I’ve posted about pizza before, but since it makes a frequent appearance in our home (i.e. most every Saturday night except when I am lazy and grilled cheese pops up on the menu), a few things have changed and I want to share them with you.
Namely, I have a new favorite pizza dough recipe I’ve slightly adapted from here and oh, it is incredible. Chewy and flavorful, it is definitely my new go-to pizza dough recipe that I’ve been using for a few months now. It takes a minor amount of forethought and planning, since the dough benefits from being made the night before or in the early morning but it is well worth it. I still use the Fast and Easy recipe if I haven’t planned ahead, but this other recipe is really superb. Thanks to the whole wheat flour in the dough, it gives the crust a great depth and texture that is unparalleled after being baked to perfection.
Also, over the last year, I’ve gathered a few other tips and tricks that I thought I’d share with you (including revamping the pizza sauce a bit). I’ve included them below with the recipe.
A few I’ll mention here:
1)I always use freshly grated mozzarella cheese for topping our pizzas. I’ve harped on this before but since I’m, like, half-scientist, I can assure you that freshly grated mozzarella melts a lot better than preshredded. My husband happens to work for a cheese company and agrees with me (let’s forget the fact that he has a boring desk job and isn’t actually making the cheese – details, details). But you really can trust me on this – do a side-by-side comparison and I promise you’ll be converted to the idea. And then you can officially be classified as half-scientist, too.
2) Also, although we keep our pizza toppings simple (usually just cheese and turkey pepperoni), I’ve found a quick way to elevate the pizza to a delicious new level – sprinkling freshly grated parmesan cheese over all of the toppings right before baking. The slightly salty, flavorful hit of the parmesan cheese is fantastic.
Homemade pizza is one of the most satisfying things I make for my family. It tastes a hundred times better than restaurant-bought and my kids can get their grubby little hands right in there and help. And grubby or not, I love their help.
One Year Ago: Pesto Pizza with Pine Nuts and Feta
Two Years Ago: Red Berry Risotto Oatmeal
My Favorite Pizza Dough
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture
*Makes 2 12-inch pizzas or 1 large 16 to 18-inch pizza
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
DIRECTIONS:
Make the dough the night before or early the morning on the day you want to make the pizza. In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), mix the water, yeast, sugar, honey and oil. (If using active dry yeast, increase the amount of yeast to 2 3/4 teaspoons and proof the yeast in the water until foamy before mixing in the sugar, honey and oil.) Then mix in 1 cup flour and the salt. Continue mixing in all the remaining flour until you get a nice, soft dough. Knead until dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes with a stand mixer.
Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl and cover tightly (with a lid or plastic wrap). Place the dough in the refrigerator to slowly rise until three hours before baking. Three hours before baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature, keeping it lightly covered.
45-60 minutes before baking, move the rack to the lowest position in the oven (if the lowest rack in your oven is nearly touching the oven floor, move it up one notch – you don’t want it that close or the bottom of the pizza will burn), place the pizza stone on it and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Don’t be nervous about a hot oven! I used to be scared to death to cook anything above 400 degrees but I promise 500 degrees is the only way to go when cooking pizza. If your oven is a bit sketchy at that temperature, bake at 475 degrees. Also, I think a pizza stone makes all the difference in good versus great pizza. I have this pizza stone and I love the rectangular shape. I have baked many a pizza on this stone and it is awesome.
Here’s a few different methods for making great pizza:
Pizza Paddle/Peel: I have a wooden pizza paddle, like this, which I sprinkle with cornmeal and place the pizza dough on. I layer my toppings on the dough and slide the dough quickly onto the hot pizza stone. After about 8 or 9 minutes, the pizza is baked to perfection and I slide it onto a cutting board to slice and eat.
Alternative Pizza Paddle/Peel: If you don’t have a pizza paddle, you can use the underside of a baking sheet (I use an 11X17 size) or a large cutting board as a makeshift pizza paddle. Cover it lightly with cornmeal, flour or parchment paper, make your pizza on the floured baking sheet or cutting board and gently slide the pizza off of the makeshift paddle onto the baking stone when ready to bake (if using parchment paper, you can let the parchment paper slide onto the baking stone with the pizza). Bake for 8-9 minutes until the crust is nicely browned. Retrieve the pizza with a pair of tongs or a spatula and slide the baked pizza quickly onto a waiting cooling rack.
