Get everyone together and bust out this amazingly easy homemade pizza dough recipe. Whether you do thin crust or thick crust, this is the best recipe for homemade pizza dough you will find.
It can even be grilled for a fun outdoor activity, especially for kids! The key to outdoor grilling is to grill the dough first and then add the toppings and grill again. While you are grilling or smoking, try Smoked Chicken Breasts, Smoked Pulled Pork or Smoked Beef Brisket! They also make great toppings for your pizzas!
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The kids love making both the dough and the pizzas themselves. We start with the dough. It’s easy enough for the kids to mix it up. My youngest needs a bit of help with the last bit of mixing. But their favorite part is the kneading. The dough only needs a couple of minutes of kneading, but they love getting their hands on the dough!
Once the dough is ready, rolling it out is fun, and we make fabulous freeform shaped pizzas. Set out a spread of various toppings and let everyone add their own toppings! Custom pizzas! We love to make Greek or Margherita pizzas and serve them with a Red Leaf Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette and a Strawberry Margarita (virgin for the kiddos of course)!
How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough
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In a large bowl, combine water, oil, sugar, and yeast. Allow to sit for 5 minutes until yeast is bubbling.
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Add flour, mixing in between each cup, add salt, and mix well. If dough is stiff, add a little water or if dough is too sticky, add extra flour until dough is soft, but a little sticky.
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Remove dough onto a floured work surface. Knead about 2 minutes, until smooth. Do not overwork the dough.
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Coat a medium bowl with oil and add dough. Coat with oil and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, until dough doubles in size.
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Remove dough onto a floured work station. Knead for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Divide into 6 balls for individual pizza, or 2 balls for medium sized pizzas.
See, making homemade pizza dough is a lot easier than you think! You might need more or less flour, depending on the air temperature of where you are. But this recipe is forgiving and that’s what makes it so good! Just a little mixing and a little kneading and a little waiting.
Next up: roll out, shape, top, bake, and serve!
Cooking Homemade Pizza Dough
Be sure the oven is hot and ready before baking homemade pizza dough. The dough will not rise as well if you put it in a cold (or warm) oven and wait for the temperature to come up.
Preheat the oven with a pizza stone. Pizza stones will evenly bake your pizza to perfection because they emit the heat evenly, whereas a metal baking sheet could have ‘hot spots’ that may overcook the pizza in certain areas.
If you bake homemade pizza a lot, investing in a proper pizza stone is a good idea. You’ll find pizza stones on Amazon, at Walmart, Target, and many other retailers.
Roll out the pizza dough on a well floured surface. When rolling out the dough, there is no need to have a perfectly round or square shaped pizza. The organic shapes are part of the charm of homemade pizza crust! Roll to 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick.
What Temperature to Cook Homemade Pizza Dough
Preheat the oven to 450F. Use an oven thermometer to make sure it is at the perfect temperature before popping your pizza in. The key here is high heat for a short period of time. A topped pizza will take between 17-22 minutes depending on the thickness of the dough and the amount of toppings. Either way, you can’t go wrong making this pizza dough…it is so versatile, you will experiment with it again and again!
Bake the rolled out dough for 10 minutes. During this initial baking, the dough may inflate and get some air pockets, but that’s no problem. Remove the dough from the oven and flip the dough over. Top the golden brown underside (which is now on top :)). Then pop back in and bake until the cheese is melted and the bottom is golden brown. Serve!
For pizza dough grilling:
- Preheat the BBQ to 450F on high.
- Turn the BBQ burners down to medium heat and place the dough directly on the grill. Close the BBQ and cook the pizza dough for 3 to 5 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown.
- Remove crust using tongs and flip, placing the grilled side up on a rimless baking tray (or a baking tray turned upside down).
- Add tomato sauce, toppings, and cheese as desired.
- Turn the direct heat off on half of the BBQ. Place the topped pizza onto the indirect side. Close the lid and grill for 7-10 minutes*, or until cheese is bubbling and bottom is browned. Serve immediately.
*For a two burner grill, rotate your pizza about 5 minutes through the grilling time.
How To Make Focaccia From Pizza Dough
For a quick focaccia, simply roll the dough into a 9×13” dish and top with olive oil, chopped rosemary and some sea salt! Bake about 20 minutes at 450F, or until browned.
How To Make Breadsticks From Pizza Dough
For breadsticks, roll the dough into desired lengths. Brush with butter, sprinkle with salt and parmesan cheese and bake at 425F for about 12-15 minutes or until the edges are browned. Easy peasy!
Can You Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough
This homemade pizza dough recipe really lends itself to freezing for future use. Simply decide your preferred portion size (a whole recipe for two medium pizzas or smaller portions for mini pizzas, bread sticks, and focaccia squares). Simply put portions into zip top bags or Stasher Bags and label them. It’s always a good idea to weigh out the portions so they are uniform. Defrost in the fridge overnight and allow to come to room temperature before using.
Homemade Pizza Dough
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup water lukewarm
- ¼ cup olive oil plus extra for bowl
- 1 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 package
- 3 cups flour plus extra for surface
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine water, oil, sugar, and yeast. Allow to sit for 5 minutes until yeast is bubbling.
- Add 1 cup flour to the water, and mix well. Add 1 cup flour and salt to the bowl and mix well. Add last cup of flour and mix well. If dough is very stiff, add ½ teaspoon of water (at a time) or if dough is too sticky, add ½ Tablespoon of flour (at a time) until dough is soft, but a little sticky.
- Remove dough onto a floured work station. Knead about 2 minutes, until smooth. Do not overwork the dough.
- Coat a medium bowl with oil and add dough. Coat with oil and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, until dough doubles in size.
- Remove dough onto a floured work station. Knead for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Divide into 6 balls for individual pizza, or 2 balls for medium sized pizzas.
Baking Instructions
- Add pizza stone on middle rack in oven (if using). Preheat oven to 450F.
- On a well floured surface, roll dough to ⅛ to ¼ inch thick. Brush or rub the top with oil, flip over and brush or rub with oil.
- Pull out the oven rack (with the pizza stone if using). Pick up the dough and lay down on the pizza stone or directly onto the oven rack. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown.
- Remove crust using tongs and flip, placing the golden bottom side up (topside down) on a rimless baking tray (or a baking tray turned upside down).
- Add tomato sauce, toppings, and cheese as desired.
- Carefully slide back onto the pizza stone or rack and bake for additional 7-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bottom is browned. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Preheat the BBQ to 450F on high.
- Turn the BBQ burners down to medium heat and place the dough directly on the grill. Close the BBQ and cook the pizza dough for 3 to 5 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown.
- Remove crust using tongs and flip, placing the grilled side up on a rimless baking tray (or a baking tray turned upside down).
- Add tomato sauce, toppings, and cheese as desired.
- Turn the direct heat off on half of the BBQ. Place the topped pizza onto the indirect side. Close the lid and grill for 7-10 minutes*, or until cheese is bubbling and bottom is browned. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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