Homemade Pizza
Never order out for pizza again! You won’t even miss greasy, expensive, store-bought pizza after you try this homemade version.
Pizza definitely 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), so the pizza dough choice is obviously important.
Here is my favorite dough recipe that I’ve adapted slightly from here and oh, it is incredible. Chewy and flavorful, it is definitely my go-to pizza dough recipe that I’ve been using for a long time.
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. Here is my favorite pizza sauce recipe.
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.
Also, over many years of making this pizza, I’ve gathered a few other tips and tricks that I thought I’ll with you (including revamping the pizza sauce a bit).
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 used to work for a cheese company and agrees with me (let’s forget the fact that it was 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.
FAQs for Homemade Pizza
Yes, you can. I freeze it after it has risen. I punch it down and separate into greased freezer ziploc bags. I try to take the dough out the night before, keep it in the bag and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then I take it out an hour or two before I want to bake it to let it come to room temperature and proceed with baking.
Yep!
If you want to sub active dry yeast, make sure to proof it in a couple tablespoons warm water with a pinch of sugar before using it in the recipe (let it bubble and foam before proceeding with the recipe). If you want more information, I did a tutorial on yeast and it helps explain the differences.
Here is the link for the Homemade Pizza Sauce.
It’s usually because the gluten needs to relax a bit. When this happens to me, I roll the dough out and even if it contracts back a little, I lightly cover it and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Then when I go to roll it out again, it stays in place.
Another way is to separate your dough into the pieces you’ll use for pizzas and let those dough “balls” rest for 10-15 minutes before rolling out. That will usually preempt the problem. Also, dough that is overfloured will tend to have this problem more than a slightly softer dough so watch that, too.
What To Serve With This:
Cut up carrots and cucumbers with Homemade Ranch
Fresh Fruit
Cinnamon and Sugar Breadstick Twists
One Year Ago: Pesto Pizza with Pine Nuts and Feta
Two Years Ago: Red Berry Risotto Oatmeal
Homemade Pizza – New and Improved
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) whole wheat flour
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Recommended Products
Pizza Dough Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Emily at Savory Seasonings
160 Comments on “Homemade Pizza”
Fantastic pizza! Question- do you have any tips or tricks on getting lots of pizzas done quicker? Have you ever baked the Crust for just 2 or 3 minutes then build them and bake them later?
I haven’t done that, but I do think parbaking the crusts could make it go faster (not sure if the crust is as light and fluffy after fully baking).
When i use a pizza stone bottom crust is not crispy.
THE BEST! I have tried multiple recipes and this is by far the best. I made a BBQ chicken pizza tonight and it was delicious! I would love for you to give more detail about freezing.
Can you freeze this dough ?
Yes
I loved the pizza recipe, but I really loved your cooking tips. My crust turned out crunchy and noticeably better than the other many, many pizzas I have cooked over the years. Thanks!
Thanks, Bev! Glad it worked out so well for you!
Your thoughts on freezing the dough. I love to save time and usually make six weeks of dough at a time (pizza night is Thursday every week). I usually make and immediately freeze in freezer bags, one per bag. Let thaw all Thursday and it turns into a lovely pizza. Any thoughts on how this dough would react in the freezer? Or the thawing process? Thanks!
I think it will work pretty well!
I made it and it tasted so goood! Thank you for the recipe!
I made two pizzas last night. One was sausage, mushroom, onion, and red pepper. The other was mushroom, onion and black olives.
The dough made great crust and the fresh pizza sauce was outstanding!!
All ingredients were drained well and I oven dried the onions and red peppers. Turned out great without any sogginess. It was a big hit. I’ll never use a different recipe for sauce or dough.
Fantastic!! Thanks again for another incredible recipe.
I meant for that to be a 5 star review. Sorry.
Hi Mel! I was reading another blog and their recipe for pizza uses bread flour for a guaranteed perfect crust. I’ve never made pizza and I’m nervous about the crust turning out. So I was wondering if I could use 3 cups bread flour in place of the all purpose and wheat flour here? Do you think it would work? Also I don’t have a stand mixer and have to mix it by hand.
You can definitely make it by hand – as far as the bread flour, you could certainly experiment! Would probably work just fine.
