Quick and Easy Foolproof Pizza Dough
This simple recipe for quick and easy homemade pizza dough is amazing! It comes together in minutes, rises quickly, and makes incredible homemade pizza!
Homemade pizza has never been easier thanks to this foolproof recipe for pizza dough.
It can be used for pizza, calzones, breadsticks and more!
Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
This homemade pizza dough is very straightforward. It can be made in a stand mixer with a dough hook or by hand in a bowl with a spoon or spatula (and good old-fashioned hand kneading).
Pizza dough ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 cups all-purpose flour (also works well with bread flour, ’00’ flour, or half whole wheat flour)
The pizza dough should be very soft and pliable. The biggest key is to not over flour the dough when mixing.
Add flour just until the dough pulls away from the sides and/or center of the bowl. As it kneads it will be transition from rough and shaggy to smooth and supple.
The dough should be soft and stretchy without leaving a lot of dough residue on your fingers.
Short Rising Time
This quick and easy homemade pizza dough only needs a short rising time. Just 10-20 minutes until the gluten relaxes and the dough puffs up a bit.
However, you can leave it rising for an hour or so if that fits your timeline better (and it does very well slow rising in the refrigerator).
How to Assemble and Bake Homemade Pizza
- Preheat oven to 475-500 degrees F. Don’t be afraid of the high temperature! It’s key to great homemade pizza.
- Heat a pizza stone in the oven for 45-60 minutes before baking pizza. Investing in a pizza stone {aff. link} is worth it for great homemade pizza! (I also have a baking steel, but find I prefer baking pizza on a pizza stone.)
- Use a pizza peel to slide the pizzas in and out of the oven. I have a wooden pizza peel {aff. link} but metal pizza peels {aff. link} are popular and work great, too.
- Shape homemade pizzas on a piece of lightly greased parchment paper or shape the pizza directly on the pizza peel using cornmeal as a barrier to sticking. I like using parchment paper so I can assemble several pizzas at once and have them ready for baking (or so people can customize their own pizzas), and it’s also a lot less messy than using cornmeal. Different brands of parchment paper vary in thickness/durability; thicker brands work best for pizza baking. It’s ok to use parchment in a hot oven – it will darken in color and may become brittle baking at high temperatures, but siding the pizza in and out with a pizza peel helps (it’s the only way I make homemade pizza).
The Best Pizza Dough
This quick and easy pizza dough is truly the best. It is easy and fast to make, and it really does produce the best homemade pizza.
The crust is soft and chewy and fluffy.
For extra fluffiness to the crust, let the assembled pizzas rest for 10-15 minutes before going in the oven.
5-Star Reviews
If you’ve been looking for the best homemade pizza dough, this is it! You don’t have to take just my word for it.
Nikki: I’ve tried innumerable pizza crust recipes over the years and this is by far my favorite! It’s so easy with little prep time(my inner procrastinator thanks you), and its crispy and soft all at the same time. Thank you for ending my search for a homemade pizza dough recipe, Mel!
Sarah: I have to say that this is the BEST dough I’ve ever made! It’s my go to for pizza, as well as scones. THANK YOU for all of your posts. I’m proud of myself for making something delicious my family loves. You’re the best!!
Juliee: This crust is EVERYTHING! I make a lot of pizza, I’m talking once a week for twenty years and usually 5 pizzas at a time so there’s enough for the whole family. During that time I have tried many (MANY!) different crust recipes including many from very well known websites, famous chefs, popular flour companies, etc. I have finally found the only recipe anyone could ever possibly need ever again! This dough was an absolute delight to work with (soft, silky, and super cooperative) and the finished product is DANGEROUSLY good! The fact that it is pretty much instantly ready to bake and I don’t have to prepare hours in advance is just a precious gift because even if it did take a lot of extra time and steps I would still be all over this. I really can’t give it enough stars. Love, love, love this! Thank you!!
