5 Ingredients or Fewer

Homemade Pizza Dough

Name: Homemade Pizza Dough
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 cups warm water (100 to 110º F); 4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packets) rapid rise yeast; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing bowl; 2 tablespoons kosher salt; 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

by: amber wilson | for the love of the south

October 24, 2022

4.3

15 Ratings

Serves 8

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

If you aren’t one for breaking out the thermometer to check the water temperature for the dough, just put the very tip of your finger in the warm water, if it begins to burn after a few seconds, it’s too hot, but if it’s not warm to the touch, it’s not quite warm enough. You want to make sure you start off with the correct water temperature, or else the yeast will not bloom, and you will have to start over. —amber wilson | for the love of the south

Test Kitchen Notes

Making the best homemade pizza dough doesn’t have to be difficult, nor does it have to take all day—and this recipe, from blogger Amber Wilson, proves it. This dough comes together quickly thanks to the help of a stand mixer—no manual kneading or messy counters necessary. Rapid-rise yeast, warm water, flour, salt, olive oil, and a little bit of sugar is all it takes to make a delicious flavorful dough. It’s ready to use as soon as it’s finished rising, but if you’re a fan of meal prepping, feel free to portion out and freeze the dough for up to three months. That way, you’ll never be too far from a fresh, hot-from-the-oven pizza. Just keep in mind that each frozen portion of dough will take a couple of hours to defrost on the counter, so make sure to plan ahead.

Unlike other pizza dough recipes, Wilson’s recipe relies on an unusual (but truly ingenious) technique. While you’re mixing the dough, heat the oven to 200°F. As soon as it heats up, turn the oven off. Rather than letting the dough rise on the counter, place it directly in the warm, cozy oven, which provides the perfect environment for the dough, cutting the rise time to just an hour.

Once your pizza dough is ready to go, form the crust and top it with anything and everything your heart desires. Need inspo? Try our grilled white pizza, which is topped with corn, ranch, and basil, or update your favorite Hawaiian pie, with sweet onions, ham, and fresh pineapple. —Food52

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

2 cups warm water (100 to 110º F)
4 ¹/₂ teaspoons (2 packets) rapid rise yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing bowl
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200º F. Once the oven has preheated, immediately turn the oven off.
Combine water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment. Gently stir to dissolve the yeast. Let the yeast bloom for 5 to 10 minutes (once the top of the mixture begins to get foamy from one side of the bowl to the other, I know it’s done). On the lowest speed, turn on the mixer and add olive oil and salt. Slowly add in the flour (I usually add half the flour, let it incorporate slightly, then pour in the other half.)
Increase to medium speed and mix the dough until it begins to form a ball and wrap itself around the hook, this step should take about 2 minutes. Allow the mixer to knead the dough for another 5 to 8 minutes. Make sure the dough is smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a ball and place into a large bowl coated with olive oil. Flip the dough in the oil a few times to make sure the dough is evenly coated. Cover the dough with a tea towel to discourage a skin forming on the dough. Let the dough rise for 1 hour in the warm oven.
Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, punch down and cut into 8 equal-sized pieces (or cut the dough in half for 2 large pizzas, which serves 6 to 8 people total.) Use the dough immediately or freeze up to 3 months.
To Freeze: Whenever the dough has finished rising, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (each piece is 1 serving), wrap each piece in cling wrap and stack the covered pieces of dough into a labeled gallon-sized freezer bag. The dough will stay good for 3 months. When ready to use just take out however many individual balls of dough that you may need and let them come to room temperature for 2 to 3 hours on the counter.

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See what other Food52ers are saying.

K.V.
Paula Hunter
Dolly Solis Day
Alice Kembabazi
Jenn@Slim-Shoppin

Southern storyteller, freelance photographer, and recipe developer. Author of the Southern memoir-style food blog, For the Love of the South. Bringing Southern memories to the table.

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42 Reviews

K.V. April 30, 2022

I'm glad this recipe was my first introduction to making pizza dough. Made this as instructed and the results were as described. Next time I'll make double so I have plenty on hand in the freezer.

carla September 1, 2020

Very Best Pizza dough I've ever made. Froze some for later and made a breakfast pizza with shredded cheese, Italian Ham, and eggs. Came out delish and gorgeous.

carla September 1, 2020

Best Pizza dough I've ever made. Froze some for later and made a breakfast pizza with shredded cheese, Italian Ham, and eggs. Came out delish and gorgeous.

Jenni22514 April 24, 2020

Great pizza crust. Followed the recipe as written. I will make a double batch next time and freeze!

Maria C. August 11, 2016

Hi, Amber, greetings from Brazil!

Just a quick question, since our products are a bit different: how many grams are there in the 4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packets) of rapid rise yeast. We have packets of 20 g here, so I'm not sure.
Thanks!

amber W. August 11, 2016

Maria,
Hello!

1 (1/4 oz.) packet is 7 grams, so 2 would be 14 grams, dear!
X
Amber

amber W. August 11, 2016

Maria,
Hello!

