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!!
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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.
Super easy, super tasty recipe that requires things most of us already have at home. I love that the ingredients are few and simple and that it takes the same amount of time to make (including that awesome sauce!) as it would to order and go pick up a pizza with questionable ingredients! Thanks for the recipes! The sauce was so simple – we will never buy pizza sauce again!
How many pizzas worth does this recipe make? Curious whether or not I should double it!
It makes about 1 large pizza.
I just made this and I got two 10 in. Pizzas out of a single recipe.
I was skeptical about this pizza dough recipe because it seemed too easy. I’ve tried so many homemade pizza dough recipes-some took all day and even then, I haven’t been happy with the final result. And so the search for a pizza dough recipe continued, until I came across yours today. I wasn’t expecting much—but, wow! It was so easy and delicious! This ones a keeper, and I want to say thank you! I’ve been so frustrated in my attempts at making pizza. I will make this one again and again.
This dough was absolutely perfect! We googled and chose your recipe- we are in “quarentine” with the rest of the world and wanted to use what we heave instead of going to the store or ordering in. So good, this is likely our new go to from now on! Thank you!
Thank you, Lisa!
Oh yes!! I love pizza! I have a pretty good dough recipe, but I’ll definitely give yours a try. Do you follow King Arthur Flour? Their recipe of the year is pan pizza…I NEED to find a cast iron pan so I can make it.
I love this crust. Sometimes i add thyme oregano and rosemary when rolling dough out. And put butter and smashed garlic with tony chacheres around edges when i cook crust.
This was my first time making homemade pizza and honestly I don’t think I’ll ever go back to ordering out! It went great! I doubled the recipe to make more pies but for the next time I’ll probably try less yeast for a more “thin crust” version. Nonetheless, it was delicious!
Good recipe, I used maple syrup for vegan purposes and I also used CAPUTO ITALIAN FLOUR “00” plus added a 1/2 cup of regular flour. I also only used about 2 1/2 c of flour not 3 cups.
I let it proof for a half hour not 10 min. But if you leave it in the fridge overnight, let it sit out for half hour the next day, it’s even better results.
But for a quick dough, half hour is still great results and it’s nice this worked. I didn’t see much of a rise in 10 min so I didn’t want to chance it, my oven does have a proofing option so it wasn’t a problem with being too cold.
I did make a first batch of dough and my husband had added the full 3 cups of regular flour (he follows directions to the exact, but he tried to help). I figured it wasn’t going to work because it didn’t feel right, it didn’t work out well (we used it anyway). So I made a second batch with 00 flour and much less flour to start and the results was nice, light and fluffy. So good!
I tripped the recipe and the dough came out perfect the best pizza dough recipe I have ever made! My grandchildren loved it using it to make a stuff crust pizza tomorrow I will comment after our dinner. It’s going to be added to my go to book of recipe favorites!
Was going to pick up a pizza on the way home from a crappy day at work. Well, they had an at least 45 minute wait! Got home, found this recipe and make a lovely white pie. I rolled out the dough (used the last of my ‘000’ flour) and put it in a greased rectangular baking pan to par bake the dough for 5 minutes and then added my left overs (ricotta, mozzarella, roasted peppers), EVOO and garlic. Just delicious and cost me very little to make. Who needs a pizza shop!
My 3 year old and I made this last night! It was really easy and a big hit!
I was nervous about making this because it seemed to easy and I’m no baker. However I followed exactly what you said and it came out perfectly. Everyone in the family loved it. Thank you so much for this easy pizza dough. If this no baker Mom can make it, then anyone can. And the best part was the taste. Amazing!! Thanks
I don’t want to be one of THOSE people that say they love a posted recipe, only to change it all around, but here goes:
A tablespoon of yeast seems WAY too much for 2-3 cups of flour. I halved the yeast, and the dough rise was fine.
Rather than dirty my stand mixer and/or kneading by hand, I dumped all ingredients into my bread machine and used the “Dough” setting to do mixing, kneading and rising. I used 2-1/2 cups of bread flour, which worked fine. When the bread machine got done, I rolled out into pizza-sized discs and let it rest/rise again before topping and baking.
All in all, a nice recipe if you want to make some fresh dough on short notice. I’m intrigued by the use of honey instead of sugar as a sweetener/food for the yeast, but can’t really taste it in the finished product.
I was wondering if the honey could be left out of the recipe.
You could definitely try that…
Hi, not sure where I went wrong. I used gluten-free one-to-one flour and other than that, followed the steps exactly. The pizza toppings were delicious, but the dough was pretty raw, the outside crust white and hard. Should I have baked the crust before topping? I really really really want this to work! It will be the easiest gluten free crust I’ve made! Please help.
I’m afraid gluten free flour won’t work the same in this recipe, sorry!
I always pre-bake 5-8 minutes when I use gluten-free flour. It just doesn’t cook the same way as wheat.
The best crust recipe I’ve ever used! Actually quick and perfectly delicious.
I love this recipe & was wondering how long the dough will last in the refrigerator once it has been made? I made some 2 days ago & am wondering if it will still be good?