One Year Ago: Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Two Years Ago: Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Three Years Ago: Snickerdoodle Brookie Bars
Four Years Ago: Little Toasted Coconut Lime Bars
Five Years Ago: Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Six Years Ago: Delicious Whole Grain Hulk Muffins {Naturally Green!}
Seven Years Ago: Chicken Shepherd’s Pie with Garlic-Kale Mash
Eight Years Ago: No-Bake Thin Mint Cheesecakes
Nine Years Ago: Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ten Years Ago: Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup
Quick and Easy Foolproof Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 cups (284-426 g) all-purpose, bread or '00' flour (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the water, honey, oil, yeast and salt.
- Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The exact flour amount will vary so go by the touch and feel of the dough versus the exact cup measurements in the recipe. The dough should be soft and smooth (not leaving a residue on your fingers but not super stiff, either).
- Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes (knead for 5-6 minutes if kneading by hand or if using whole wheat flour).
- Let the dough rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Shape the dough into pizza(s), spread with sauce and toppings, and bake at 475 or 500 degrees on a preheated pizza stone (heat the stone for an hour in the oven before baking) or on a lightly greased baking sheet for 8-10 minutes.
Notes
Recipe Source: slightly adapted and updated from a recipe I posted several years ago
Recipe originally posted January 2008; updated March 2023 with new photos, recipe details, etc.
Mel, I love this recipe and have made it lots. This weekend I divided the dough into a mini muffin pan, baked for 15 minutes and when they came out I brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with garlic salt and parsley. Little yummy garlic nuggets! Thanks so much for the recipe (all of your recipes)!
I’ve never made my own pizza dough before thinking it would be so difficult (what if I can’t get the texture right, what if I over-work the dough). This was awesome! I went slow adding the flour and eventually got the texture just right. It came out fabulous on the grill. We made a pepperoni pizza and a buffalo chicken pizza and they were a big hit – with both my 18-month-old son and 18-year-old step-son. I love being able to please everyone with a single meal!
I have made this dough many times and it is always fabulous. My kids love homemade pizza better than any pizza shop. Tonight I topped it with your Alfredo sauce and some left over rotisserie chicken and mozzarella. OH. MY. WORD. Deliciousness! Thanks for being my go-to every night of the week!
I could kick myself for messing up a “foolproof” recipe! After 10 minutes in the oven, the outside was beautiful, but there was still raw dough in the center. I baked it on a cookie sheet, but didn’t preheat it first, because I didn’t read the tutorial until after. Is the 8-10 minute time estimate with a preheated cookie sheet? I think that’s where I may have gone wrong…
Pam – It definitely helps to preheat the cookie sheet (or baking stone) – I think that could help fix the raw dough in the center. Was it rolled pretty thick? If so, you also may need to add a few minutes to the baking time. I roll mine fairly thin.
Hi Mel! I just wanted to let you know I tried this recipe again last night, made sure to roll it thinner, and it turned out wonderful!! I also turned my oven down to 450 and baked a few minutes longer, since i couldnt quite nail the transfer to the preheated cookie sheet and ended up baking it on a non preheated one. Thanks for your help! This is definitely my new go to pizza dough recipe!
So happy to hear the update, Pam, thanks!
I’ve been making homemade pizza for years. I have used this crust recipe a handful of times now on the grill and it works great! Love the flavor and it gets nice and crisp. And SO easy!. Thanks Mel!
I’m going to have to try this. It looks great! Thanks!
Hi Mel, do you think I could make the dough in the morning, then put it in the refrigerator and take it out a little while before I bake it?
Brenna – Yes, that should work great! I’d take it out an hour or two before you want to roll it into pizzas.
Thank you!
Hi Mel-
I just made pizza crust in my Kitchen Aid and with all this bread making you have gotten me into 🙂 I am noticing that my Kitchen Aid is not quite strong enough. It sometimes overheats. I was wondering what kind of Bosch you have since I don’t know anyone around me who has one! Thanks for all of your crust baking tips. It makes for a great pizza in your home oven!