So I have noticed in a lot of your recipes you use instant yeast, I bought the large thing of active dry yeast at Costco awhile back because I was making a lot of yeast breads. Does using instant yeast and active dry yeast make a difference in the recipe and do you have to use different measurements for the different yeasts (hope that makes sense)?
Hi Niki – a long time ago, I did a little tutorial on yeast and it helps explain the differences. In short, though, if you want to sub active dry yeast, make sure to proof it in a couple tablespoons warm water with a pinch of sugar before using it in the recipe (let it bubble and foam before proceeding with the recipe).
Just a thought that my husband and I recently found… Immediately after baking add some Feta cheese crumbles to your pizza. This will change your life. Guaranteed.
Everything about this recipe is great!!! I didn’t have time to slow rise it overnight. So I let it rise in a slightly warmed oven for 4 hours. I doubled the recipe and was able to make four 14″ +/- pizza’s. The 500 degree oven is a must! This is what my pizza’s have been missing all this time! I have a baking stone but not a pizza paddle. So I made them on parchment paper on an upside down cookie sheet and slid paper & pizza onto hot stone. Worked great and because it cooks so fast it’s not a forever process to cook multiple pizzas in a row! The crust is yummo!
Thanks Mel for what you do! You have impacted my meals, holidays and overall cooking reputation in a BIG AWESOME way! Thank you thank you!
Hey Mel! I only have a pizza pan not a pizza stone. Is there anything different I need to do?
You can try preheating another baking sheet turned upside down like a baking stone and place your pizza pan on that to help brown the crust.
Sorry if you’ve already answered this, but can you freeze extra dough?
Yes, you can freeze the dough.
Hi Mel just wondering about the pizza sauce. Is there a recipe for that?
Here is the link for the Homemade Pizza Sauce.
What is the rise time for refrigerated dough, as it doesn’t really indicate… you just mention to refrigerate for a slow rise and remove 3 hours prior to baking. If dough weren’t refrigerated, what is rise time?
The dough can rise in the refrigerator up to 24 hours. If not refrigerated, an hour or so at room temperature will probably allow the dough to double (but it has better flavor/texture if it rises in the refrigerator).
The parchment paper is sticking to the bottom of my pizza’s. Is that an indication that my dough is too sticky and needs more flour?
Nick – Is it sticking while you are rolling it into shape or after baking? It might be that the dough is too sticky but it could also be that your pizza stone needs to be preheated longer to really bake a nice crust onto the bottom of the pizza so it won’t stick.
It is sticking before it goes in the oven. The stone was preheated for about an hour at 500 degrees so i don’t think it was the stone. I’ll try a little more flour next time and make sure that it isn’t sticking to the parchment paper before i start making the pizza.
Hi! I LOVE this recipe. But just curious, if I over flour it, is there a way to bring it back? Or am I better off just to start over? Thanks so much!
Kylie – Sometimes I’ll sprinkle in a little water very, very gradually to see if it can soften up while it kneads but if it is significantly overfloured, it’s probably best to start over.
Thanks for answering me quickly. I saw your recent post and wanted to make sure that it applied to this recipe also.
I love you dough makes great pizza along with your sauce. I just received a mixer so no more hand kneading! I want to double the recipe, would you double the yeast?
Kathy M – This note from this recent pizza dough post will answer your question. “I almost always use 1/2 or up to 3/4 whole wheat flour with good results – I let it knead for a few minutes longer. Also, this recipe doubles, triples and quadruples really well. If doubling, use double the amount for all the ingredients. For triple and quadruple batches, increase all the ingredients accordingly except the yeast – only use 2 tablespoons yeast for a tripled batch and 2 1/2 tablespoons yeast for a quadrupled batch. Keep an eye on the flour if increasing the recipe. You want a soft, smooth dough – not too sticky and definitely not overfloured.”
Mel!! Delete my previous comment! I’m so embarrassed!! Jk. But seriously I should actually read your methods before leaving a comment about parchment paper !! So sorry!!
