Everyone loves a good pizza, well at least almost everyone. 🙂 In this recipe post, I will show you how to make amazing homemade pizza dough.
This dough is incredible, it tastes just like what you will get at the restaurants! A friend of mine has been making pizza for over 25 years and he showed me this homemade recipe. It is my new go-to recipe for pizza dough.
Homemade pizza dough doesn’t have to be hard, join with me as I show you how to make amazing pizza dough! Let’s get baking!
Need a good homemade pizza sauce to go with that awesome dough? Check out this homemade pizza sauce recipe.
Step 1: Gather pizza dough ingredients and tools
For this dough recipe, we need a handful of ingredients and one special ingredient that really makes this pizza dough shine. You will need:
Dough/Crust
- All-purpose flour or plain flour – you can also use bread flour if you like.
- Semolina flour – Semolina flour is that special ingredient that helps make the dough chewy and gives it a great texture. Commonly used in pasta making, usually, it can be found in the same aisle as your other flours. You can leave out the Semolina Flour, if you do just replace it with another cup of all-purpose flour or bread flour, it just won’t taste quite like mine, but it will still be good.
- Water – always use good tasting water. If your tap water tastes terrible like it does here in Phoenix, use good filtered water. I always use my filtered drinking water in my doughs.
- Salt – use good fine-grain table salt, don’t use coarse salt.
- Olive oil – I generally use a good quality extra virgin olive oil in my homemade pizza dough.
- Active dry yeast – you may also use a rapid rise or instant yeast as well.
- Sugar – just a bit of white granulated sugar.
- Cornmeal – or use semolina flour on your pan before putting the dough on it.
- Favorite toppings – Then use your favorite pizza toppings after laying down a good pizza sauce.
Tools
For the tools you will need the following:
- Pizza pan – this is my favorite pizza pan. I like the holes in the bottom which help to cook the bottom of the crust.
- Whisk
- Bowls
- Wooden spoon
- Damp cloth
- Plastic Wrap
- Dough proofer – I use my dough proofer all the time it works wonders with dough. This is a purely optional tool.
Step 2: How to make homemade pizza dough
To start off let’s proof the yeast. To do this, heat up your water in the microwave to about 105 to 115 degrees F (40 to 44 C). Then add the sugar and the yeast.
Next, use a whisk and mix it around a little bit. Now just set it aside for about 5 to 10 minutes until it gets nice and foamy. The yeast is active and ready to go! Once the yeast is ready add in your oil and whisk it in.
Step 3: Combine dry ingredients
Now let’s combine our dry ingredients, by adding the semolina flour and the salt to the all-purpose flour. The semolina flour will help make the dough chewier.
Although you can substitute the semolina with all-purpose flour if you like, it just won’t be quite the same. But it will still be good.
Step 4: Combine yeast mixture with dry ingredients
Now we just mix in our dry ingredients slowly with the yeast mixture, maybe about a 4th of it at a time. You can start with your whisk, then move to a wooden spoon.
After awhile it will get hard to use even the wooden spoon, and the dough will form.
Step 5: Knead the dough
After the dough forms, move from the wooden spoon to your hands or you can use a stand mixer. I still hand knead all my doughs. Start in the bowl, then pour out the dough onto your surface.
Now continue adding your flour as you knead. Push down on the dough and out, stretching it slightly, then turn it a quarter turn, fold it toward you and push down with your palm, keep doing that for about 8 minutes. You will probably wind up with flour left over. Add flour as needed to keep it from sticking.
Step 6: Let the pizza dough from scratch rise
Next, let the dough rise. Put some olive oil in a large bowl, about half of a tablespoon or about two teaspoons, then using our fingers to make sure to coat the inside of the bowl.
Now add the dough and coat the dough with the oil in the bowl. Then place some plastic wrap and then a damp cloth on top.
Place the bowl in a warm area or in your dough proofer and let it rise for an hour to an hour and a half.
Step 7: Roll out the pizza dough
Now we preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. The dough has risen so we take it out and cut it into equal parts. This recipe makes 3 medium-sized thinner crust pizzas or two large thick crust pizzas.
You can flip the dough in the air like the pros, or use a rolling pin to get the dough into the pizza shape.
Step 8: Add homemade dough to a pizza pan
Next, add some cornmeal or semolina flour to your pizza pan. This will keep the pizza from sticking. Although it is not completely necessary. The pan I use is a nonstick pizza pan.
The cornmeal does help it to get that classic bottom of the crust that you get at restaurants. Stretch out the pizza dough as needed to fill up the pan, then pinch the edges up a little bit.
Step 9: Add pizza toppings and bake!
Now you just need to add your favorite toppings to your homemade pizza dough. I like to start with some olive oil drizzled on the top. Then add a light covering of pizza sauce.
