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.
Thanks. My toddler just asked for pizza, and this recipe literarly saved me. Added some fresh herbs to the dough, so goooood.
My son and I make this dough every Thursday for pizza night. It comes together so quickly, we get the other ingredients ready while it rests. In our house we make several small pizzas so everyone can pick their own toppings. This dough shapes easily, which is a huge plus for smaller helping hands. The dough holds up to a simple cheese pizza or heavier toppings (leftover grilled steak with caramelized onions). Thanks Mel.
the search is over! This is the best pizza dough ever! It super quick perfect for those I WANT PIZZA NOW moments. This will be my go to dough from now on…I used more than 3 cups flour and made a 16 inch pizza. So perfect! Thank you so much!
Oh my goodness. I live in central India and I made this in a completely different weather at different kitchen temperature and humidity, and I promise that this is the absolute best pizza dough I’ve ever tried.
And it’s very versatile, some doughs are meant to be made thin crust, some work better as thick crusts, not this one, you can do anything you want with it. Really felt like a kitchen rockstar today.
Thanks Mel!
Thank you so much! This turned out perfectly. Two medium, thin, crispy pizzas. I’ve been looking for a quick pizza dough and I’m so often disappointed when they say “let rise for an hour”. I’m never that organised. This recipe is a life saver. And I used about 3/4 whole wheat.
The crust came out great! I topped with carmelized onions and crumbled sausage.
Saturday morning came across your pizza recipe, I have sun dried tomatoes
Going to give it a go now
Thanks
Mel, this dough recipe has made homemade weeknight pizza super doable! I use King Arthur Bread Flour and it’s amazing. I make our pizza “Sicilian style,” and it’s really easy for those without a pizza stone.,
Hi Mel,
I’d love to try this recipe but am wondering what I can substitute the honey for? Would sugar work? I don’t use honey often so I never have it in the house. Thanks so much your picture looks delicious!
Yes, sugar should work just fine!
This is amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing. My kids loved this and it was SUPER easy and quick just like post said. We will definitely be checking out all your other recipes.
Thanks again!
I still love this recipe and make all the time. I have been reading about 00 flour and wanted to try it with this recipe. Have you ever used it? The dough was light and airy, yet crispy and just delicious. Just wondering if you’ve ever experimented with 00 flour.
I’ve never used 00 flour because it isn’t easy for me to find locally (well, let’s be honest, I haven’t tried that hard to find it) but my friend who is famous for her homemade pizza uses 00 and honestly, it’s the most amazing pizza ever.
I absolutely LOVE this dough recipe and have used it multiple times with great success. Thank you! It is so quick and easy, cooks well and tastes great.
I am planning a pizza evening with friends next weekend and I have 14 guests in total. We roll our dough really thin so each batch makes 2 large pizzas, so I am going to be doing 7 batches. My question is, could I prepare this dough in the morning if it is only going to be used late that afternoon? I am worried it rises too much. Can it be kept in the fridge to prevent rising?
Hi Keran – yes, this dough could definitely be made in advance. Just pop it in the fridge but make sure to take it out in time for it to come to room temperature so the dough isn’t cold (usually a couple hours).
Can you make cinnamon rolls from this pizza dough?
Can you make cinnamon rolls from this dough?
I’ve never tried that but you could certainly experiment, Betsy.
Perfection! Made it tonight! Came together beautifully- and resulted in a killer pizza! Thanks!
Just tried this recipe and it was quick, easy, and amazing tasting. Great for a work night. Thank you!!! I kept it basic with just red sauce and cheese, and it tasted like an awesome NYC pizza.
Brilliant, i think i will try again tomorrow with less yeast, it became large on the bench in 10 minutes, threw it in the fridge and it just kept getting bigger and bigger, funny but messy, tasted excellent
What kind of oil do you use? Vegetable or Olive?
Usually olive oil.
Mel, Do you think this recipe could be mixed in the food processor !
Sure, especially if you’ve mixed doughs in there before and it has a dough hook blade.
Can you use active dry yeast?
Sure – just proof it in a bit of water and sugar until it is foamy and bubbling.
I make this pizza dough almost every week and we love it. I wanted to do a pizza party for my son and use this dough. I’m wondering if I can make the dough in advance and how long it would stay good in the fridge? Would I refrigerate at the very end of all the steps or before the 10 minutes rise?
Sure, I think that could work. I’d refrigerate just after mixing (no rising). I have a recipe on here for overnight pizza dough that might work better and it’s equally delish.
I made this last night with all white flour and it was so good! I make your overnight whole wheat dough most weeks – which is delicious and wholesome. But, this was a treat! The only way I can describe it is pillowy softness. It’s not even 7 AM here in California and I have al eady snuck downstairs to eat leftovers. Yum!