Hi Mel! I feel like I know you. Haha. I love, love to make yeast breads and am hoping to make my way through all your recipes!! I was wondering, with this recipe, if this amount of dough makes one pizza and approximately the diameter of the pizza when you roll it out. (Basically how thick do you do your crust as it will affect bake time). Also, just a tip that has changed my cornmeal collecting oven! I love to put the rolled out pizza dough onto parchment paper that is on the pizza peel. Then I slide both pizza and parchment paper onto the stone. Pizza purists say to slide the paper out after a couple minutes but honestly I notice no difference if I bake it with the paper the whole time, other than the exposed paper will brown. This also helps for high volume pizza nights as I can prep a pizza on parchment paper and have it ready to gently slide onto the peel. Thanks for all your great recipes!
I recently came across your site and love everything! This was my first time making the pizza and it is delicious! I’m curious as to what kind of cheese you use. I used fresh mozzarella, which definitely does not shred well, so i just placed it in pieces all over. It was good but just want to try something different with the cheese next time.
Leslie – I use part-skim mozzarella that I shred myself (pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt as well). I am glad you like the pizza!
You would think that 100+ comments where people are saying, “oh this crust is AMAZING” would be enough that you wouldn’t need another person saying it. However, this crust is REALLY amazing – amazing enough to comment and say what everyone else has already said!
A winner all around!
What kind of cheese do u put on your pizza.
Hi Kelly – I use mozzarella and parmesan.
HI MEL ID BEEN MAKING FOR MONTHS THE PIONER WOMEN, PIZZA, ULTIL
TODAY…THAT I MADE YOUR PIZZA…AND IT WAS THE BEST PIZZA WE EAT AT
THE HOUSE…MY HUSBAND IS NOT A FAN OF PIZZA, AND THIS TIME HE
TOLD ME THAT WAS THE BEST CRUST…CAN I FREZZE IT??
Hi Marina – yes, you can freeze the dough for the crust (I’ve never frozen it after it has been baked). I usually pinch of pieces the size I would roll out for pizza and put them in a freezer ziploc bag that I’ve sprayed with cooking spray.
It’s the honey in the dough that makes it so good. Wolfgang Puck uses honey in his famous pizzas
Parchment is fantastic for making homemade pizza. (I just couldn’t deal with the cornmeal)
I put a sheet of parchment on the counter, and I make up the pizza on the parchment. It’s easy to slide onto the pizza peel and onto the stone, and easy to slide out after baking.
I make three at a time, so this works well for me to have pizzas waiting on parchment to be slipped into the oven.
I was wondering what the slow rise in the refrigerator does to this crust. Have you ever made it and just let it rise on your counter until doubled in size then rolled it out and used it?? Wondering how much it would affect the taste and end result to skip the slow rise for hours. Thanks!
Adrienne – yes, I’ve done it the quicker way like you mentioned if I don’t plan ahead. The dough is slightly less flavorful if it doesn’t rise overnight in the fridge and I’ve also noticed it isn’t quite as chewy (and the dough that rises overnight has delightful little pockets in the crust); however, my family couldn’t tell the difference so really, I think either way could work depending on your preferences.
I know this may sound like blasphemy but can I use all purpose flour instead of wheat??
Tara – yes, you can. 🙂
Could I leave this dough in the fridge for a few days?
Hi Marci – it will take on a yeasty flavor the longer it sits. If you don’t mind that, it should be ok. The longest I’ve refrigerated it is about 24-36 hours.
Mel, at which point am I able to freeze the dough for future use? And then after freezing how do I resume the recipe? Sorry, I’m am such a novice in the kitchen.
Andrea – I freeze it after it has risen. I punch it down and separate into greased freezer ziploc bags. I try to take the dough out the night before, keep it in the bag and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then I take it out an hour or two before I want to bake it to let it come to room temperature and proceed with baking.
This pizza crust is SO good! I have made it several times and my family loves it. My four year old son says it’s way better than pizza from a restaurant! I make it in my bread maker with the dough setting and it turns out perfect every time. In thanks for such a great recipe I wanted to share a pizza pan that will solve your messy oven woes, while still giving you amazingly crispy crust. I used this type of pan back in college when I made pizzas at the cafeteria and we used one of those broilers that cooks both sides of something at the same time while it moves on a conveyer belt. I bought one of these babies on Amazon and we’ve been in pizza heaven ever since: Winware Seamless Aluminum Pizza Screens (Can’t post a link, but you can easily look it up). Just make sure to grease it every time with some olive oil on a paper towel and don’t push the dough down in to it.
