Pizza Crust Recipe
This pizza crust recipe creates delicious crust – crisp outside and chewy inside. Make this for pizza night instead of using store-bought!
I’ve made dozens upon dozens of pizza dough recipes and this is the one I come back to time and again. It’s our old standby for Friday pizza nights and never, ever disappoints.
It’s the perfect mix of a chewy, airy interior with a crisp crust.
I first made it nearly 15 years ago and I’ve simplified the process over the years, going from mixing it up in a food processor to using a good old bowl and spoon. If you’ve been on the hunt for an easy and absolutely perfect pizza dough recipe that isn’t too thick or too thin, you’ve found it!
How to make the pizza crust recipe
This easy pizza dough recipe makes enough for 3 medium or 2 large pizzas. The dough will need around 90 minutes to rise, so give yourself plenty of time!
Ingredients
- Warm water – You’ll need some for the yeast and some for the dough. It’s important that the temperature is around 110 degrees F or the yeast won’t fully activate. Using warm water, and so much of it, to make the dough creates a soft texture that’s easier to form.
- Instant yeast – This recipe works best with instant yeast, but instructions on using dry active yeast can be found in the recipe notes below.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – Always use quality olive oil to get a good flavor in your dough.
- Bread flour – This is the secret ingredient! Using this instead of all-purpose flour is what creates that crispy exterior crust and chewy interior.
- Salt – Use salt with a fine texture so it dissolves easily into the dough.
- Semolina – This is used under the dough when baking to prevent it from sticking to the pizza peel. If you can’t find it, cornmeal works well, too!
Step by step instructions
Mix the Dough
Combine the instant yeast with some of the warm water to proof. Then stir in the oil and the remaining water.
NOTE: Normally instant yeast is adding directly to the dry ingredients and proofs when everything is mixed together. Activating it separately like this allows you to only do one rise on the dough, instead of two.
Whisk together the dry ingredients, then slowly add the yeast mixture a little at a time.
Knead the dough for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface, then transfer to a bowl and coat with oil.
Let it Rise
Cover in plastic wrap until doubled in size. This should take about 1½ hours.
Form the Dough
Remove the plastic wrap and press on the dough to deflate it.
Turn it out onto a floured surface and divide it into smaller pieces, depending on how many pizzas you want to make.
Form each piece into a ball, then cover with a damp cloth and let it relax for at least 10 minutes. NOTE: Don’t let it sit for longer than 30 minutes or you will end up with a flat, dense crust after it has baked.
Shape each dough ball, one at a time, into a circle. The size will depend on whether you are making medium or large pizzas.
Make your Pizza
Lightly dust a pizza peel with semolina, then transfer the raw crust onto it.
Add all the toppings to your homemade pizza dough, then bake at 500 degrees F until the edges of the crust start to brown.
NOTE: If you’re looking for a homemade pizza sauce, my favorite can be found here.
Remove from the oven, slice, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips!
- Flour: You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour in this pizza crust recipe, but the crust will have a slightly softer texture.
- Yeast: If you don’t have instant yeast, you can substitute active dry yeast. Follow the recipe as directed, but be aware that the rise time will likely be longer. Just watch for it to double in size and then you’re ready to go.
- Alternate Mixing Methods: You can also make this easy pizza dough in a food processor or stand mixer instead.
- Semolina Alternative: If you don’t have semolina to dust the pizza peel, you can also use cornmeal.
- Special Equipment: To make amazing pizza, invest in a pizza stone and a pizza peel, which allows you to easily transfer your pizza to and from the stone. If you don’t have these, you can use parchment paper on top of an upside-down baking sheet.
- Freezing Instructions: This pizza crust recipe freezes extremely well! Follow the recipe through the step where you divide the dough. Wrap any dough balls you won’t be using in plastic wrap and transfer to a zippered freezer bag. Store in the freezer up for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use the dough, put it in the refrigerator the morning you will use it (or the night before) so it can thaw.
More Pizza Night Inspiration
- Neapolitan Pizza
- Sicilian Pizza
- Thin Crust Pizza
- Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza
- Portobello Pesto Pizza
If you make this recipe and love it, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much!
Pizza Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (125 ml) warm water, about 110 degrees, divided
- 2¼ teaspoons (1) instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cups (500 g) bread flour, (22 ounces)
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) salt
Instructions
- Measure ½ cup of the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1¼ cups water and oil and stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula while you gradually pour in the liquid mixture. The dough should come together into a shaggy mass and be mostly moistened; you may not need all of the liquid, so hold back a few tablespoons and then add if necessary.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few minutes to form a smooth, round ball (it will a very soft dough). Put the dough into an oiled bowl, turn to coat the dough, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place in a draft-free area and let rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
- Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes.