Rimmed Baking Sheet: If you currently bake pizzas using cornmeal on a pizza paddle, you’ll know how messy it can be – cornmeal everywhere. In fact, right now, my oven is in serious need of a good vacuuming. So, ofttimes, I’ll still preheat my baking stone like normal and instead of using my wooden pizza paddle, I stretch the dough into an irregular shape on a lightly greased rimmed baking sheet (I don’t worry about pressing it into the corners to give it a rustic look), add the toppings, and slide the entire baking sheet on the pizza stone to bake. Bake the pizza for 9-10 minutes until the crust is nicely browned. This method still browns the crust nicely – and while you don’t get the extremely authentic pizza crust, it is still mighty delicious and I can make more pizza at once rather than sliding them one at a time onto the baking stone.
The Best Pizza Sauce
*Makes enough for 2 16-18 inch pizzas
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until desired consistency. All the seasonings can be modified depending on taste – add what you like!
Pizza Dough Recipe Source:
adapted slightly from Emily at Savory Seasonings
{ 75 comments… read them below or add one }
I am REALLY craving pizza right now! I totally agree with you on the freshly grated cheese. I’ve recently switched. Mmm cheese and turkey pepperoni sounds fantastic
I don’t know. . . your fast and easy recipe is pretty awesome. It just comes together so quickly. I love the way it rises on a hot stone! By the way, I heard a little rumor that the reason that pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt is because they add a chemical to it to make sure the shreds don’t melt together in one big clump in the bag. It’s not hard to imagine that that’s true because every single piece of cheese always falls out separately from the others. Fresh grated just tastes so much better on top of the fact it has a better texture. I’m anxious to try your sauce recipe! My children’s friends have been telling me I need to make mine a little hotter with the pepper flakes???
I’ve yet to try homemade pizza. Yours looks so good though. I’ve got to try it sometime.
I could seriously eat that picture. I love good pizza! Unfortunately, I’m lazy and just dial it in, but my family loves homemade pizza. First cream puffs and now pizza, you are determined to find all of my lazy, slacker points and change them!
Love pizza and homemade sounds wonderful. Your picture makes the pizza look so tasty!!!
This looks great! I can’t wait to try it out. Anyone have any luck freezing pizza dough?
I agree with you completely – making and eating homemade pizza is so much better than most pizza places out there. Your pizza looks most inviting. Wow. I will bookmark this recipe.
Hi, I’ve just stumbled across your blog. I just happen to be making homemade pizza tonight!
Our favorite way is to spread a spoonful of pesto before topping with sauce.
i plan on trying this crust. i have a great bbq chicken pizza recipe (topping and sauce only), but need a good crust to go with it. this might just be the one! thanks for sharing~
You’ve convinced me to try this. Up til now my pizzas have been only so-so. Looking forward to this one! Thanks so much for posting your the delicious results of your experiments.
This looks so good!
This looks amazing and delicious! I’ve been looking for a fantastic homemade dough recipe for a while and can’t wait to try this out!
Thanks for sharing and your blog is awesome!
Michelle
Culinary Institute of My Own Damn Kitchen
myowndamnkitchen.blogspot.com
Well, Melanie, once again you saved dinner! Pizza was already the plan for tonight, so I went ahead and tried your “improved” recipe. The family RAVED about it! The crust especially…so chewy and perfect! And to think it’s actually 1/2 whole wheat! THANK YOU!!
Yum, can’t wait to try this! We’ve become addicted to sun dried tomato pizza with fresh basil on top.
YUM!
that crust looks absolutely amazing. pizza hut, domino’s, papa john–take note!
I was planning on making pizza last night so I decided to put this recipe to the test. I quickly whipped up the dough first thing yesterday morning. I have been making your fast and easy pizza crust for awhile now and we have all really like it. You were right when you said this pizza is new and improved. It was fantastic. This was the best pizza I have ever made. Loved it! Thanks for reinventing the good ol’ pizza crust. -Liz K.
That is a delicious-looking picture. I have my own go-to pizza crust, but I always like to try new recipes. Have you ever thought to add marjoram and rosemary to your sauce? I love the taste from them, and from the red wine vinegar I also add. Thanks for the post.