Next, the cheese, I use a pizza blend of mozzarella, provolone, and jack. Now the pepperoni! Then bake it in a preheated oven (500 degrees F) for 7 to 12 minutes, until the crust is a light golden brown color and the cheese is all melted. Enjoy!
Do you like making homemade doughs and bread? Click here to find more of them.
How long does homemade pizza dough last?
Homemade pizza dough will usually last up to 2 weeks in the fridge if stored in an airtight container, or in a ziplock bag, or covered in plastic wrap. You can also freeze wrapped dough for up to a month.
Here are a few other recipes you may like:
Best Homemade Pizza Dough
Equipment
- Pizza pan
- Whisk
- Bowls
- Wooden spoon
- Damp cloth
- Plastic wrap
- Dough proofer (optional)
Ingredients
- 4 cups of all purpose flour can use bread flour (512g)
- 1 cup of semolina flour Usually found on same aisle as all purpose flour or online (167g)
- 2 cups of water (500ml)
- 2 tsp of salt (8g)
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil (30ml)
- 2 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast or 1 packet instant yeast (9g)
- 1 1/2 tsp of sugar (6g)
- Cornmeal couple pinches for pizza pan
Pizza Toppings
- Your favorite pizza sauce store bought or home made
- Mozzarella cheese or pizza blend mozzarella, provolone, and Jack
- Pepperoni and favorite toppings
Instructions
- To start off let's proof the yeast. To do this, heat up your water in the microwave to about 105 to 115 degrees F (40 to 44 C). Then add the sugar and the yeast. Next use a whisk and mix it around a little bit. Now just set it aside for about 5 to 10 minutes until it gets nice and foamy. The yeast is active and ready to go!
- Now we just add your oil to the bowl with the yeast and stir it with a whisk.
- Next combine our dry ingredients, by adding the semolina flour and the salt to the all purpose flour. The semolina flour will help make the dough chewier. Although you can substitute the semolina with all purpose flour if you like, it just won't be quite the same. But it will still be good.
- Then just mix in the dry ingredients slowly with the yeast mixture, maybe about a 4th of it at a time. You can start with your whisk, then move to using a wooden spoon. After awhile it will get hard to use even the wooden spoon, and the dough will form.
- After the dough forms pour out the dough onto your surface and knead the dough. Now continue adding your flour as you knead. Push down on the dough then out stretching the dough a little bit, then turn it a quarter turn, fold it toward you and push down with your palm, keep doing that for about 8 minutes. Add extra flour as needed, you will probably wind up with some left over.
- Next let the dough rise. Put some olive oil in a large bowl, about half of a tablespoon or about two teaspoons, then using our fingers make sure to coat the inside of the bowl. Now add the dough and coat the dough with the oil in the bowl. Then place some plastic wrap and then a damp cloth on top. Place the bowl in a warm area or dough proofer and let it rise for and hour to an hour and a half.
- Now preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Take the risen dough out and cut it into equal parts. This recipe makes 3 medium sized thinner crust pizzas or two large thick crust pizzas. You can flip the dough in the air like the pros, or use a rolling pin to get the dough into the pizza shape.
- Add some cornmeal to your pizza pan. This will keep the pizza from sticking. Although it is not completely necessary. The cornmeal does help it to get that classic bottom of the crust that you get at restaurants. Stretch out the pizza dough as needed to fill up the pan, then pinch the edges up a little bit.
- Next you just need to add your favorite toppings. I like to start with some olive oil drizzled on the top. Then add a light covering of pizza sauce. Then cheese, I use a pizza blend of mozzarella, provolone, and jack. Now the pepperoni! Then bake it in a preheated oven (500 degrees F) for 7 to 12 minutes, until the crust is a light golden brown color and the cheese is all melted. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. 🙂 If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.
I love this recipe! I have been searching (watching numerous YouTube videos) and “testing” them in my kitchen. This one hits a very high mark on my test results. Thank you! tinac
Such a nice compliment, Tina! Thank you so much. I am glad you tried it and liked it as much as I do. You are so very welcome. 🙂 🙂
I just happen to read the receipe of homemade pizza and I liked it. I am going to try to make it today. Later I will post my comments. Thank you Matt Taylor.
Good luck, Marita!! 🙂 Yes, please let me know how it turns out and how you like it. 🙂
I spent every Saturday of the past 3 COVID months trying to master a pizza recipe. I somehow stumbled across this and finally had success! My husband is from Italy and says it’s the best homemade pizza he’s had. Our family is so happy to have found this! I’m on 3 weeks of perfect pizzas… so thank you! I use “00” instead of all purpose with the semolina. I also use two large sheet pans, coat the bottom in olive oil and hand-stretch in the pan, let rise for another 30 minutes and par bake for 5 minutes before adding toppings.
