This is the perfect pizza dough. It’s my go-to pizza dough whenever I want pizza in under 90 minutes. It’s simple, it’s pretty hard to mess up, and it’s so fun to make. The best part about pizza dough is it’s pretty forgiving, perfect for a beginner baker or as a project to try at home.
I usually say that baking is a science, and for the most part, it is! But when it comes to pizza I feel like it’s much more casual, much more free-wheeling and a little more flexible. I mean we are working with our hands after all! And no matter what, as long as you have a stretchy, gluten-y pizza dough, your pizza is bound to come out amazing. This is the perfect pizza dough recipe I return to time and again, because it’s never failed me and it’s never failed my pizza. Crispy bottom, chewy crust, golden brown edges- here we come.
Table of contents
Ingredients for this perfect pizza dough
Pizza dough is just like your normal dough, here is everything you need to make it happen:
- 500 grams all-purpose flour, about 3 & 1/4 cups
- 8 grams kosher salt, a heaping teaspoon
- 8 grams active dry yeast, 2 & 1/4 tsp, or one packet
- 338 grams water between 100°F and 110°F, about 1 & 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp
- 12 grams extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp
How to mix and knead this perfect pizza crust
Pizza. Crust. Is. Fun.
No hand mixer needed here, just your hands, a surface and some good old-fashioned kneading. It takes a bit of time, but this dough is so smooth and easy to handle that it becomes the most satisfying task.
So first whisk together the flour and salt. In a large bowl, pour in the yeast and half of the water. Let this sit until foamy, then add the flour mixture and the rest of the water. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine this into a shaggy dough.
Add the olive oil to the dough and knead it in with your hands. Now for the fun part!
Move the dough to a floured surface and knead for 7-10 minutes, or until the dough forms a tight, elastic ball. The dough should be very smooth and easy to work with. If you need to add a sprinkle of flour to your workspace during this process, feel free to do so, but use it sparingly! When you’re finished you should have a very tight, elastic dough.
How to proof and shape your pizza dough
First, you need to let the dough rise.
Lightly oil a large bowl and add the dough to it. Cover the bowl and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
After the dough has risen, punch it down and move it to a work surface.
Sprinkle a bit of flour in a line down the middle of the dough, and use a bench scraper to cut down that line to create two equal pizza dough balls. Now you can use these however you like!
I like to lightly stretch the dough out with my fingers, then raise it in the air and continue to stretch with my knuckles, rotating it 45° every time I stretch it with the back of my hand. Once it reaches your desired thinness, set it down on a surface that you can easily transfer to the oven, and give it a few more stretches to make it uniform.
How to cook your pizza dough
This totally depends on your cooking vehicle and your recipe, but if you are home-cooking, here are my rules of thumb:
When you are ready to bake your pizza dough, it will typically take 10 minutes in a 500°F oven for a Neapolitan style, or 14-15 minutes in at 450°F oven for a thicker crust.
***However if you have a woodfired pizza oven, more power to you. Go up to 950°F and cook for 1-2 minutes – see heaven.
Looking for other baking recipes?
Here are a few we have on the blog!
And that’s it for this perfect pizza dough recipe!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.
Perfect Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 500 grams all-purpose flour about 3 & 1/4 cups
- 8 grams kosher salt a heaping teaspoon
- 8 grams active dry yeast 2 & 1/4 tsp, or one packet
- 338 grams water between 100°F and 110°F about 1 & 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp
- 12 grams extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour and salt. In a large bowl, pour in the yeast and half of the water. Let this sit until foamy, then add the flour mixture and the rest of the water. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine this into a shaggy dough.
- Add the olive oil to the dough and knead it in.
- Move the dough to a floured surface and knead for 7-10 minutes, or until the dough forms a tight, elastic ball. The dough should be very smooth and easy to work with. If you need to add a sprinkle of flour to your workspace during this process, feel free to do so, but use it sparingly!
- Lightly oil a large bowl and add the dough to it. Cover the bowl and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down and move it to a work surface.
- Sprinkle a bit of flour in a line down the middle of the dough, and use a bench scraper to cut down that line to create two equal pizza dough balls. Now you can use these however you like!
- When you are ready to bake your pizza dough, it will typically take 10 minutes in a 500°F oven for a Neapolitan style, or 14-15 minutes in at 450°F oven for a thicker crust.