Nicole
Do I prebake the crust before I put the toppings on? Do you bake your pizza with all the toppings on it at that high temperature? This looks really good! Can’t wait to try it.
instead of all purpose i use bread flour and it reminds me just like our local pizza shoppes pizza dough
It was my son’s birthday today and he requested pizza for dinner. We tried this crust and sauce and it was SO good! I’ve made homemade pizza for a while but have been trying to make the crust with whole wheat flour lately and i almost decided i didn’t like homemade pizza anymore. I think these recipes will be my new go-tos. I’m excited for pizza night next week! thanks!
Corina – I know, isn’t it great that this tastes wonderful AND is whole wheat? I love that about it, too!
Liz – glad to get your opinion on the pizza dough and especially glad you liked it. Thanks!
The Buttars – no, I don’t prebake my crust before adding toppings. I stretch out the dough, add the sauce and toppings and then bake it all at the high temp. Watch it carefully as it bakes quickly but I always have good luck this way!
Our Cozy Little Book and Art Corner – bread flour would probably make for a delightfully chewy crust!
Matt and Adge – so glad this pizza recipe came through for you! I would hate for you to give up homemade pizza…thanks for letting me know!
By far THE. BEST. CRUST. EVER! We loved it so much that we ate pizza two nights in a row, and I blogged about it on my blog. I think we will be starting a weekly pizza tradition now that I have a great dough recipe to make.
Jenn – yay! I’m so glad this crust came through with great results. Thanks for letting me know!
This looks like a wonderful pizza crust recipe! We tried making crust before with a different recipe, but it came out tasting kind of like the flour. We’ll have to try this one as it seems much better than the other pizza dough!
WOW!!! Best crust ever and I didn't even have time to make ahead and it was great! Can't wait to try it again making the dough ahead of time and trying your sauce too.Thanks for sharing the whole family loved it.I cooked mine on an upside down re-heated cookie sheet and it worked great.
This recipe is awesome!!!! I have made it 3 times now, and have some tips for those that don't have a pizza stone. It is still to DIE for! We found the best temp/time is 400 degrees for 16 min. (I tried 425 and it burned the bottom pretty bad) Tonight I made a BBQ chicken pizza using half your BBQ sauce recipe and half your pizza sauce recipe for the sauce, chicken, red onion, and mozzarella/cheddar cheeses on top. SOOO yummy. The first time I made this pizza, my husband said, "no, seriously, where did you order the pizza from?!" Thanks so much for your great recipes!!
Julie – I'm sorry I haven't responded to your comment before now…I'm not sure how I missed it but I am so glad that you liked this recipe! Thanks for letting us know it worked great on an upside down cookie sheet.Kristie – Thanks for your tips – I love all the sharing that can come between comments. I'm thrilled this recipe has worked out so well for you!
I’ve made your slow rise a couple times but tried your quick and easy last night and we are converted. I made it into a medium pizza and used the leftover dough to make cheese sticks like Papa John’s makes. Oh my were they yummy! Thank you so much for sharing!
Kimi – so glad this pizza dough was a hit. And I would be beelining it for those cheese sticks, that’s for sure!
Hey Melanie! We made pizza the other night and I decided to give your sauce a try. SO GOOD! Love it. Definitely my new go-to recipe for pizza sauce. And it’s so easy to remember! Thanks!
Hi Melanie, this is my first post of MANY, I’m sure. We had this pizza last night and my whole family loved it. My husband said he liked it better than Domino’s Pizza…that’s what I call success! My little boy told me, “Mommy, you didn’t lie, it DOES taste good!” Thanks, I’m so excited to start making more meals from your site!
Chavah – I just made this pizza tonight, too, and I’m thrilled that it was such a hit with your family. Your son’s comment cracked me up!
I went to a tile shop and picked up 6 UNGLAZED (important) quarry tiles and put them on the lowest rack in my oven,I think they are 6×6 square tiles. I never take them out, you can baking pans right on top. When I make pizza, I preheat the oven to 500 degrees and slide the pizza right onto the tiles. The crust comes out perfectly cooked every time. This is the best way to make pizza. Just make sure you get the UNGLAZED tiles. The tile shop I went to just gave me them for free.
nikki – awesome tip, thanks!