Can this be made with active dry yeast instead of instant?
Allie – it can be made with active dry – just proof the yeast in the warm water/honey and let it bubble and foam before adding the rest of the ingredients.
I made this today and the dough came together really quickly. I was so happy because I was pressed for time. The yeast I had on hand was a jar of bread machine yeast….and I mixed it with a spoon and my hands. I will be making pizza more often now.
Hi there people!
Just a quick tip for anyone making the quick pizza dough… I always use whole wheat flower, and i knead the dough with a mixer, until it becomes airy and lets loose on the sides of the bowl.
I then cover it and let it rest/rise for about +/- 40 minutes……. lightly flower (as much as needed) inside the bowl until it becomes workable, remove it from the bowl knead it some more, and make your pizza base ready for use.
NOTE!!! The dough is light and fluffy, so put some flowered parchment (baking) paper underneath before topping it, so you can transfer it to the oven safely! I just pull the paper after 5 minutes in the oven…. Those with a pizza paddle have their own methods i guess….
I have an electric oven and i bake it, in the preheated oven for about 18 minutes, i just cover the baking sheet with some aluminum, …….. The result is just fantastic!!!
Thanks again for all your great recipes!
God bless!
This pizza is amazing! It is soft and fluffy and your homemade sauce is delicious!:) thanks for another life changing recipe!:)) your website is now bookmarked as my main go to in the kitchen:))
So tonight I’m making this for the third time since you posted the recipe. Not sure if that’s good or bad but we LOVE it!! 🙂 Tonight I upped the whole wheat flour to a full cup – hope I don’t regret it!
Made pizza tonight using your fabulous recipes for the crust and sauce. The pizza turned out so well. All your tips really helped! My tummy is really smiling. Thank you, Mel for all you do!
So, I read the note above the recipe about the 1/2 to 2/3 cup of whole wheat flour – then, I got confused after reading the whole recipe. If you are using whole wheat flour, do you use 1/2 -2/3 cup instead of 2-3 cups? I never realized there was such a difference in the amounts of flour with all purpose vs. whole wheat…
amanda – The recipe note is talking about proportions of whole wheat flour not cups. So the 1/2 to 2/3 in the note means you can use 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white flour. The cup amount in the recipe should still be 2-3 cups. I hope that makes sense!
Hi Mel,
I love your quick pizza dough!
I made it tonight & used it for breadsticks which I brushed with some garlic salt butter. So yum!
One question: can the dough recipe be doubled, tripled, quadrupled and so on?
LOVE your website & think you are so gifted with food & an awesome mom!
Lots of aloha from Hawaii,
Cathy
Cathy – Thank you for the sweet comment. And yes, this dough can be doubled and tripled.
Thank you for posting weeks pizza posts! I made the pizza dough tonight ( first time ever using yeast!!). It was great! A bit thick so I will try a few more times. Than I used your tips for the pizza stone! Excellent help! You rock, Mel!!!
Mel, I tried it again. I split the dough in two and made the crust thinner. It worked perfectly. I guess my crust was just too thick! I use a bread machine to make my dough and it works great.
I tried this recipe tonight instead of my usual pizza crust recipe because it only took 10 minutes to rise. It is now my new pizza crust recipe. My family loved it!!!
Do you think this would work well in a bread machine, provided all ingredients were added in the proper order? My kitchen is so drafty I can NEVER make yeast recipes without using my bread machine or else nothing rises!
I am making pizza tonight, Thank you for sharing.
I would be up to trying a new recipe with all your great pizza tips! Bring on the Hawaiian:)
Help! I’ve made this dough two or three times and every time I’ve had raw dough on the inside with a nice burnt crust on the bottom! Yuck. What and I doing wrong? I use a cookie sheet upside down in a 475 oven. I cook for 8-10 minutes. I use parchment paper. Thanks!
