This foolproof pizza dough recipe uses just a few basic ingredients for a crust that is perfectly soft, chewy, and golden every time. From thick crust to thin and crispy, this easy recipe is all you need for pizza and calzones.
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Why Make This Recipe?
Tastes Better: Nothing beats the taste of fresh homemade pizza dough straight from your own oven. It bakes up perfectly soft on the inside and crispy on the outside!
Customizable: You can easily change this recipe by adding your favorite herbs or mixing in an egg to create completely different variations.
Adding Milk: Adding a little milk can make pizza dough soft and rich.
Instant yeast: Skip the proofing step, keep it simple with instant yeast just mix and rest. So simple.
Ingredients
The best pizza dough recipe starts with the same basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, sugar, salt, and oil. However, I have added milk and a bit of seasoning to enhance the flavor.
- All purpose flour: Use all-purpose white flour in this recipe. You can substitute bread flour for a chewier pizza crust.
- Milk: This is my secret ingredient for making the crust extra soft and flavorful instead of using plain water. You can use warm water instead, but milk is highly recommended.
- Instant Yeast: Use a fresh sachet and check the manufacturing date to be sure that it has not expired, as this is crucial for helping the dough rise quickly and creating those perfect air bubbles. Skip the proofing step.
- Sugar: It feeds the yeast and helps the crust to rise, making air pockets.
- Oil: I used extra virgin olive oil for a rich flavor and a glossy texture. However, you can easily substitute it with canola oil or any other vegetable oil.
- Seasoning: This includes basic spices such as salt, garlic powder, ground oregano, and black pepper. All of this seasoning is optional, and you can adjust it to your liking.
How To Make This?
Follow these steps to make pizza dough with instant yeast easily.
- Add flour to a large, clean mixing bowl. Make sure to level off your measuring cups so you get the perfect ratio for the dough. Weighing is best.
- Add the instant yeast, granulated sugar, and seasoning blend (salt, garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper) directly into the flour. Give the dry ingredients a quick whisk to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
- Slowly pour in your warm milk and warm water into the flour mixture. (Protip: I only heat the milk until it's hot, then mix it with plain water until it reaches a lukewarm temperature before adding it to the flour. Never add hot liquid to batter; warm is best.)
- Use a wooden spoon, a spatula, or your hands to stir everything and bring the flour together until it becomes crumbly and everything sticks together, soaking up all the liquid.
- Once the dough begins to clump together, pour extra virgin olive oil directly over the shaggy mixture. This helps bind the dough and keeps it from sticking too much to your hands.
- Bring the dough together with your hands and roughly shape it into a ball. We want a soft dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean, damp cloth and let it rest until it doubles in size.
- Leave the covered bowl in a warm, dark spot until the dough expands and rises to twice its original size.
- Now divide the dough into portions. Knead each portion on your counter. Press and roll it firmly with your hands until it becomes smooth and soft. Shape into your favorite pizza crust, calzone, or chicken bread! Pro-tip: Dough divided into 2-3 portions is easy to knead.
Expert Tips
- Let it Rise: Give your dough enough time to rest in a warm place. This makes the crust light, fluffy, and full of nice air bubbles. The time will vary upon temperature of the environment. The dough will rise in 45 minutes in summer and might take 2 hours in winter.
- Freeze for Later: You can freeze extra dough! Just wrap it tightly and save it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the fridge before using.
- Herbs are Optional: Feel free to leave out the seasoning if you want a plain, classic crust.
Variations
An authentic pizza crust is chewy and crispy. If you decide to add these ingredients, the result will change. Pizza dough is often a shortcut to many breads and buns. Understanding the ingredients and their impact can be helpful in making a wise choice.
- Milk: Using milk is what keeps the dough extra soft and rich like bread. We want some chewiness in pizza dough, hence we used a little milk along with water in our recipe. If using pizza dough for a softer bread, adding extra milk instead of water can help.
- Egg: If you are using this dough to make chicken bread, or want a more fluffy cake-like structure in the dough. Add an egg and reduce some water in the dough to adjust. It gives the dough some structure and gives it air pockets like a cake.
How to Store?
Let it Rise First: Always wait for your dough to finish rising and expanding completely before storing it, no matter how many portions you divide it into.
In the Fridge: Once it has fully risen, cover the dough surface with oil smear. Then wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
In the Freezer: Divide your dough into your desired portions, and cover the surface with oil smear. Then wrap them in plastic wrap and place them inside a freezer-safe bag. It can be frozen for up to 2 months.
How to Thaw: For the best results, let the frozen dough defrost in the fridge overnight. If you are short on time, you can also leave it on the counter at room temperature for a couple of hours.
How to Freeze it Like a Pre-Made Pizza Crust?
You can also freeze this as a ready-to-bake crust instead of a dough ball!
Shape it: Roll or stretch your dough into your pizza shape on a sheet of parchment paper.
Bake slightly (Par-bake): Bake the crust in the pre-heated oven at 350 F for just 4 minutes. It shouldn't brown; it just needs to set so it's no longer raw.
Cool and freeze: Let it cool completely. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. (Do not wrap it hot or it will get soggy.)
Bake from frozen: When you're ready, don't defrost it! Add your toppings directly to the frozen crust and bake until crispy.
FAQS
Your yeast might have expired, or your liquid was too hot and killed the yeast. Always check the manufacturing date on your yeast sachet and make sure your liquid is just warm, not hot.
Yes. You can store the dough in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 day, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Just bring it to room temperature before stretching.
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📖 Recipe
Pizza dough recipe (with instant yeast)
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cup (440g) flour, , more for dusting
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast , instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoons oregano, optional
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 30ml & more for greasing
- ½ cup lukewarm milk , 110F
- 1 cup lukewarm water, 110F to form a dough.
Instructions
- Take flour, yeast, sugar, salt, garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Slowly pour the warm milk in the bowl while mixing with your hands or a spatula. Next, add warm water and keep mixing until it comes together in a ball.
- Pour the olive oil over the mixture. This helps bind the dough and stops it from sticking to your hands.
- Bring the dough together with your hands and shape it into a rough ball.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm, dark spot until it puffs up and doubles in size.
- Move the dough to your counter. Knead it firmly with your hands until it becomes smooth and soft—now it’s ready to shape!
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