This has been our go-to pizza dough recipe for months now and we just love it. The hint of sweet in the crust is perfect. My husband can’t stop raving about the sauce as well. Tomorrow is our first time using a pizza stone which I bought the hubby for his birthday this week!
Sarah – thanks for letting me know this pizza crust gets rave reviews. I hope the test run on your pizza stone is awesome!
I’ve been making this every Friday now, and its great. Funny thing is, I combine the instructions of another recipe, but use the ingredients of this one. I only let it rise, out of fridge, for about an hour. I then roll it out, assemble pizza toppings, and cook it. Its been turning out great, ha ha:)
Glad you like this, Erin! It sounds like the combination works great for you.
I have to laugh..I have been making this very same sauce recipe for over ayear, and thought it was “MY own ” as I just wrote it down one day on a sheet of paper after being sick of all of the crap in Store bought Jars of sauce..I use Garlic powder instead of salt, that is the only difference..I don’t have a stone, but I do have a beat up, very well used, round pan that has the holes in the bottom. It makes a crisp and tasty pie for us every time. Have had to actually stop people from trying to wash it clean in soapy water, LOL..I wash it with hot water and dry with a towel, it looks awful but it works. Anyhow, I just had to share that with you..I will definately be trying your dough recipe very soon..
So first time ever making pizza dough… It looks amazing, smells amazing, just one question, is it suppose to be unbelievably sticky when I’m making it into a ball?
Thanks!
Happy mommy – the dough shouldn’t be overly sticky so if it is, try adding a bit more flour and go by the feel of the dough versus how much flour you’ve added (as in, don’t be afraid to add more flour than the recipe stipulates as long as your dough is still soft and smooth).
I made this yesterday because my husband was not going to be home. (He doesn’t like homemade pizza) My sister and her kids stopped by and when I took it out of the oven, she couldn’t believe how great it looked, and actually made me take a picture of it! She loved it. It was the best homemade pizza I have made, and now I have to make it again so my husband can change his mind about homemade pizza. (We ate the whole thing so no leftovers to share with him)
SJ – I hope you can convert your husband over to loving homemade pizza! So glad you loved this.
Hi Mel,
What if I don’t have a baking stone? What can I use?
Hi BriAnn – if you don’t have a baking stone, you can try flipping over a rimmed baking sheet and using that. I’ve never tried it but have heard others use that method without a stone. Otherwise, just press the dough into a baking pan and reduce the oven temp to 425 or 450.
Wow, this is the best homemade pizza I have EVER made. Thank you for sharing your recipes. The crust is perfect in every way and so is the sauce. I just ate some leftovers tonight for a bedtime snack at 10pm. ha! Who craves homemade pizza at night? I do, when it’s the best pizza ever made by my own hands!
Do you think this dough could be cooked on a grill??
Yes, Elise – I’ve done it several times and it worked great (as long as I oiled my grill well enough)!
I just had a question. I made two batches of this dough last night, and I did one with half whole wheat and the other all white flour, but the batch with wheat dough isn’t rising the same. Is that normal? The one with all white flour had risen quite a bit in the fridge and the wheat one hardly changed at all. I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong or what, so I just thought I’d ask. Thanks!
Hi Kylie – I’m not sure why the whole wheat dough isn’t rising as well. I always make it with the whole wheat flour and it rises quickly. Do you think you might have overfloured the dough or done something different with the yeast? Those are my main guesses as to why it isn’t rising. I hope it still baked up well for you!
Mel, have you ever tried freezing the dough?
Hi Maria – I’ve frozen balls of this pizza dough with great success. I spray nonstick cooking spray in a ziploc bag, toss in the ball of pizza dough and seal the bag and freeze. I usually take it out the morning that I want to make pizza.
having had baked only a handful of times with all of them ending in disaster I gave up and stuck to just cooking.since finding you I have made blitz bread , parker house rolls, and herbed biscuits with much success.I made your original pizza crust recipe tonight and it was…A-MAZING!! Thanks for another perfect recipe
Hi, Mel!
I just want to let you know that these recipes for the best pizza sauce and your pizza dough are my favorites too! I just keep making this over and over whenever my family wants pizza. I have a bread machine so I make the dough in that and once it rises, I take it out and let it rise again before I spread it out in my pizza pan.