Laura – How thick do you think you are rolling your crust? Also, each oven can be quite variable in temperature so your oven may cook hot in which case, I’d recommend cutting the temperature down to 450 and see how it goes. Good luck!
I made this the on Monday night and it was great. I have to say I feel like this is my first successful pizza dough I have made. I’m not organized enough (well, usually) to do the night before thing so this is perfect for me. When my husband heard I was making homemade pizza at 4:30 he just looked at me and said “Oh”. I knew he wasn’t very excited because he knows that it usually doesn’t turn out so great and starting at 4:30 would mean eating at 8. Not what a hungry guy looks forward to. But this was a success and very tasty. The dough was so easy to work with. We have a family of 6 so I doubled the recipe to make 2 doughs and my Kitchenaid handled it just fine. The only thing I noticed is that the dough does rise very quickly. I made one pizza with plain cheese for the kids first and while it was cooking the second dough rose so much that it made a much bigger pizza than would fit on my pizza stone. So for anyone feeding a crowd and wants to double the recipe my suggestion is to plan on making a second pizza bigger because you will have more dough to work with. Or you can let it rise in the bowl covered in your warm kitchen (the other pizza cooking will warm things up in there) for 25 min and you will end up with 2 more doughs so you can make 3 pizzas total. Thanks for the recipe Mel, I’ll be using it again this Friday night!
So glad it worked out well for you, Terra Laurie! Thanks for checking in (and for the tips!).
Wow such a helpful post!thanks!
I love love the original version of this crust. I totally will have to compare the two. I usually make it into a bbq chicken pizza and bread sticks and my family totally melts in excitement.
Thanks for the stellar recipes and feel free to share a recipe for your version of BBQ chicken. The one I use is delish but everything I have made from you has been outstanding. I am very excited about your killer giveaway as well! Have a fun week Mel!
I’ve been making this recipe for years now ever since I saw you’re original post! Thank you! Thank you! It’s the best and I’m excited for the rest of pizza week:-)
Holy cow, Mel! Have I ever said (about a million times???) that you are AWESOME!!! Thanks a ton! I can’t wait to try it!
Yeah for pizza week! I’m so excited! This pizza crust looks perfect, Mel. I’m really looking forward to your posts about the perfect pizza!
What kind of white flour? All purpose or bread flour.
Dave – I use unbleached all-purpose flour.
I love your quick and easy pizza dough. It’s been my “go to” for probably over a year now. I was curious as to why you omitted the garlic salt. I loved the little added flavor. Was it just personal preference?
I agree! I love her original recipe with the garlic salt– added a HUGE kick of flavor to it! Only realized the difference when I was looking to see if she used whole wheat flour in any pizza doughs!
Hey Katie and Jen – sorry I never responded to your original question, Katie…I didn’t see it or notice it until Jen just left her comment. I mostly omitted the garlic salt because I never ever keep it on hand anymore. If I want a garlic salt punch, I use coarse, kosher salt and garlic powder. However, I’m glad you both love the original recipe and I’ll add in the notes the option to add that garlic salt if you want it. 🙂
Mel – THIS recipe is the my go-to pizza recipe of yours I’ve been using for a few years now. For me – it works great because for some reason I never “plan ahead” for the overnight recipe. (Maybe one day I’ll try!) I am SUPER excited for this week of recipes/tips!
Ok…so I interpret “didn’t plan ahead” as last minute 🙂
Oh Mel, you had me at last minute pizza dough 🙂
Thank you again and again!
So pumped! Love this week already. And this is going on the menu this week. The weekly menus are so helpful even though weekly posted recipes require they be adjusted 🙂 and you are simply the best! Thank you for the excellent way you do your work!
Was making your slow rise pizza dough and pizza sauce recipe every Friday night for the past few months until I got sick and pregnant. My family and friends all LOVE it! Not a lot of cooking going on here right now, but I will put this week’s posts in my back pocket for healthier days!
