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.”