Yes, it should be fine! The yeast flavor might be a bit stronger, but it does pretty well out of the fridge.
Meaning leave it out of fridge if making for Christmas Eve?
Made tonight…perfect! I divided into one pizza and one cheesy bread
Mel, your recipes have never failed me. I can’t thank you enough! It is hard to pick a favorite but your chewy chocolate chip bars are what dreams are made of
Happy New Year and many blessings!
I love this crust. Sometimes i add thyme oregano and rosemary when rolling dough out. And put butter and smashed garlic with tony chacheres around edges when i cook crust.
I am very impressed with this dough. I have been on a mission to find a new pizza dough and tonight when I prepared this I could tell almost immediately it was going to be a winner. I announced this meal was up for critic and would appreciate any comments – well, they were all loud and clear – it was great. So, it went into my Paprika App and will be used from now on. Thank you!!!
I have made so many quick pizza doughs, why did I not come to you first since you’re my go to for -can anyone save me from going to get fast food tonight- ha ha ha. This was so yummy–so much flavor and easy to work with. I was cooking at my dad’s and didn’t have honey but *gasp* light corn syrup worked just fine. Thank you for yet another delicious recipe Mel!!
Yay! Happy this worked out for your, Allison!
Just made using Bob’s Mill 1 for 1 gluten free four. (Stopped adding flour at 2 1/4 cups I needed to add a bit more flour I realized after I rolled it out) So my pizza became more of a Stromboli but still tasted great. Will definitely make it again!
So I need to heat the pizza pan before putting the fixings on, 8-10. I have tried putting the dough in to let it rise and it doesn’t come out flat. Air bubbles.
This makes the best pizza crust I’ve ever had! Even the best pizza restaurant around doesn’t make it better.
My dough didn’t rise can anyone help? Thank you
Check the date on your yeast? Especially if you haven’t been keeping it in the fridge, but even if you have.
Does this recipe make a thick crust or a thin crust? If I double it will it be thicker? My husband and I love thick crust haha
Thanks for all the recipes Mel, you are my go-to website for any new recipe!!
Hey Nikki – you can make either thin OR thick crust with this dough. Works great either way!
Awesome, thank you!
Does it matter what type of oil you use? I only have olive oil..
Yes olive oil will work for this recipe.
Wondering if this dough can be frozen. I think I’ll make a double batch, because I want to be able to make several individual pizzas. Can I freeze the dough, uncooked? And if so, how long before it needs to be used? Thanks!
I like it best fresh (it develops a slightly different texture and more yeasty taste when frozen) but I think others have frozen it and liked the results.
Can this pizza dough be used to make other things?
What do you have in mind?
Just wondering if I can make this a couple hours ahead and leave it in the fridge?
Yep! Just take it out in time to come to room temp (much easier to shape the dough into pizzas).
Thank you for a great recipe! I made it tonight. I doubled the recipe and prebaked half of the crusts to save a step the next time we have pizza. Delicious!
I made this tonight and it was so good! Very easy to double and roll out. I can’t say they were the most beautiful pizzas, but my family loved them anyway
We’ve made this twice and absolutely love it! It’s so so easy (no hook so I knead by hand) and so quick! We had a tiny bit of dough left; I would love ideas for leftover dough. Breadsticks? Thanks for another easy, go-to recipe Mel!
Yes, I would say leftover dough would make great breadsticks (we often make them “cheesy breadsticks” – flatten out the dough into a thick rectangle, drizzle with olive oil and garlic and salt and then mozzarella and parm cheeses).
We love this pizza dough! The texture and chew is great and it’s so simple.
followed your recipe to a tee (using dough hook, Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, throughout entire mixing and kneading process) and got wonderful results. thanks so much for sharing this!
First time making this crust. Texture and flavor was great. The bottom didn’t even brown, I used a pan not a stone. Baked it at 450 in a convection oven. What did I do wrong???
Using a pan may not brown the crust as much as a stone – did you preheat the pan so it was hot when you put the dough on the pan? That might help.
We always use butter to grease pan and it browns real nice
I always put the pan in the oven when it’s heating. Crust is always perfect.
Do I need to wait for the dough to rise in the bowl before I roll it out? Or simply let it rest?
You can let it rise if you want, but following the recipe to let it rest in the bowl works great, too.
Thank you, thank you! I have been making pizza pies for the past 12 years and this has completely upped my game. I added more salt and incorporated better. This is the best!
Hi Mel, I couldn’t find instant yeast so just having to use dry active, how will this effect the recipe? Thanks so much, Belle x
Try proofing it in 1/4 cup warm water and a pinch of sugar until it is bubbling and foamy and then add it to the recipe.
How long does is usually take to proof in the warm water?
Just a few minutes.
If you add the honey you can be sure your yeast is doing its “job”. I just tripled this dough and am excited we can have pizza tonight….cooking them on the grill!
Made this tonight for dinner. Pizza dough was quick and easy to make, producing a light, crispy crust. My husband may never settle for store bought pizzas again!
