Easy Pizza Dough

Ah pizza…no matter how many other foods I expose my family to, they  keep coming back to pizza!  I’m actually alright with that, because with making my own crust comes endless creative topping combinations!  My most recent creation…Rock Your World lemon marinated shrimp, feta cheese, mozzarella, red bell peppers, spinach, shallots and Alfredo sauce.  We’re talking GOOD STUFF!  Throw it into the oven at 550 degrees F for 8 minutes and chow’s on!  The dough can easily be made earlier in the day and refrigerated. In fact it tastes better that way. (see tips below)  Simply bring it to room temperature before stretching and baking.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE THE BEST PIZZA EVER:

Make sure that you measure your flour correctly. 

The absolute best way to do this is to weigh it with a scale.  Why you ask?  Because flour compacts, so every time you measure with a measuring cup, depending on how much it’s packed, you will get a different amount of flour.  Using a measuring cup, your recipe has the potential to come out differently every time. If you don’t have a scale, fluff the flour with a spoon before adding it to your measuring cup to keep it from being compacted.

Use the right kind of flour.

It’s your main ingredient, so it’s going to make a difference in the final product.  If you like a chewier crust, you definitely want to go with bread flour.  It has more protein than all-purpose flour.  More protein means more gas bubbles in the dough, and more gas bubbles means a bread that is tender and chewy versus solid and biscuit like.

Crank up the heat.

The higher the better!  Your local pizzeria cooks their pizza in an oven that’s 700 to 1000 degrees F.  So crank yours up to 550F if you can!  The high heat helps the dough to expand quickly creating airy pockets in the dough.

Use a pizza stone.

This is a small investment for a large return.  A good stone, once preheated will hold  a lot of heat energy that it will quickly release into the pizza making for a more restaurant style crispy crust.  Allow the stone to preheat for at least 30 minutes.

Use your hands to stretch out the dough.

As much as you want to get out the rolling pin and make quick work of this pizza, the mere act of rolling that dough actually flattens a lot of those bubbles that you have tried so hard to develop to create that airy, chewy crust.   Use your hands to pull and stretch the dough.  If it keeps springing back and won’t hold its shape, give it a 15 minute rest to allow the gluten to relax and try again.

Put it on parchment paper.

It makes it really easy to move around by being able to slide it from a flat baking sheet or peel directly onto the pizza stone, parchment paper and all.  It also makes for easy clean up of both your counter and your pizza stone.  It is perfectly ok if it gets a little charred in the oven.  Just pull it gently when removing the pizza from the oven. 

Let it REST! Seriously rest if you’ve got the time to spare. (update 1/25/2018)

Why not make the dough the day before for easy prep the night you plan on eating the pizza?  You can actually give it up to 5 days of rest (with every day improving the dough that much more), but I’ve found that even a 24 hour refrigerated rest results in a more flavorful and better textured dough.   It’s got to do with slowing down the yeast’s activity and carbon dioxide production…plus a bunch of other cool science.  Here is a full explanation if you are still curious!

Now let’s get started!!

Easy Pizza Dough

Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy.

easy pizza dough

Stir by hand until beginning to come together.

Easy Pizza Dough

To make your pizza balls gently roll dough into a ball, stretch the top of the ball down and around the rest of the ball, until the outer layer wraps around the other side. Pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer “skin.” Set it seam-side down to rest.

Easy Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough

Monica
Homemade pizza dough is so easy and so worth it! It's so much more than pizza dough. Make bread sticks, focaccia bread or get even more creative. Check out my other ideas below!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 2 pies

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup warm water 110 degrees
  • 1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil plus more to coat the bowl
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder optional

Instructions
 

The 1 1/2 hour cook time includes rising time!

  • In a mixer bowl, add warm water, honey and yeast. Stir to combine and let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy.
  • By hand stir in the salt, olive oil and 1 cup of flour. Then add the remaining two cups of flour stirring until incorporated and beginning to come together.
  • Using your mixer with a dough hook, continue to knead dough for 7 minutes at medium speed until a smooth ball forms. Assess if more flour is needed to bring the dough together and add by tablespoonful. The dough should barely stick to the bottom of the bowl.

If using the dough sooner rather than later:

  • Place dough ball in a large oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in a warm spot for one hour. I use my warming drawer on the proofing setting. Dough should double in size.
  • After an hour, punch it down, divide in half and make your pizza balls by gently rolling dough into a ball. Stretch the top of the ball down and around the rest of the ball, until the outer layer wraps around the entire ball. Pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer “skin.” Set it seam-side down to rest. place each half on its own sheet of parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes to an hour. Dough balls will once again double in size.
  • Gently form the dough using your hands with light pressure so not to squeeze all of the air out of it. Keep on the parchment paper to easily slide into the oven.

IF NOT USING RIGHT AWAY...REFRIGERATE UNTIL READY TO USE:

  • Immediately after kneading the dough, form into a ball, place into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for the first rise for up to five days for an even more flavorful pizza crust. Once ready to use, divide dough, form into two balls and place in oiled bowls, flipping to coat top of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours before forming and baking.
  • Place dough on parchment paper for baking. (It is so much easier to transfer!) Sprinkle with a little flour if necessary and gently stretch it into the desired shape. Top pizza and bake.

Tips for this Recipe

Have fun being creative with the dough by making bread sticks, cheesy bread, calzone, stromboli, focaccia or stuffed pizza.