I would like to try this crust recipe. It looks delicious! I’m just a little concerned about preheating my stone as the company (pampered chef) says not to. Obviously you have done it with great success. What kind of stone do you have? I’m thinking of just disregarding their warning…
I also wanted to tell you how thrilled I was to discover your blog… I have spent hours perusing it, as well as making so many of your recipes. I love your creativity and the fact that you use readily available ingredients. I’ve told many friends and family about your blog.
Hi Yoli – I don’t have a pampered chef stone – I bought mine from King Arthur Flour and the instructions say it is ok to preheat so I would probably heed the warnings on the PC label (I’d hate for you to ruin your baking stone!). Thank you for your sweet comment; I hope you find many recipes to try and love!
Okay, let me get this straight. To freeze the dough, I let it rise in the fridge overnight, then stick it in the freezer. To use it, I pull it out the night before and leave it in the fridge til I’m ready to use it for dinner. Then let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes ish, then roll it out and top it. Right?
Marci – actually when I freeze the dough, I don’t let it rise in the fridge overnight. I just throw it into a freezer bag after it has gone through the whole recipe process (prior to being rolled out and baked). Then, when I want to use it, I place the frozen bag of dough in the fridge overnight. By morning it should be thawed but still really cold so I take it out and let it sit at room temp until it is pliable (might take an hour or so, depending on how big a piece it is). Then you can proceed to roll and bake.
This summer I am cooking at a camp that has convection ovens. Do you have any
tips for baking your pizza in a convection oven? Will I need to lower the temperature?
How much will I need to adjust the time? I did a little research and it appears to be okay to use baking stones in a convection oven. I’d appreciate any advice!
Hi Sue – unfortunately I have limited to no experience with convection ovens. Sorry!
Convection ovens have a fan which circulates the air and this bakes more quickly..Rule of thumb..decrease the temperature by 50 degrees. I have convection and have checked on the internet sites regarding this issue..Your cakes and dough will cook more quickly.
I love homemade pizza and am excited to try your recipe. I’m wondering if you have any tips about getting the pizza off the peel and onto the stone. I have a tendency to dump everything onto the stovetop or worse in the oven! Maybe I’ll have better luck using a pan on top of the stone.
hey Kelly…i know you asked for help many moons ago but here is my trick…build the pizza on a piece of parchment paper and slide it (paper and all) onto the stone…you can pull the paper out from under the pizza a few minutes into the baking time once the crust has set up, but i find it unneccessary and just leave the paper the whole time…i don’t notice a difference in the final product and makes for easy retrieving as well =)
This sauce is delicious and so easy!
Love this recipe! but hated the cornmeal. I tried it with and without. First pizza on parchment paper which burnt so I thought I’d try the cornmeal but what spilt on the bottom burnt and started the smoke alarm in my house scaring my 19 month old and I hated the cornmeal on the crust. The pizza itself was delicious.
This was outstanding! I used all your tips and your sauce recipe and we give it 5 stars! I loved telling them the crust was whole wheat too. Sooo good. My picky 5 year old even loved the sauce. We made heart shaped pizzas and while she was decorating hers, she dug the spoon into the sauce and exclaimed that “It is good!” Made for a fine Valentine’s Day. I am slowly going through all your recipes and I think you are a genius. Thanks for making me look good.
Theresa – sure, I don’t see why not. Just make sure the amounts fit into your bread machine.
Can you use a bread machine for making the pizza dough?
Melanie, thanks for the advice and for getting back with me! I’ll give this another try. Thanks for all your great advice and for sharing your talents with so many of us!
Denise – I know what you are talking about with the dough and it’s usually because the gluten needs to relax a bit. When this happens to me, I roll the dough out and even if it contracts back a little, I lightly cover it and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Then when I go to roll it out again, it stays in place. Another way is to separate your dough into the pieces you’ll use for pizzas and let those dough “balls” rest for 10-15 minutes before rolling out. That will usually preempt the problem. Also, dough that is overfloured will tend to have this problem more than a slightly softer dough so watch that, too. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! I seem to have issues with rolling out my pizza dough and getting it to stay put, the dough constantly recedes and contracts back to its original form every time I roll it out. Help! Any advice on how to get the pizza to stay put when rolling it?!?
