This homemade Pizza Dough recipe is a staple everyone needs, made with inexpensive pantry ingredients and it can be cooked in the oven, air fryer, pizza oven, or on the grill.
Fool proof Pizza Dough
Fool proof Pizza DoughOur family eats homemade pizza almost weekly, and this pizza dough recipe yields a fool-proof, sturdy and chewy American-style pizza crust. It only takes a few minutes to mix in my Bosch stand mixer (or by hand), then let rise. And I highly suggest you make the pizza dough in advance and refrigerate until you're ready; it makes pizza night so practical and doable!
We use this recipe for pizzas in our Ooni pizza oven, on a pizza stone (or I have a pizza steel that I like even better than my pizza stone). You could also use this pizza dough for air fryer pizza, or grilled pizzas!
Top it with my homemade pizza sauce to take it to the next level, or browse all of our pizza recipes for more fun topping ideas. And if you want a healthier crust, I also have a Protein Pizza and Wheat Pizza Dough recipe I love!
How to make Pizza Dough:
Make Dough: Combine ½ cup warm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar and set aside to let it activate for 5 minutes. (It should get foamy on top, if this doesn't happen, your yeast might be old). Pour yeast mixture in a mixing bowl then add the remaining water, salt, vinegar, and olive oil. Gradually add the flour to the mixer on medium-low speed then knead for about 7 minutes, or knead by hand until smooth and elastic.
Rise and Shape: Set dough ball in a greased bowl and cover with a dry kitchen towel to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size. Separate the dough into 2-3 sections (it will make two 14″ pizzas or three 9″ pizzas). Spray the surface lightly with kitchen spray or dust it with flour then roll the dough with a rolling pin into a circle, using your hands as needed to stretch to your desired size.
Bake and Serve: Sprinkle a little cornmeal and flour on a pizza peel then carefully lay your shaped dough on top. If you don't have a pizza peel, you can use a piece of parchment paper. If baking in the oven, preheat to 450°F with a pizza stone inside, if you have one. Use a fork to prick the dough a few times and par-bake crust in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven, add pizza sauce and toppings, then bake for 8-15 more minutes, until the crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. See recipe notes for how to cook in a pizza oven, air fryer, or grill.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Make the homemade pizza dough and transfer to a greased bowl with a tight lid. Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight. Remove from fridge and set on counter until it comes to room temperature. Roll out and bake as instructed. You could also roll out the dough, par-bake it, add pizza toppings, and then wrap it in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for a “take-and-bake” style pizza that's completely ready for the oven.
To Freeze: As soon as you finish making the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place it in a greased bowl, cover, and refrigerate until completely thawed (about 24 hours). Let it come to room temperature before rolling the dough out. You can also make your own frozen pizzas by par-baking the dough, adding toppings, and freezing, well covered.
More Pizza Recipes:
- Pepperoni Pizza
- Calzones
- Burrata Pizza
- Cheeseburger Pizza
- Loaded Jalapeño Popper Pizza
- Thai Chicken Pizza
- White Pizza
- Grilled Pizza
- Chicken Alfredo Pizza
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Recipe
Pizza Dough
Equipment
- Pizza Oven , optional
- Air fryer , optional
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (8g)
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (356g)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil (45 ml)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (9g)
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar (5 ml)
- 3 3/4-4 cups bread flour (510-544g), all-purpose flour would also work
Instructions
- Combine Ingredients: In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine ½ cup of the warm water with the sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve the yeast then let rest for 5 minutes. It should foam on the top. Add the remaining 1 cup of warm water, olive oil, salt and vinegar.
- Knead Dough: Begin mixing on medium-low speed, gradually adding the flour a cup at a time, and knead the dough for about 7 minutes, or until it's smooth and elastic. You may not need all of the flour. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not so sticky that it really sticks to your fingertip when touched.
- Rise: Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover with a dry towel or greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until it has about doubled in volume.
- Roll out: Gently punch the dough down and place on a lightly greased or floured counter top. Divide dough into 2 or 3 equal pieces (makes about two 14'' or three 9'' pizzas). Roll and stretch the dough to desired size and thickness. Brush dough with olive oil.