Mel I love this dough and sauce recipe! I’ve totally ditched my other pizza recipe. But I need some help. It’s normally perfect, but The last two times I’ve made this, the crust has been doughy in the middle! The bottom gets crispy, as do the outside edges, but right underneath the sauce and cheese, the crust is not cooking 🙁 I’ve tried cooking longer, but no luck. It did happen with a different oven than what I had been using, but it was just replaced with a brand new one and the same thing happened tonight. I’m preheating my baking stones at 500 degrees as directed. Nothing else besides the oven has changed in how I’m doing things. I want my perfect pizza back! 🙂
Ashley – Mel is out of town and away from the internet for the weekend, but she will help you with your pizza conundrum when she gets back. How thick are you rolling your dough? You might try rolling it thinner to see if that helps it cook evenly. You could also try par-baking your crust for a few minutes before you add your toppings. If you try it again before you hear back from Mel I hope it turns out perfect!
Mel!! Thank you for teaching me how to properly prep and use my pizza stone. That one little tip made all the difference. I’ve been making pizza on Friday nights for a decade at least. My husband always said he liked my homemade pizza but I always found it so frustrating because I would get such mixed results. Your recipes are fabulous and I love having perfect pizza every time! I love your blog. It’s my go-to when I’m looking for something tasty and not too complicated.
Hi Mel,
Everytime I’ve tried to make pizza dough, it has failed for one reason or another. I don’t think I’m “kneading” like it says in the recipe. This may be a real dumb question, but please take it with a grain of salt (pun intended), from a chap who is a total novice at home cooking. What do you mean by “kneading” the dough?
Kneading the dough is basically turning it over and over on itself to develop the gluten. You can knead by hand (using the bottom palm of your hands to push into the dough as it turns over and over) or you can knead in an electric mixer. Does that help?
Great you can also consider cornmeal on bottom of crust before final bake
Hi Mel! I’m a huge fan!!! I go to your site weekly!
I made this pizza last week and the dough seemed way too thick after baking (nothing like your beautiful pictures). I rolled it out very thin, to the point where it was almost transparent. Do you have any idea what could have gone wrong?
Also, do you have any idea how much mozzarella you use? I used (fresh) approximately 8oz and your sauce recipe, and just peperoni. All my proportions seemed wrong :l
Thanks in advance!
Hi Alexa – you might try cutting down the yeast a bit if you don’t want it to puff as high in the oven. I really don’t measure the mozzarella. I mostly use the part-skim (not fresh) mozzarella and use a handful or two for each pizza.
I love, love ,love this recipe! it’s the only pizza dough recipe i’ll use ever again, thanks for sharing
Thanks for a great recipe! I’ve been looking for pizza dough for ever…finally my search is over! This was so fast & easy. I had to cook mine for 20 min., but I like pizza with some bite to it. Will be making this again and again.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It has become my favorite crust recipe to go to. It comes together quickly and rises so nicely. Love the taste of honey in the dough. We top with homemade pizza sauce from our garden tomatoes and other yummy things for Saturday night suppers.
I just made this dough tonight, trying to be more healthy . Will try the whole wheat flour next time! My family raved over it. Always skeptical on sauces but found an organic one that turned out pretty good. Made one cheese/pepperoni and one supreme! Had no issues whatsoever. I kneaded it by hand and just added a little bit more flour if it stuck to my hands. Thank you!
Could you please tell me if you always use whole wheat flour in recipe?
Does it work with just all purpose flour or do you have to use wheat flour with it . What does the wheat flour do to the dough?
Yes, I almost always use whole wheat flour but all-purpose works good, too. I usually add whole wheat flour for added nutrition.
Have you ever made this recipe in bulk and frozen the dough?
Hi Aubrey – I have frozen this pizza dough quite a few times. It freezes ok but doesn’t quite compare to the fresh version (because of the amount of yeast, the frozen dough that’s been thawed has an overly yeasty flavor to me).
Hi Mel! I have two questions for you. Can we pre-bake this dough a bit before adding the toppings ? I’ve seen some people do this so wanted to try. Also, every time I try making bread/pizza, the end result, although ok reeks and tastes of BEER ! I know it’s probably the yeast doing what’s supposed to do but is it normal ? Is every homemade dough this smelly ? Help !!!
Hey Ana – yes, this pizza dough can definitely be pre baked. A lot of the yeasty smell comes from the amount of yeast called for in recipes and can be stronger if dough is left to rise for a long time (for instance, the yeast smell in the pizza dough recipe I have that rests overnight is stronger than in, say, this one). Each homemade dough will differ depending on the ingredients and method.
What oil do you recommend using for this recipe?
I usually use olive oil or canola oil.
Thank you much, Mel!! I stumbled upon your site via google & am in love. Beautiful pictures & fun writing is always a plus in my book.
I made this crust this weekend & the pizza came out tasty, but I had a few issues. 1. I forgot the oil to the dough (hangs head in shame), 2. Picked up highly active yeast instead of instant & proofed the ENTIRE package (don’t ask because sometimes Google isn’t a girl’s bestie) & added it to my mixer before adding the rest of the ingredients.
My crust was nice & soft outside of the edges, but the edges were too hard. Did the yeast do this? I’m in GA & used only 2 cups of flour because it looked sticky & stuck to my hands w/ a little residue. I know your recipe says “no residue on your fingers”, but I though if I added more flour my dough wouldn’t come out right. Please help if you can? Thanks for posting yummy deliciousness!
The dough I made was stretchy & not rollable. I guess from too little flour? Thanks again!!!!
