rolling pin to work the dough into 12″ circle. Line a pizza pan with parchment paper and transfer dough to the pan. Either pinch the edges or fold them over to form a crust. Use a fork to poke holes all over the center of the pizza to keep the dough from bubbling up in the oven. Add desired toppings (pizza sauce, cheese, veggies, pepperoni etc) and bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until toppings are golden brown. Slice and serve.