This quick homemade pizza dough recipe makes enough for two pizzas! Put a homemade pizza on the table in 30 minutes and throw another in the freezer for your next pizza night!
While we try to eat healthy and fresh from the garden, we balance that with a good old-fashioned pizza night every Friday.
We stopped ordering pizza delivery because a homemade pizza is cheaper, better for you and faster than delivery.
The best thing about pizza is that you can craft it at home. You can easily make your own homemade pizza dough with your favorite toppings.
Preparing your own pizza dough could even be a great time to spend with the kids! There’s a bunch of pizza recipes you can choose from online.
Often times we’ll make a cast iron pizza that doesn’t require any yeast, but it can be extra greasy.
This recipe ensures that I have a ready-to-go pizza crust always on hand.
Here is a simple pizza dough recipe that you and the family will surely love!
Things to Consider
Before we head on to discuss the recipe, one thing you should know about pizza is that without a good pizza dough, you could be missing the x-mark.
Though preparing the dough might take a long time and a lot of patience, it’s also great since you can prepare more than enough dough than you need, and place the extra dough in a freezer bag after being placed in the fridge for a week.
Another tip is about the amount of yeast being used. Too much instant yeast or active dry yeast in a pizza dough could cause it to deflate.
Letting the pizza dough rise longer than you should cause it to smell like beer, which isn’t exactly what you’re looking for. This could also lead to a deflated pizza crust.
Allow dough to rise in a warm place. Your kitchen counter could be the best place to let it sit on a warm day.
For a thin crust, you can use a rolling pin to roll the dough as flat as you want it to be.
While a thin crust pizza might be lighter and takes less time, a thicker crust can also be tempting since you can place more toppings on the dough.
The water you use doesn’t necessarily matter, but the water temperature does. You can just use tap water for your dough and it will still be fine.
But, the temperature should be right since it plays an important role in the growth of the yeast.
Lastly, the pizza flour. There is no such thing as the best flour for pizza, but the one this recipe suggests is all-purpose flour.
For a chewy crust, you can use bread flour, but, again, this is for your own preference.
How to Make Your Quick Homemade Pizza Dough
Making this dough is super simple. To start you’ll “proof” your yeast in warm water, which simply activates it.
Prepare two bowls—a small bowl and a large bowl. Having these two ready might come in handy.
Mix the salt with the honey and water in a small bowl. Add ½ teaspoon of yeast and allow to sit for 5 minutes before stirring.
In a large mixing bowl or Kitchenaid standing mixer pour 3 1/3 cups flour and create a well in the center.
Pour the yeast mixture into the center of your dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to firmly stir until the pizza dough is nice and sticks together.
Knead for 2 minutes by hand, or on medium-low for two minutes on your KitchenAid Mixer.
Use the mixer with a dough hook attachment and start mixing at low speed. As the dough ball forms, switch to medium speed. A soft dough is an ideal dough that we are rooting for.
You’ll know the dough is ready when it takes on a slightly shiny sheen and bounces back when you poke it with your finger.
Once you are done kneading, wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest, and let the pizza dough rise at room temperature for the next 4 to 5 hours.
You will know it’s ready when the dough’s size has doubled.
When you’re ready for the next step, make sure that your work surface has much flour on it.
Turn dough out onto the now-floured surface, making sure to sprinkle some flour on the dough to keep it from sticking.
Divide into two equal pieces.
Fold the dough into two. Repeat this eight times, making sure to make a seal on the last fold.
When folding, fold as though you are opening a book until a ball of dough forms on your 8th fold. Also, make sure not to fold a little too hard since this might affect the bubbles forming.
Transfer each dough ball to a greased bowl with the sealed side facing the bottom of the bowl.
Cover the bowls with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for 18 hours up to a week. If you are planning to keep it for a long time, I suggest you coat the sides of the ball with vegetable oil or a little olive oil before placing them in their individual bags.
While you can only keep them in the fridge for a week, you can freeze them for up to three months without the dough going bad.
To freeze your dough, simply place it in a gallon-sized freezer bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Seal and throw that sucker in the freezer.
How to Make Pizza with This Dough
While you are about to start preparing your crust, a hot oven is needed, so this is the best time for you to preheat the oven at 550 degrees F with the pizza pan inside.
A pizza stone or pizza steel works well, too. An inverted piece of parchment paper can be used also. Make sure to flour your pizza peel.
With the dough fully adjusted to room temperature, transfer it to your floured workspace and place some flour on the ball, too.
Use a wooden spoon to make sure that there’s no dough left on the sides of the bowl. Make sure not to press on the air bubbles.
Using your knuckles, lift the dough. Allow the center of the dough to roll over your hands. Work outward and rotate the dough.
This process makes a thicker crust for the edges of your dough. Repeat this process until you’re comfortable with the size of your pizza.
The ideal size for this recipe is 10 to 12 inches. The dough will shrink a little, so form it a little bit bigger than you want it to be.
For personal pizzas, you can do a smaller dough, but it might have an unwanted thicker dough, especially when using this recipe.
Add sauce (homemade pizza sauce for canning) and your favorite toppings to your dough—anything and everything you can think of!
Shake the peel again. Since the baking stone inside the oven now has a high temperature, you can use the pizza peel to slide the dough into the pan.
Bake at 550 degrees F for around 8 to 10 minutes. You know it’s ready when the crust shows a golden brown
If you’re making the pizza from the frozen one, simply let your dough thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours before you roll it out and top it.
I first found this recipe on MoneySavingMom.com who has an awesome series on how to fill your freezer in four weeks – perfect if you’re prepping for a new baby or surgery, or even just a busy homeschooling or gardening season.
Quick Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 5 cups flour
Instructions
- Add the yeast to the warm water in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix. If using a standing mixer, set to medium low. Or knead by hand until the dough becomes shiny and elastic.
- Separate into two balls - one for cooking now and one to store in the freezer.
- Place the second dough ball in a freezer bag, remove as much air as possible and seal shut. To use, simply allow it to thaw at room temperature before use.
Bre Rock
Monday 21st of March 2016
I might have to give this a whirl! I'm always looking for a tasty and easy pizza crust! Have you ever (or anyone you know) tried this in a bread maker on the dough setting?
Lauren Dibble
Tuesday 22nd of March 2016
I almost make this exclusively in the bread maker! Turns out beautifully. Give it a shot and let me know how it turns out!