Awesome, Jessica! Such a nice compliment. I am so glad that you found it and like it! 🙂
Yikes! I thought semolina was a fancy name for cornmeal so I used cornmeal but I still got good results. I will make it with wheat flour next time. I posted a picture also. Thanks again!
Awesome, Christina! Yes, semolina is different than cornmeal. 🙂 So glad you tried it. When you get a chance, try it with the semolina. I imagine you can find it at your local grocery store in the baking aisle. Usually along with the other specialty flours. 🙂
My oven can only go to 450 degrees. Do you think I could work?
Yes absolutely, you will just have to bake it a little longer. 🙂 You can even go down to 425 F if you wanted.
Hi Matt,
I tried your pizza sauce and dough recipe and it was absolutely great! Thank you for posting the videos and recipes.
– Mike David
Thank you so much, Mike!! I am so glad you tried both of them. You are so very welcome! 🙂 🙂
Hi I am from Pakistan and every time I bake the pizza with Ur dough recepie I simply love it…. Crispy and yummy… Detailed video …. Exact measurements…. And I love it when u say if I can do it then u can do it….. Thanks alot
I am so glad you like it and keep making it! 🙂 🙂 Thank you! And you are very welcome. 🙂
Pizza is one of the best meals for everyone, getting the family together for create your own is always a good time, don’t be afraid to put your wildest combinations on a homemade crust and enjoy. my advise is go easy on the meats and go wild on veggies and cheese. Your crust and sauce are A#1
Thank you!! Yeah, pizza is awesome for the family. We like to make lots of dough and then give everyone their own little personal size pizza, then they can put whatever toppings they want on it.
The easiest way to make pizza dough for sure.
🙂 Thanks, Becky! 🙂
Making my own dough for pizza is an amazing time as I get to bond with my daughter as we do it together. Plus it does taste better than those from a package.
So true! 🙂
I really liked your step by step guide of making pizza. It’s looking so delicious to eat.
Thank you!! 🙂 🙂
I love pizza! This looks like such a tasty dough recipe! Thanks for sharing, saved !
You are very welcome Anna, glad you like it! 🙂
Great post on homemade pizza. I would love to one day make my own pizza from scratch.
Thank you! 🙂
This homemade pizza dough looks easier to make than any other homemade pizza dough recipe that I’ve tried. Going to give this a whirl next week!
Thanks Brandy! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
I love home made dough! I have recently just learnt how to make this myself
That is awesome, Emily! 🙂
That sounds like a great recipe for homemade pizza dough and it’s easy to follow too. I will definitely give this a try someday when I have time.
Thank you, Lyanna! 🙂
sadly i cannot kneed bread anymore or etc because of my disability but pizza dough can be a fun experience w/ kids.
Joy at The Joyous Living
Yeah, I guess the only way would be if you had a stand mixer with a dough hook, which is pretty expensive. Definitely a fun activity with kids. I started kneading dough when I was a kid. haha 🙂
This pizza looks so good–an easy! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thanks Desiree! You are very welcome. 🙂
Homemade pizza dough is the best! You did a really great job explaining all the steps – this is one of the best doughs I’ve ever had!
Well, thank you, April! I agree homemade pizza dough is the best. 🙂
I love pizza! Great Homemade Pizza Dough recipe! I’ll use this on weekends.
Thank you, Emman!! 🙂 🙂
Ooo I do love a good homemade pizza. We have a pizza place here in the UK that we love and always visit xx
Awesome, Melanie! 🙂
homemade pizzas are the best and this dough rocks
Agreed Rachael! Homemade pizzas are truly the best! 🙂 🙂 So glad you like the dough!
Pizza dough can seem very intimidating. This is a great recipe with good, clear instructions. Delicious.
Thank you, Betsy! 🙂
That dough looks great! I love making homemade pizza, so much better than store bought frozen!
Thank you, Carrie! Agreed, homemade is so much better!
I love making my own dough for pizza night. It always tastes so much better than the prepackaged crusts available at the store. This is a winner.
Thank you Colleen! Agreed! Homemade pizza dough is so much better than the stuff at the store.
Hihi….funny how I love pizza but I have never made one of my own! This is all the guidance and inspiration I needed. I look forward to enjoying it.
Awesome!! So glad this was helpful for you. 🙂
This looks like a great recipe! I love pizza, so making homemade pizza dough sounds great!
Thank you, Nicole! If you love pizza, definitely try out this dough recipe. 🙂
Wonderful dough recipe. Tried making before but never had all the ingredients that was call for …..a fancy one maybe i should try your simple one .
Thank you! Yes give this one a try sometime. 🙂