I love this recipe. I hardly ever comment on the blogs I read, but I really just love this recipe too much to stay quiet. It makes great pizzas, and was really good as a chicken cordon blue calzone, too (stuffed with chicken, ham, swiss, mozzarella, and leftover alfredo sauce- yum!). Thanks for sharing!!!
Cherryl, I’ve never made mini pizzas out of this dough but I’m guessing you could easily get 8 to 10 kid sized pizzas out of it. Although that may be a stretch, maybe more like 6 to 8. I’d separate the dough into pieces after it has risen overnight. After splitting the dough, let the dough pieces rest at room temp, covered, until the dough is no longer cold and can be stretched easily, maybe 1 hour.
Hi Mel, I’m having a birthday party for my 5 yr old daughter and thought having the kids make their own pizzas would be fun. So, of course I went to your website to find a pizza dough recipe and voila! Here you have it! Do you know how many mini pizzas one batch will make? Should I split them after the dough has risen or right before rolling it out? And how far in advance should I make them? Thanks so much for your wonderful website!
Mel, awesome sauce, I make it all the time. Tonight we decided to add about 3 cups of uncooked spinach to the blender and the kids did not notice at all! It darkened the sauce a bit but really did not change the taste at all. Anyway, just thought Id share…
This is great pizza sauce!!! So easy too.
So easy and so inexpensive. I’m amazed at how flavorful the sauce is too–yum! Thanks for another winner, Mel!
I tried this pizza crust recipe today and my family and I LOVED it! I love that it uses whole wheat flour- yet it is soft and doesn’t taste like cardboard! I really love the depth of the flavor! GREAT recipe! Thanks for the different kinds of directions. I didn’t want cornmeal all over so I made it on a pizza pan and slid it onto the stone. Thank-you!!!
Im making this crust and sauce tonight for dinner! I make pizza weekly for my family, but always feel like my crust is not quite right. I’m hoping this may be just what I’m looking for! I made your sweet and sour chicken this past week and my husband gave it a 10/10! In fact, he liked it so much I made it twice this week 🙂 thanks!
Julie – proofing the yeast means to let the yeast activate in water (it should foam and bubble) before adding it to the other ingredients. Proofing only needs to be done with active dry yeast. If using instant yeast, you don’t need to proof it in water first, you can add it with the other ingredients.
what does proof the yeast mean?
Stephanie – I’ve never frozen pizza after it has been topped and baked but I do freeze pizza dough every once in a while. After it has risen, I punch it down, separate it into balls the size I would use for a pizza, place them in separate freezer ziploc bags that I’ve greased the inside of and freeze them. I pull them out the night before and put them in the refrigerator to thaw or put them on the counter for 6-7 hours before wanting to bake.
2 questions –
1. Our baby is still too small for pizza so this is a lot of pizza for us. Does it freeze well?
2. If you haven’t tried freezing it- at what stage do you think I could try freezing it? 🙂 Thanks!
I tried this sauce a while ago and it was so good but I was put off by the honey in the crust.. but I decided to try it anyways and oh my goodness it was better than takeout! delicious! I can see how you make this every week! So so good! Well done…again!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
sorry, just read the answer to this question in the comments. Thanks!
I was going to make this tonight but I have no pizza stone. I’m a screwed with out it for this recipe?
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!
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.
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!
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
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.
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!
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)!
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!
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.
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.
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 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..
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.
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 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!
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!
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!
Kimi – so glad this pizza dough was a hit. And I would be beelining it for those cheese sticks, that’s for sure!
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!
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!
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!!
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 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!
Jenn – yay! I’m so glad this crust came through with great results. 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.
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!
Our Cozy Little Book and Art Corner – bread flour would probably make for a delightfully chewy crust!
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!
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!
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!
instead of all purpose i use bread flour and it reminds me just like our local pizza shoppes pizza dough
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.
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
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 crust looks absolutely amazing. pizza hut, domino’s, papa john–take note!
Yum, can’t wait to try this! We’ve become addicted to sun dried tomato pizza with fresh basil on top.
YUM!
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!!
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
This looks so good!
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.
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~
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 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.
This looks great! I can’t wait to try it out. Anyone have any luck freezing pizza dough?
Love pizza and homemade sounds wonderful. Your picture makes the pizza look so tasty!!!
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!
I’ve yet to try homemade pizza. Yours looks so good though. I’ve got to try it sometime.
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 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 🙂