How to Make Our Family Favorite Pizza Dough
This pizza dough only requires 6 ingredients and it's easy to make! This recipe makes 2 pizzas.
- 1/2 teaspoon instant or fast rising yeast
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 3 cups bread flour (may require more depending on the consistency of your dough)
- 1 teaspoon cornmeal (for dusting the pan - optional)
- Bloom the yeast
Add 1 1/4 cups of warm water (about 110°F) to a measuring cup. Add 1/2 tbsp of sugar to the warm water, then pour in 1/2 tsp of yeast. You'll see bubbles on the water's surface if the yeast is alive.
If the yeast is not alive, repeat this step with new yeast. - Add 3 cups of bread flour and 1/2 tsp of salt to a large bowl and mix together
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients in the large bowl
- Add 1 tbsp of olive oil
- Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon until well combined
- Knead the dough
If you are doing this by hand, you can do this for about 15 minutes. If you are using a stand mixer, it should take about 5-7 minutes. Add more flour to the mixture as needed. You want your dough to be sticky, but easy to work with.
- Separate your dough into 2 equal dough balls
- Drizzle olive oil into 2 containers
Choose containers with lids or that can be tightly sealed.
- Place each dough ball into a container and cover
Roll the dough around the container to coat it with oil to avoid sticking and to help the crust crisp up when cooking.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours or let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours to let the dough rise
Tip: To help your dough rise faster, you can put a pot of boiling water in your oven along with the containers of dough. This can also help if it's a cold day. The steam from the water will create a warm environment in the oven, thus helping the dough rise.
- When you are ready to cook your dough, place a pizza steel or stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F for 1 hour
If you are using a baking pan, you do not need to let the oven preheat for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and dust it with cornmeal
- Place a dough ball on the parchment paper and stretch it out to form your pizza
Use your knuckles to stretch the edges of the dough.
- Add sauce and toppings
- Slide the dough with the parchment paper underneath onto the pizza steel or stone
If using a baking sheet, place the entire sheet along with the parchment paper and dough into the oven.
- Cook for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment paper out from under the pizza
Skip this step if not using a pizza steel or stone.
- Cook the pizza for 7 minutes, then use tongs to rotate it and cook it for another 7 minutes (or until the crust is cooked to your liking)
- Remove pizza from oven, cut and serve
Thank you for printing my recipe!
-The Juggling Mama