- Press the dough to deflate it, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef's knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into two pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, get your sauce and toppings ready.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the other covered, shape the dough into a 14-inch circle, then transfer it to a pizza peel that has been lightly dusted with semolina.
- Top your pizza as desired and slide the dough onto the heated stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and the cheese is golden brown in spots, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven, cut into wedges, and serve immediately. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
Notes
- Flour: You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour in this pizza crust recipe, but the crust will have a slightly softer texture.
- Yeast: If you don't have instant yeast, you can substitute active dry yeast. Follow the recipe as directed, but be aware that the rise time will likely be longer. Just watch for it to double in size and then you're ready to go.
- Alternate Mixing Methods: You can also make this easy pizza dough in a food processor or stand mixer instead.
- Semolina Alternative: If you don't have semolina to dust the pizza peel, you can also use cornmeal.
- Special Equipment: To make amazing pizza, invest in a pizza stone and a pizza peel, which allows you to easily transfer your pizza to and from the stone. If you don't have these, you can use parchment paper on top of an upside-down baking sheet.
- Freezing Instructions: This pizza crust recipe freezes extremely well! Follow the recipe through the step where you divide the dough. Wrap any dough balls you won’t be using in plastic wrap and transfer to a zippered freezer bag. Store in the freezer up for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use the dough, put it in the refrigerator the morning you will use it (or the night before) so it can thaw.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
(Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated)
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
Used the exact amount of ingredients and made sure the water was the right temperature. You may get great results by using a baking sheet instead of a krunker pizza stone, and you will still get some.
Thanks Michelle! Have a blessed day! ❤️🙏🦋
Great pizza dough recipe, fast and easy to make. Will be using as my go to recipe.
Honda Pioneer 1000 5 Reviews
Great
Absolutely love this pizza dough recipe. I use it almost every week! I especially love the fact that I do not have to get my mixer out to make it.
This is my go to pizza crust! We always make our pizzas on the grill with a pizza stone using this recipe for the crust! Our go to favorites are BBQ chicken pizza and classic meat lovers supreme. This crust makes for a crispy outside and soft airy inside. I haven’t had much success making a crispy crust in the oven (even with pizza stone), I highly suggest using a grill for making this.
It came out very well!!! All your recipes work well for me , sometimes i need to tweak a lil bit as i am in India – kerala and not all ingredients are readily available
Great pizza dough recipe, fast and easy to make. Will be using as my go to recipe.
I did this tonight and it was so good! I hand kneeded mine for 10 min because I didnt feel like pulling out thr mixer. Topped with mozzarella ricotta and parmesan cheese and I had the best 3 cheese pizza ever. I cheated my sauce and used some prego I had leftover and cooked my pizza in a large preheated cast iron skillet since I dont have a pizza stone. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
I just ate pizza using this recipe and IT’S A KEEPER!
I have a pizza stone however I use it only to reheat pizza or bake cookies. I have found that my 15″ Lodge cast iron skillet gives a crunch to the bottom of the crust that can’t be beat!
Also I only had provolone cheese so I put it and the pepperoni on the pizza the last 4 minutes of baking. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This is the best pizza crust! Thank you for continuing to provide us with such great recipes.
Aw you’re welcome, thank you for the sweet comment! Glad you enjoyed the pizza crust!
Followed the recipe as is except I used my stand mixer with hook attachment. My search stops here. Thanks, Michelle for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, so glad you enjoyed it!
Would sourdough starter work in this recipe? I seem to have a plethora of it on hand now lol. I’m looking for ways to use it rather then throw it out. I’ve read that some recipes you can sub starter for some of the flour and liquids but I’m not real sure on the ratios.
Hi Sandy, I haven’t worked with sourdough yet so I’m not sure. Sorry that’s not terribly helpful!
I have made this easy and delicious pizza crust several times! So yummy!!
funny, I have never had a problem printing the recipes, but my printer declined this one, a few times over…. just wondering if others had that problem..
sorry, and thanks.. I have the thin crust, which DID print..
Phyllis
How could you have posted this on the exact day I came looking for this recipe. I kid-you-not! Thank you SO much!
My first foray in pizza making from scratch was a hit with this easy recipe. I can’t wait to make this again!