Wow, this is great. My husband has been buying store bought pizza crust at WF and they are just not that great to me. I think I may need to try this right away. When my husband asks where I got a recipe from I always say my friend Mel:) He knows right away what I am talking about. I have loved your site for years and so thankful for all the helpful tips you have. You are so good about responding. Do not know how you do it with all you have going on and the little ones around you. Looking forward to pizza week!!! Wish my 7 year old liked pizza more. She will only eat her pizza with sauce on it. Maybe if I get her to help though she would like it better.
Thank you Heather – you are so sweet! I wish I could respond more to comments (I’m good about responding to questions but I would love to say thank you to everyone that tries a recipe – I just run out of time!). Hope you love the pizza if you try it!
I have a house guest who is GF. Do you have a GF dough recipe? Thanks –
Auntiepatch – I don’t have a gluten-free crust but my friend Nicole does here:
http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gf-pizza-dough/
I have a pizza recipe I love but we will definitely be trying this. Interested to see what it is like with honey as the sweetener and not sugar like mine. Do you plan to talk about grilled pizza?! It’s a life changing experience and I’d love to hear your take on it!
Hi Bethany – I did a post on grilled pizza a year or so ago:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/grilled-pizza-how-to/
But I’ll be talking about it again this week, too.
Will you have a day dedicated to topping ideas? I get in a rut sometimes…
Mary Karlee – yes! That’s one of my biggest hangups about homemade pizza is the toppings!
So excited for this week! We make homemade pizza about once a week too. Thanks Mel!
Your pizza is the absolute best!
YUM! Love pizza so definitely want to try this out as the recipe doesn’t look too hard! Once I get the hang of it I want to try out sourdough pizza!
http://addalittle.wordpress.com
I’ve been making your pizza every Friday night for years! My family loves it and if it’s possible for it to get any better, bring it on!
Thanks, Mel!
We love pizza!! We make it once a week! Love love love your dough that has a bit of garlic in it. Whenever my hubby starts making grunting sounds while he’s eating (with “ash this is awesome” attached) I know I’ve scored again with another MKC recipe. When someone asks “where did you get this recipe?” I say Mels kitchen of course! I have to agree with what’s been said. You are my go to for recipes. Thanks!!!
Nice article. But, it managed to confuse the blazes out of me. The subject on my email was Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Sandwiches. I opened the email, and found an entirely different article. And then I remembered you did the sandwiches a different day.
Hi Joan – I agree – I was confused too! Seems as though the email accidentally tagged the wrong subject line. Sorry about that!
Anxiously awaiting all the Pizza recipes . I have been on a search for the perfect pizza dough recipe for years . Trying everything from beer in the dough to Jim Lahey’s 18 hr no knead. Still searching . I am beginning to think I am doing it wrong. But I never give up . I have learned so much from you over the past 2 months (heard about you at The Kitchn) and continue to tell my family about your site . You are my Go To Site for any recipe . Thanks so much .
Thanks, Jan! I’ll be posting an overnight pizza dough tomorrow that might be the trick for you on your search. Hope so!
How can this be frozen for future use?
Hi Deb – it sure can! I’ll be doing a tip on freezing pizza dough later this week, but basically, I grease the inside of a freezer ziploc bag with nonstick cooking spray and put a ball of pizza dough inside, seal the bag and freeze. I take it out the night before using and put it in the fridge and then take it out of the fridge an hour or so before wanting to make pizza the next day (or you can leave it on the counter for 6-8 hours until it has thawed completely).
it don’t have to
Mmm, that pepperoni pizza looks awesome! Now I’m excited for your blog posts this week too. 🙂
lol 😛
I think I love you! I was literally walking to the kitchen to see if I had yeast. Then I thought, let me see if Mel has a good pizza dough recipe. Your site always has exactly what I need. Thank you!