Pizza dough is the foundation of a great pizza. There are many different recipes for pizza dough. Everybody’s taste is different. Some like a thick crust, others prefer a thin, and if you are in St. Louis, you may prefer a cracker-like crust.
Table of Contents
Whatever type of crust you prefer, we can all agree that it’s an integral part of the pizza. So if you love making pizza at home, you should have a few great pizza dough recipes. You might need to try a few before you find the one that’s perfect for you and your tastebuds.
In honor of the New Year, we have put together five pizza dough recipes that we love. So if you have never made homemade pizza dough, this is the year to learn how. Making pizza at home is easy when you have a perfect dough recipe.
Basics of Pizza Dough
Making pizza dough at home is not a daunting task. With the right tools and a few good recipes, you can make a great homemade pizza dough. Not only does homemade pizza dough taste fantastic, but it is also good for your budget.
Pizza dough only requires a few ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. You don’t need any expensive equipment. You can make homemade pizza dough with a bowl with a lid for proofing or an authentic pizza dough proofing box, a wooden spoon or whisk, and big cutting board or lots of counter space.
And beyond the dough, there’s a whole science behind pizza dough manipulation and management. Understanding each aspect gives you a much deeper understanding of your beloved dough.
Best Flour For Pizza Dough
The best flour for pizza dough is Italian 00 flour. This flour is a high gluten flour that works great for pizza. Italian 00 flour is more refined than regular flour and is almost like baby powder in its consistency. The high gluten content is what makes the dough stretchy and easy to work with.
You can still use regular flour for homemade pizza dough, but if you really want to make the best pizza possible, upgrade to 00 flour.
Five Pizza Dough Recipes
One-Hour Pizza Dough
This one-hour rise pizza dough recipe is perfect for weeknight dinners or any time you don’t have a lot of time for the dough to rise. Since it has less fermentation time, it makes a dense bread-y dough. This recipe makes two pizzas. Feel free to reference our list of pizza dough calculators for the absolute scientific measurements.
- 3 ⅓ cups 00 Flour
- 1 pkt. Instant yeast
- 1 Tsp. Sugar
- 1½ tsp. Salt
- 1 ¼ c. Warm water
- 3 Tbsps. Olive oil
Mix the yeast, half a cup of water, and sugar for ten minutes or until bubbly. Add to the other ingredients. Form a ball. Cover with a light layer of olive oil and let rise for one hour.
Overnight Pizza Dough
When you have time to plan pizza night and want a chewy yet crunchy crust, try this pizza dough recipe. This overnight dough uses less yeast and has a slow fermentation process that gives it a nice flavor. This recipe makes three pizzas.
- 1 ½ cup Warm water
- 1 Tbsp. Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon Dry active yeast
- 1 Tsp. Salt
- 4 ½ c. 00 Flour
Follow same instructions for one hour dough but let rise overnight.
Freezer Pizza Dough
Having pizza dough in your freezer makes cooking easy. Any seasoned home chef knows that sometimes time isn’t on your side, and having shortcuts ready in the freezer makes things easier.
This recipe makes four pizza dough balls. I mean, if you are going to get your hands and kitchen dirty, you might as well make four. Your future hungry self will thank you.
- 2 c. Warm water
- 4 ½ tsp. Active yeast
- 2 tsp. Sugar
- 5 c. 00 Flour
- ½ c. Olive oil
- 1 tsp. Salt
Mix half a cup of warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let sit for ten minutes or until bubbly. Then add with the rest of the ingredients. Mix until smooth. Freeze in plastic freezer bags or reusable silicone freezer bags.
When ready to use, just take them out of the freezer and let them thaw in the fridge for a few hours. Then, an hour before making pizza, let them warm up to room temperature.
Beer Pizza Dough
So, you forgot to buy yeast, and it’s pizza night. What to do? Well, grab a beer and get cooking. This is a fun recipe to try. We stumbled on the idea to use beer instead of yeast when we realized it was pizza night, and we forgot to pick up yeast at the store, but luckily for us, we didn’t forget the beer.
For best results, use a light beer like a pilsner or lager. This recipe makes two pizzas.
- 3 c. 00 Flour
- 1Tbsp. Baking powder
- 1 ½ Tsp. Salt
- 1 Bottle or can of beer at room temp
Mix all of the ingredients and let rise for about an hour. That’s it, easy beer pizza dough. It’s a fun take on the classic dough. And don’t worry, it won’t taste like beer, and any alcohol will be baked out, so it’s safe for those that do not drink.
Sourdough Pizza Dough
Do you love sourdough? Did you know you can make sourdough pizza dough? It’s easy, and this recipe needs no additional yeast. Just use a half cup of unfed sourdough, which means use the sourdough that gets discarded.
This recipe is so good. The tangy sourdough taste is the perfect addition to pizza flavors. But be warned, you will need a little patience when making this dough because it needs about 12 to 24 hours to rise. So you will need to plan ahead.
- ½ cup Sourdough starter discard
- 1 ¼ cup Warm water
- 1 ½ Tsp. Salt
- 3 ½ cup 00 Flour
Mix the starter, warm water, and salt. Then, add to the flour and mix. Cover and let it rise at room temperature. And 12 to 24 hours later, stretch it out to make a delicious sourdough pizza.
Helpful Tips
- The water should be warm but not hot. Between 105° F and 110° F. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
- Play around with lots of unique ways to add more flavor to your homemade pizza dough, like honey to sweeten it up or red pepper flakes to spice it up.
- Knead the dough for about ten minutes so that it is smooth. Start with a spoon, and then get your hands in there to knead. A mixer or food processor works too. Don’t forget to remove rings and bracelets.
- Make sure your dough is all degassed.
- The sugar feeds the yeast, which will not make the dough sweet. So don’t skip the sugar.
- Instant yeast does not need to be activated, but it’s an easy way to determine if the yeast is good.
Do you make your own pizza dough? Give our recipes a try, and let us know what you think.