Yessssss! Meant to be :)
I’ve seen you post this recipe for quite a while and finally tried it today. Wow! It is so quick and easy and so delicious. Many thanks. I will be making this often!
This is the BEST pizza crust I have ever made!!! It is fabulous!! Thanks so much for all your wonderful recipes and tips. I love your blog!!
This is so awesome to hear! Glad you enjoyed it!
Can you use AP flour?
I found a hack online because I didn’t have bread flour. For each cup of flour, add 1 tsp of vital wheat gluten. I found this at the store. Bob’s Red Mill makes it.
It worked great!
Hi Angela, Yes! It’s in the recipe notes, but I’ve made it with AP many times – the dough is a big softer and lighter but still delicious!
This is a beautiful recipe…and i will made this tonight with my hubby…..it is a more useful recipe in this quarantine time…thanks for sharing….!
Would the full recipe make enough for a sheet-pan pizza? (11″ x 17″)
Yes, it definitely should!
So easy and delicious, Thank you for giving us a fun quarantine recipe that was a success. How do you think it would be for stromboli?
Thanks again always enjoy your recipes!
Stacy
You’re welcome! And yes, I think this would work wonderfully for Stromboli. Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing again, I am going to try it tomorrow! I have tried making my own dough and it just never has good flavor (except I do use your thick crust pizza dough which is delicious! I used that sauce recipe as well & freeze the extra). Our store hasn’t had the brand I like lately so I am forced to make my own again!
It is practically impossible to find bread flour and yeast in my area right now. Needed ingredients should be taken into consideration during this difficult time—and shortages may be around for awhile .
Hi Cheryl, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been without those two things. Bread flour has been hard to find for me, as well. But please know that I do take into account what folks need and what they’re asking me for, especially at a time like this. And right now I’m being inundated with questions and requests for my bread recipes, pizza recipes, soft pretzels, yeasted doughnuts, etc. I hope you’ll be able to get the ingredients you need soon! Stay safe!
hi! can i use rapid rise yeast in this recipe? it’s all i could find !
Where is the pizza sauce recipe?
The link isn’t there unfortunately. If you search for her recipe, there isn’t one but there is a sauce recipe in the Neapolitan pizza recipe.
Can you refrigerate overnight?
Can this dough be frozen for later use??
Yes, it freezes really well!
I’ve been using this recipe for months and can’t believe I haven’t left you a comment yet. Hands down the best pizza I’ve ever had! My husband and I love it! We follow the recipe exactly with no changes and it’s perfect every single time. We’ve made it for so many family and friends and everyone raves about it! Thank for sharing such a fantastic recipe – we want to try your thin crust recipes but are scared to mess with perfection haha!
Before I start this yummy-sounding recipe, I just want to double-check on the oven temp; do i leave it at 500 while I bake the pizza?
Hi Heather, Yes, it bakes at 500 the entire time. Enjoy!
I’ve tried a lot of different pizza dough recipes and this was by far the best! I didn’t have bread flour on hand so used a mix of whole wheat and AP. The dough was very easy to work with. The crust was soft and fluffy in the middle and crispy on bottom. Amazing!
Sooooo, using the bread machine for this recipe ONLY works if you omit the water that is used with the yeast, and use only 1.25 cups of water total. Unless you like bread soup. I did not enjoy my bread soup.
Gahh!! Pizza for tea it is then. 2nd Jan… Carb light lasted well!
I made this a few weeks ago for the first time and ever since then I have been making it every week. My family has now come to expect every Saturday to ne pizza Saturday and always with this recipe. I bought a stone but do not have a pizza peel so when I tried to transfer the piza to the stone it all collapsed and we ended up having calzone instead. Now I assemble it on a piece of foil and place the foil on the stone. Works really well. Thanks for this lovely recipe.
We make out pizza often and I was using a King Arthur dough but am anxious to try yours because we love a crispy crust~~my question is, for the life of me I cannot see your sauce recipe :-( at the bottom of the post~I now it’s there and I am probably missing it somwhere~~~~~HELP, would like to try it!~~~Thanks Sue
I tried this recipe tonight and loved the dough – thank you! I knew an ATK recipe would be my best bet :)
I really want to try this recipe but I don’t have a food processor. Any insight on how to make this without one?
Hi Olivia, You can easily make this without a food processor. You can use a stand mixer, or even your hands (I make it by hand quite often, actually).
I think I have used the pizza sauce recipe you mention, but it doesn’t seem to be here any more. Can you repost it? Thanks!