Oven Method:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (with a pizza stone inside, if you have one). Add cornmeal and flour to a pizza peel or use a pizza pan. Pick the top of the dough a few times with a fork and pre-bake the dough in the pizza pan, or slide onto a hot pizza stone to pre-bake for 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven and add pizza sauce and toppings. Return to oven and bake for 8-15 more minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.
Pizza Oven Method:
- Add cornmeal and flour to a pizza peel and place rolled out dough on top. Add toppings. Slide into preheated pizza oven and cook according to pizza oven instructions.
Air Fryer Method:
- Roll dough into small sizes that will fit in air fryer. Cook in air fryer for 1 minute (check after 30 seconds, to make sure it didn't fold over), then flip sides and cook 1 more minute. Repeat with remaining crusts. Add toppings. Cook at 370 for 1-3 minutes or until bubbly.
Grill Method:
- Preheat grill to medium-high. Roll out dough and place on a piece of parchment paper. Spread with oil, then gently flip the pizza onto the grill, oil side down, and peel the parchment paper off. Cover grill lid and cook for 2-3 or until grill marks on bottom. Flip the pizzas onto a plate and add sauce and toppings to cooked side. Reduce heat and slide pizzas back on frill to cook another 3-5 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from All recipes.
*I originally shared this recipe March 2013. Updated March 2020, June 2023 and March 2025.
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I halved the recipe used instant yeast and forgot to half the sugar and used unbleached AP flour. I had a 20 min work break and made the dough which I kneaded by hand in that time. Made a bbq chicken pizza with my half for lunch (my kids wanted pizza bagels but demolished mine too so no leftovers 😩) and about to make a veggie pizza for my husband with the other half for dinner. I used a pizza stone in the oven and did not prebake the the dough since I spread the dough thin. I’ve tried a lot of doughs but this one is a keeper! THANK YOU!!!
How do I make this without a stand mixer? Can I knead by hand? I didn’t see instructions for an alternative way to make the dough
Great question! Yes, you can absolutely knead the dough by hand. Just mix everything in a large bowl, then turn it onto a floured surface and knead for about 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
This is the BEST dough recipe I have found. I make it in the bread machine and it has come out perfectly every time.
Can I combine 00 pizza flour with all purpose flour instead of bread flour?
First,, the dough was super wet I think I added an additional 2 cups of flour.. it doubled in 1 hour… 4 min in air frier does not sound right. Should it be pre heated? My air frier pizza setting is 20 min. At 375… the taste is good but I think something Is off with the recipe since my dough was liquid State filling the recipe . I baked for 20min in AF at 400… sorry but won’t be using this recipe again
Hi Joyce, I’m not sure what went wrong, but before you use the dough, it shouldn’t be wet. Add enough flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and knead it (or use a stand mixer with dough hook) until it’s smooth and elastic.
This will definitely be my go to pizza dough recipe from now on! I made a batch with a girlfriend the first time and sent her home with some frozen, froze some for myself, and put the rest into the fridge (all as instructed per the post). The next day, I rolled it out really thin, put the sauce and toppings on, and baked at 450 for about 17 minutes. It was much larger than a 9″ pizza, but we wanted a very thin crust, which worked perfectly without the prebake step. I can’t wait to see how the frozen dough turns out, and then I’ll be making a double batch and freezing it for after our little bundle of joy arrives (currently 8 months pregnant!). Thank you for doing all the hard work and perfecting this recipe. I also enjoyed reading all of the comments since I was so excited to make the dough, which is where I learned that a really thin crust cane forgo the prebake step. I plan to look into your easy/one pan recipes to have on hand for quick dinners when the baby arrives. Thanks again!
Hands down the best pizza dough recipe I have ever made. I have been struggling to find a dough recipe that isn’t sweet. This one checks all the boxes that in my opinion makes a great pizza dough. Easy to make, easy to stretch out, bakes to a crispy, chewy crust. It will be a staple in our home.
Really easy. Very good. Works best if you leave it in the frig to rise next day. We make 2 pies.
This was my first time trying any kind of dough that needs to rise. It turned out wonderfully! The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I did have to leave my yeast/sugar/water a little longer until it foamed up, but the end result was great! I think next time I’d portion it into four portions instead of two and roll it out a little thinner.
Made steak cheese calzones with this dough…..freaking awesome..thank you