I have tried lots of homemade pizza doughs and this one is my absolute favorite! Easy, quick and it was so soft and delicious! This is my go to recipe now! I deleted the others.!
This was the easiest and best recipe ever!!! I tried to leave 5 STARS!!! It is delicious and rose so beautifully!!! Will use this recipe all the time!!!
First time pizza dough maker, here! If you found this recipe, try it, you’ll like !! I made it in my Bella pizza maker (I took someone’s advise and sprinkled flour instead of oil in the appliance) and it came out perfect. Thank you for the post!
This is a great pizza dough and always really easy!
I like adding a scant tsp kosher salt + a healthy pinch of garlic powder (I don’t keep garlic salt on hand but Mel’s original recipe calls for it & previous commentors sang its praises) and about a tablespoon of dried Italian herbs (crushed in my mortar + pestle to release more flavor) to the kneading process and it makes things extra tasty 🙂
Also, for fellow Kitchen Aid mixer users, employ the paddle attachment for the mixing (until the dough comes together) and then the dough hook for the kneading portion. It will be much easier than trying to use the dough hook for the whole thing. 🙂
So, after many years of cooking, the perfect make at home pizza dough!!! THANK YOU MELS KITCHEN!!!! lotta years in pizza joints cooking, only thing could make this better is a little melted butter, say, 1/4 cup, adjust flour accordingly, ,,,wow!! its great
I’ve been making homemade pizza dough for 5+ years and your blog has been one of my go-to’s that entire time…so the burning question is why haven’t I tried this pizza dough before?! I made it last night and it’s life changing! I had homemade pizza, start to finish, in less than 1 hour!
So happy to hear that, Sam!
I make this every Friday that I’m home! I use it to make two thin crust pizzas. Sometimes I freeze the other half and it still tastes delicious! I just defrost and then let it rise on the counter for a few hours to warm up. I always use a pizza stone to cook. Thanks Mel!
Thank YOU, Jill!
I really appreciated how fast and easy this recipe made the dough-making process. I didn’t, however, care for the flavor of the dough, and neither did my family. I would leave out the honey and use about four times as much salt. The crust was mostly flavorless but the slightest bit sweet…not what we enjoy at all, though if that’s what you prefer for pizza dough/crust, knock yourself out! I will use this general recipe again with the instant yeast, etc.—so easy!—but will experiment with it in the future so it’s less sweet and has way more flavor.
This may be a ridiculous question but i have to all….do you cook the crust before loading it with toppings? Mine came out overcooked and then on the next try it was undercooked?
I don’t precook the crust…but a lot will depend on if you are baking on a preheated stone or on a sheet pan, things like that. What temperature are you using in the oven?
I saved this recipe to my “favorites” a long time ago and have been meaning to try it out for a while. I wanted a quick and easy dough for pizza but mostly for making homemade pepperoni rolls. ( I’m from WV and a pepperoni roll should be on our state flag!) I did the 50/50 with white and wheat flour and doubled the batch. It made 29 pepperoni rolls, stuffing each one with about 8 slices of pepperoni per roll. Baked them for 10 min at 450 and the juice from the pepperoni was smoking on the baking sheet, lol. I turned the heat down to 375 and baked another 5 min. They were great! I think next time I will try at 425 for 12 to 15 minutes because I really liked the crispy bottoms! I am gonna try it next as a pizza crust. This is a great recipe! and it really is quick and easy! Thank you!
Made this last night, it was so easy. It is the best pizza crust I have ever made! Hubby thought it was great too!
Hey Mel, have you tried freezing this dough before? Just wondering if it has any affect on the rising or end result in general. This recipe is so awesome it would be great to prep a large batch and have it ready in the freezer.
I haven’t done that in a long time, but it works pretty well. It tastes slightly more yeast-flavored coming out of the freezer and you really need to make sure it thaws fully and comes to room temperature before using, but it should work out pretty well!
Made this recipe tonight for guests and it was a hit. I made it early in the morning and let it rise most of the day, but worked great when it was time to roll it out. I doubled the recipe and got 2 large pizzas and 4 small mini ones! thanks
I’ve made several pizza crusts and they NEVER puffed up like this before!!! I was so excited it was rising. I accidentally made my house super hot because I kept opening the oven to “check” on it. Came out great and my daughter wouldn’t stop eating it!!!!
Thanks a trillion!!!!
P.s.
This will be the only crust recipe I make now
Hi Mel,
Can you make this dough without a dough hook (mixing and kneading entirely by hand)?
Thanks so much, and I am so grateful for all of your wonderful recipes!!
Annie
Don’t worry about answering, Mel—the pizza turned out fantastic!! Couldn’t believe how quick and easy it was, and I loved that I could get ALL of the cleanup done during the baking time!!! Major bonus!! Also, thank you for the tip about turning a baking sheet upside down for a make-shift pizza stone! I never would have thought of that!!
I don’t know what I or my family would do without you! You are a lifesaver!
Xxooxx,
Annie
Thank you so much, Annie! So happy it worked out!
Yes, you can definitely make this dough by hand!