Hi Tamika – sometimes the dough can shrink back and not stretch out if the gluten needs to relax a bit. A simple solution for this is to let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes before rolling out again. If it was overly sticky, you might try a bit more flour.
Thank you so much!
I tried it twice since you responded and my dough came out yummy and perfect. Thanks for your time & help!!
Also, if I roll this out thinly (we like thin crusts), how many inch will your original recipe yield? 🙂 Will it make 2 12-inch pizzas?
Hi Mel! Thanks for this recipe. I will try this very soon! 🙂 Quick question though, can I use 1 tablespoon sugar instead of honey? Thanks! 🙂
Yes, you can use sugar in place of honey. And as for the thin crust – you’ll really have to experiment and see. It’s hard to know exactly how thin you’ll be rolling it – I feel like I roll them pretty thin for the yield in the posted recipe but I suppose if you roll them really, really thin, you might be able to get two 12-inch pizzas. Good luck!
great quick recipe. Has become my go to on a weekly basis. Quick question on freezing – should I let it rise first then freeze? Or can I freeze once the dough comes together?
You can freeze the dough right after it’s mixed all the way.
This worked like a charm! My husband & I are incredibly happy with it.
Btw 1tbl is equal to 1 package of yeast I figured out 🙂
Thanks a million!!!
This is a FANTASTIC recipe! Tastes great and so quick for a -didn’t plan ahead, the kid just asked for pizza kind of night.
We can no longer do take out pizza; my son has become very sensitive to MSG. (Migraines-sick)
Hard on a preteen who LOVES pizza.
This recipe is a huge win! Love your pizza sauce recipe too. Thanks again, Mel!
Tried this last night for dinner. So fast and easy. My family loved it!
This is an awesome recipe!!! So easy and had pizza made in 35 minutes!! This is a keeper!!
I made this last night. It was my first time making homemade pizza, and only my second time using yeast. It came out great, even with the slight setbacks I had! My husband was extremely impressed and we both agree that this will be made again. We kept munching on the leftovers, even once they were cold. 🙂
I only had dry active yeast, so I activated it first with the warm water and honey. Everything else was exactly as written. I found it took about 2 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour. Next time I’ll try using some whole wheat.
Sadly, I tried your method for pre-heating a pan in the oven in place of a stone, and it didn’t work out. 🙁 My pan apparently cannot handle that high heat and it started to smoke. I think the non-stick coating was burning. So, I ended up just using a smaller pizza pan at 450F, greased, and with the pizza going directly in the oven without preheating the pan. It still crisped up and browned the bottom, so no real problem in the end.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ll be using it to teach my husband how to make dough, too, since he’s slowly learning to cook. 🙂
I stumbled upon this site looking for a quick pizza dough recipe as I was in a hurry. Oh my goodness! This is the best crust I have EVER made! I made the outer crust extra thick and we dipped it in extra pizza sauce. Forget the toppings, I would rather just have the crust and sauce.
i’d like to make this around noon, however won’t be actually making the pizza’s until maybe 6 hours later. What is the best way to “store” the dough, and do I do anything different once it’s time to use it?
Thanks so much and LOVE your blog!!!
Hi Theresa – I’d refrigerate the dough, covered. It will rise in the fridge so make sure the container has room for that. If you can, take it out about an hour or so before using.
I am awful with any recipe with yeast. I was really nervous trying this, even though it says foolproof. I was so pleased with our pizzas. I will not buy pre-made crust again!!
Tried your recipe tonight because I need a quick and easy pizza dough. I used Robin Hood nutriblend flour with omega 3 and fibre for healthier pizza with great success! I topped with hand grated mozzarella, tomato sauce, thawed cooked spinach, sautéed red bell peppers, zucchini and caramelized onion – pizza is soooooo good!!! Thank you for the recipe!
I will be hosting a birthday party and there will be 10 thirteen year old girls making their own individual pizzas. Do you think that I need to double or triple the original recipe? How many people does your original recipe generally feed?
Also, I am planning to use Red Star Active Dry Yeast, because I happen to have a lot of it (I buy it a 2-pound package at Costco). Thanks!
Hi Helen – sounds like a fun party! If using the active dry yeast (you probably already know this), just make sure to proof it in a bit of water until it is bubbly before using in the recipe. I tripled this batch a few weekends ago and it easily fed 10 of us. I don’t think a double batch would be enough but I think a triple batch would be great (as long as each girl isn’t making a mammoth sized pizza). 🙂
GREAT RECIPE! Proofed the yeast out of habit, and baked on parchment on a preheated pizza stone at 450- wasn’t sure how our old oven would do with 500. Topped with a little tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and pepperoni- soooo good! I did get a little bit of a greasy bottom on my pizza- no doubt bc of the parchment paper, but do you have any suggestions to prevent the greasiness? I hate cornmeal, but I guess if that’s the only option, I’ll live with it. Thanks for the awesome and fast recipe!
Hi Haley – did you remove the pizza from the parchment paper immediately after baking? I’ve never had the greasy issue you’ve described and I use parchment almost every time. I wonder if it might be moisture from when the hot pizza sits after coming out of the oven?