As we speak, I’m making pizzas again…..one going to my neighbor. I have to say that it’s the best, best, best recipes I’ve experimented with so these are keepers for sure. Thank you so much for sharing these with us!
Have you ever tried to par bake the crust and freeze it that way? I had some frozen crusts and they were so handy. (The teens made their own, we used them for bruschetta, garlic breadsticks etc).
I have been trying to figure out how to replicate that and how to store them. I thought of making them smaller- maybe 10″ across- so they would fit into a zip baggie or making rectangles to fit in the vaccuum pack bags. Just something I am toying with in my head.
Deanna – I’ve never attempted that! Let me know if it works out with this crust. Sounds like a great idea.
Thanks for another fantastic recipe! This one was fun and easy. I enjoyed making the dough ahead of time and anticipating finishing it up the next day. Really loved this one, no more store-bought dough for me!
I was going to make this tonight but I have no pizza stone. I’m a screwed with out it for this recipe?
sorry, just read the answer to this question in the comments. Thanks!
Great website. I’ve been making pizza now at home for several years. You’re right, it is way better than take out. Regarding the pizza stone, here’s a little trick that really works, and is cheap. Go to your local home depot or lowes and pick up a box of 10 terra-cotta style unglazed 12″ x 12″ floor tiles. The box of 10 costs around $10, or about a dollar a piece. I end up using them about 10 times each before they either crack, or look like they need to be changed out, but at a buck a piece, you can’t beat it. Once you find these, you’ll wonder why anyone would spend fifty bucks in a stone. I put two in the oven side by side for more room, and dust the top, after preheating, with corn meal before sliding the pizza in.
I’ve been making homemade pizza for years, but still hadn’t found a crust recipe that I was completely in love with – the journey stops here
I made the dough in my bread maker but otherwise didn’t change a thing about your recipe and it was delicious! I love how it’s just a touch sweet and so soft on the inside but with a crunchy exterior. This will be my new pizza crust recipe forever and ever. amen.
Friday night pizza has been a tradition at our house for years– and I thought I had the perfect crust and sauce recipes. BUT the fact that this was a make-ahead recipe caught my eye (and its chances were helped by the fact that you’ve never let me down yet as far as great recipes go).
BEST PIZZA EVER. Hands down.
Thanks for another great recipe Mel!
Hi, Can this dough be frozen? If so, how long?
Allie, yes, I freeze the pizza dough quite a bit. I usually try to use it up within 1-2 months.
Ok, another question regarding freezing pizza dough. Do you usually let the dough rise once before you freeze it, or do you just freeze the dough as soon as all of the ingredients have been combined?
Melanie – I usually freeze the pizza dough after it has risen overnight (if I’ve planned that far in advance), so yes, I would let it rise before freezing.
Mel, I made this dough at 2 this morning when I couldn’t sleep, only to remember that my oven is broken. {sigh} So it’s morning now, and it’s growing and all, and I’m so glad to know I can freeze it. Do I punch it down and then freeze it in a ball?
Kellie – yes, punch down the dough and then shape into a ball. I place it in a lightly greased freezer ziploc bag and press out all the air, seal and freeze.
This pizza dough is incredible! I’ve been disappointed with other pizza dough recipes in the past, so I wasn’t expecting this one to be such a success! The dough was soft and chewy and the flavor was outstanding….thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi, quick question about the pizza dough. Is the dough suppose to be sticky after kneading? I used King Arthur white whole weat flour and King Arthur All Purpose flour. I know from reading your other posts that you grind your own flour…maybe this is the difference. I added more flour, so I could form it into a ball. The dough is currently in the fridge… and I can not wait to taste this crust. Thank you for taking your time to help all of us in our own kitchens.
Nicole – the dough should be on the soft side. Not overly sticky but definitely not overfloured. It isn’t a big deal if you had to add more flour mostly because exact flour amounts can depend on so many variables (temperature, altitude, type of flour, etc.) As long as your dough formed a soft ball, it should work out just fine. Let me know how it baked up!
I wasn’t able to make this pizza dough due to lack of time but I have to say that I LOVED the sauce! I didn’t have a can of diced tomatoes so I just used tomato sauce and didn’t put it in the blender. Open a can of tomato sauce, a can of tomato paste and whisk in seasonings… how wonderfully easy! Thanks and can’t wait to try the dough soon.
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