1 (1/4 oz.) packet is 7 grams, so 2 would be 14 grams, dear!
X
Amber

Maria C. August 11, 2016

Thanks a lot, Amber!!! I'll try this this weekend, for Sunday is Father's Day here! :-)

Paula H. August 8, 2016

I make a similar dough regularly but never use sugar. I like a very thin crust and find sugar creates too much volume. I get a great rise every time, and only need an hour for the rise.

amber W. August 8, 2016

Paula,
The sugar's just a little rising insurance especially for those who are new to making dough at home! Also, it's a bit of an homage to my grandmother who always added just a little sugar to her dough. Her pizzas were always pillowy at the edges and thin in the center,which is my favorite! (But I do agree, if you want a very thin crust and you've made this dough a few times, you can leave out the sugar.)
x
Amber

Dolly S. September 30, 2015

So if you want to make this using whole wheat flour you need to add Vital Gluten to your flour or use half All purpose or half bread flour with your half whole wheat flour. For non experienced bread makers, I suggest not pre warming your oven to 200 degrees. Yeast dies at 139 degrees and your dough will not die if you put it in a hot oven. 80 degrees is all that is needed to bulk ferment your dough. When punching down your dough it means to fold your dough to release the gas not to actually throw a fist into the dough. When you do roll your dough out if it keeps bouncing back and won't stretch let your dough relax a few minutes then go back to rolling your dough. You will want to dock your dough (prick with fork) before placing in the oven so that it does not puff up. The dough should be baked at 400 degree oven until crisp or golden brown about 8 - 12 mins. Then take out add your toppings and place back into the oven to melt cheese.

Dolly S. September 30, 2015

Edit, I need to take out the word "not" in this sentence.
Yeast dies at 139 degrees and your dough will die if you put it in a hot oven.

Alice K. September 3, 2015

Thanks so much for the good recipes i love them so much,my life has really changed because of this good recipes. Alice from Uganda the pearl of Africa

Jenn@Slim-Shoppin July 3, 2015

I made this dough tonight - exactly as written and it turned out great! Thanks for the recipe

Natalie March 21, 2015

Does this recipe work with Pizza flour 00 or should I modify and if so what? Thank you.

amber W. March 22, 2015

Natalie,
I have not tried this recipe with OO flour, just unbleached all-purpose flour! I wish it was easy to find 00 flour here in the South though!
x
Amber

Kate July 27, 2018

Amber, You can order it from Amazon, my daughter and I order in bulk and split the order.i love using 00 flour.

Leslie G. December 22, 2018

Yes, 00 flour works very well...it’s my go-to. You can find it at Sur La Table or online.

Tammie G. February 20, 2015

This was an easy recipe but the result is a very, very doughy pizza. Our family likes thin pizza crusts. Too much yeast, I believe.

amber W. February 21, 2015

My husband is a big fan of really thin crust as well! I find that if you roll the dough out to the point where light can peak through the dough as you lift it up, the crust will be nice and thin instead of doughy! I hope this helps!
x
Amber

Paula H. August 8, 2016

I think the sugar is the culprit. I never add sugar and get a nice thin crust.

Gail 🐝. January 29, 2015

I have a square of granite left over from my new kitchen counter tops. I have been told this put in the oven for my pizza to sit on will produce a great pizza. Is that correct or will that just be extra work.

amber W. January 29, 2015

I've read the same, but I can't speak from personal experience. I've used both pizza stones and baking sheets to create lovely, homemade pizzas.
x
Amber

Brittany L. January 29, 2015

At what temp do I cook the pizza and for how long?

amber W. January 29, 2015

Whenever you are ready to cook the pizza, crank the temperature up on your oven to the highest temperature it will go (Mine goes to about 550 degrees). Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes, or until deeply golden around the edges. I hope that helps!
x
Amber

Gail 🐝. January 19, 2015

thank you for such a good reciepe and explaining how easy it is to freeze. I am so disheartened by supermarket pizzas

KellyCSelf November 5, 2014

My husband made this dough for dinner last night--he substituted half the flour for whole wheat flour. We also didn't have rapid rise yeast, but because he made it in advance and we stored it in the fridge, bringing it back to room temperature before baking, it worked out perfectly. The pizza was delicious and the dough turned out really well. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

CookLikeMad September 27, 2014

Fabulous dough! I ran out of flour and used fine cornmeal for the 6th cup, and it was still great. We grilled personal pizzas and left the crust a little thicker, and got 6 generously sized pizzas out of one batch. We were hungry! :)

ama September 26, 2014

So good, though I might cut some of the salt. Thank you!

JMC September 19, 2014

Hi Amber, why the need for sugar?

amber W. September 19, 2014

JMC,
Thanks so much for asking! Sugar actually feeds the yeast as it takes time to bloom in the warm water. Hope this answers your question!
x
Amber

JMC September 21, 2014

Indeed it does. Thank you.

Ceege July 27, 2014

I have just saved this recipe and look forward to trying it. I will first try "as is" and then possibly experiment using part whole wheat flour. Thank you so much for the freezing directions. That information is always so helpful as there are just 2 of us and I either have to figure out how to freeze, if I can freeze, or cut recipe in half at times. Will this dough work well on the grille? I love grilled pizza. Thank you for the recipe.

amber W. July 29, 2014

Ceege,
I've never tried this recipe with whole wheat flour, so let me know how it turns out if you end up trying it! My husband and I are the only two living in our house as well, and this is one of our go to dinners whenever I am tired or we need something quick and delicious! I've never tried this recipe on the grill. I live in a loft, so I don't have access to a grill, but again, let me know how it turns out if you try it on the grill! That would be amazing for a quick summer treat!
x
Amber

Jan W. June 9, 2014

Valentina,

I know that professional pizzaioli always let the dough rest for at least 24 hours, if not longer - however for home-made pizza dough the recipes seem to vary quite a lot. Some say to let it rise at room temperature overnight then divide. Another said to let it rise at room temperature, punch down, then put it in the fridge to rest overnight. Yet another says you can let it rise, punch down, divide the dough and put into plastic sandwich bags, and let it rest in the fridge in the bags. Any idea if the end result will be mostly the same or is there a possibility one method is more consistent than the others?