Hi Tracey, I’m not sure where that recipe disappeared to! For the last few years, I’ve used the sauce recipe in this post exclusively: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/08/16/pepperoni-pizza/
Hi again, all I could find was active dry yeast or fresh compressed yeast, which one should I use? Please help!
Maria, You can use active dry yeast, but you’ll need to dissolve it in the water first for about 5 minutes (make sure the water is warm). Then proceed with the recipe.
Hi! I have just discovered your site a few days ago and have not stopped reading all of your recipes! I love to bake and my primary source is the internet, I usually use joyofbaking.com, and even if it is a great site, there aren’t many original recipes. I think yours is really complete and love the fact you also have savoury recipes. So thank you.
For the pizza dough, is it essential to have a pizza stone?? I live in Ecuador, we don’t get that much variety in terms of kitchen gadgets or tools, and I have never seen a pizza stone before (not one that can fit in a standard kitchen oven anyway)! You didn’t mention anything about it in your introduction so I’m guessing it’s very easy to find in North America. But do you think it can still work if I just use a pizza plate? Or maybe you have another solution??
I hope you’ll see my comment soon, I would like to make this for a family gathering this week end!
Thank you!
Completely ignore the part about the pizza stone in my previous comment! Just found one online! Read even more on your blog, finally someone who takes into account high altitude baking!! Thank you!! Quito is 2800 mts above sea level.
You stated that at the end of the post you added your pizza sauce recipe. I can’t seem to find it?
Hi Laurie, So sorry about that, I’ll work to get it back up as soon as possible!
I have used this pizza dough recipe before, but this time I can’t seem to find the adaptations instructions for making it by hand or with a stand mixer. Did these get moved somewhere else, or am I just overlooking them? Thanks so much!
I made your pizza dough a few weeks ago for my family and LOVED it! I was just wondering if you have ever completely prepared the dough and pizza and then refrigerated it to bake later in the day. I was thinking it would be nice to make this for company, without all rushing at the last minute to roll and top the pizza. Thanks for all your great recipes…I love your blog!
Hi Becki, I haven’t done this, but Shawnda did a post on freezing a pizza to be baked later, I think you could probably go this route! http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/1249
Hands down the YUMMIEST pizza ever!!!
You’ve done it again, Michelle—provided a recipe that allowed me to nail something that has always intimidated me, and on the first try. First, your pie crust; now, your pizza crust! Seriously, epic win!
The only problem I encountered: Transferring the pizza, with toppings, to the heated pizza stone. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to price pizza paddles on Amazon.com!
I don’t have a stone, do you think it will still turn out as delicious if I just use a pizza pan?
Absolutely!
I just found you blog and LOVE it. The photography is amazing, right up my alley, since I’m a graphic designer. This crust look awesome, have you ever tried to do half white half yeast adding in vital wheat glueten? I may give this dough a shot while trying that.
I have not tried that, but would love to hear about your results if you do!
Hey! I’ve made this pizza dough many, many times and I love it every time! I recently made a batch for my Mom and Dad since I’m always raving about it and they wanted to know if there was a way to make it with whole wheat flour instead of regular bread flour. I figured that I could do that, but I was just wondering if you had ever done this and had good results? Thanks!
Hi Amber, I’ve never done it, but I’d love to hear about your results!
Um, I never thought I could make THE best, perfect pizza dough at home!!!
I love this! First time ever making homemade pizza dough and it came out perfect! Used unbleached AP flour since it’s what I had on hand, and still crispy! Cooked on a cookie sheet as well, since I don’t have a pizza stone and it turned out crispy, light and wonderful! Thank you so much for a great recipe!
I made the pizza dough this evening and used active dry yeast with Great results! I made 2 calzone’s, 1 pizza margherita for my son and the remaining dough is in my fridge. First time making my own pizza dough (used the by hand method) and am thrilled with the results of this recipe!!
Any special instructions for adapting this to a bread machine? I’ve tried a bunch of pizza dough recipes, but haven’t been happy with any of them yet. So far they all have risen way too much and the crust is too thick and bread like. Yours looks wonderful, I just would like to make it in my bread machine (I don’t have a food processor!)
Hi Alison, I actually have never used a bread machine so I’m not sure how they work. Do you typically add all of the ingredients and it kneads it for you? Even without a food processor you could do this by hand or with a stand mixer – I included those instructions above.
I tried this recipe and this is what I will make until the DiCarlos demystified
version happens. This was great! I added wheat gluten to my AP flour only because it’s what I had so that replaced the bread flour. I left it on the counter probably 6 hours in a covered plastic container. I prebaked 5 minutes before any toppings. There was something about this crust that my niece and I would say”I’m full but I love this crust,munch munch”Another plus was that it didn’t feel like it continued to rise after it had been eaten.I have had that terrible bloated belly with other recipes. Thank you Brown eyed baker!
Penny – Thanks for the tip on subbing all-purpose flour and wheat gluten for the bread flour, very helpful! And thrilled you loved this, it’s a favorite of mine!
Hey Michelle
Excellent crust…I find you really can’t get go wrong with any Cook’s Illustrated recipe. If you want to try something a little different, check out the recipe on my blog for a sourdough whole wheat pizza crust. Great blog…going to add it to my blogroll.
(By the way, I love Primanti Bros. sandwiches!).
Help Michelle! I was trying to make this for Fathers day dinner as my hubs looooves pizza, but I could NOT get the dough to ever remotely resemble anything that could have been formed into a ball. I even tried adding more flour and mixing and mixing. I am pretty sure my yeast was ok, just couldnt get the dough to look like dough. Gave up and used a store bought. :( I’m new to baking so any tups you’ve got are greatly appreciated. I love your recipes and blog!
Dearest Micheall, i made this last week and i realy loved it , this week i tried the dough from Peter Reinhart it was good to , worth trying….i also made your browneis and wow thanks alot .
i want to take your opinion ( if you dont mined) …do you have Julia child french cookbooks?? i know everybody rave about it but is it user friendly ? i am afraid to put all that money for the 2 set book and then not use it…
thanks
and keep the goooood recepies comeing…
Dina,
Which one of the brownie recipes did you try?
yummmm this looks fantastic , i am planning o do it after tom.
thaks
Hi Sana!
You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour here, the crust just may not be as crisp. This is my all-time favorite pizza crust recipe, enjoy! :)
hi Michelle
this may seem like a really stupid question but can I make this with All purpose flour? I dont want to buy a bag of bread flour just for this as i dont make any breads..help
PS:
I assembled the pizza on a well-floured chopping board, as I don’t have one of the specific things and wanted my ‘stone’ to be hot… I did quietly curse you as I tried to get it onto my baking tray! But I took it back when I took the pizza out of the oven…
Followed the recipe to the letter, including the temperature of the water! Excellent results, even using a baking sheet rather than a pizza stone!
Leigh – I work the recipe the whole way through letting it rise and then when it says to deflate it, I take half and form it into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and put into a freezer bag. When you are ready to use it, I either put it in the refrigerator the morning I will use it to thaw or leave it out at room temperature for a few hours. Once it’s thawed you’re ready to go!
Michelle, I can’t wait to try this recipe. Yo mentioned that you froze the “other half”. How far did you go in the process before freezing and what steps will you need to do when thawed out for cooking next time?
Thanks!
Hi Caroline,
The recipe definitely calls for instant yeast. I’m sorry that your yeast never rose – many things can cause that to happen, including yeast that is old (amazingly, it’s possible to open a new packet from the store and have it be bad!) or the water may have been too hot and killed the yeast. I hope you’ll give this another try and let me know how it turns out!
I used active dry today, and it turned out WONDERFUL! By far the best pizza dough I have ever made. I made it this morning around 9 AM and let it rise all day until I made it at 5 PM. I used a 1/2 tsp. as you recommended to let it rise all day. I am still learning with the whole yeast world, and am such an ammateur. But this was awesome! And I used 3 c. bread flour and 1 c. whole wheat flour. It was so delicious, and everyone ate more than they should have!!!
I tried this as written, but my dough never rose. (sad!) Are you sure that it takes instant yeast, and not regular active dry? Based on what I have read elsewhere, instant yeast does not need the 5 minutes in warm water.
Hi Michelle, I recently aquired a Kitchenaid stand mixer with the goal of learning to make pizza at home. I tried your reccommended recipe tonight but the dough wouldn’t form a “ball” in the mixer even after adding much extra flour and letting it mix much longer than called for. Is this normal for this recipe? I have the dough proofing right now but it certainly doesn’t look anything like I expected. What do you think I might have done wrong? And as you may have guessed I’m as new as a guy can be to your world of creating delicious foods in the kitchen. Thanks for any guidance you can share.
this looks delicious. i love your blog!
Hi Michelle! This pizza dough is awesome and so easy! I used my KitchenAid Mixmaster with the dough hook to combine the dry and wet ingredients and couldn’t be happier with the results! We are in quarantine in April 2020 and I’m learning new skills and loving it! Thanks so much!