Basic Pizza Dough

This Basic Pizza Dough recipe is actually a very old post from the beginning of my blogging days. The images were awful and painful for me to look at. We all have to start somewhere. With that being said, I use this recipe all the time for all of my basic pizza needs and I know that a lot of you also make it often (or at least my sister does), so I decided to breathe some new life into this old post. I’ve reshot it and cleaned up the instructions to make it a lot easier to follow. I hope it’ll inspire you to give it a go and make some homemade pizza for yourself. If you’re looking for some pizza topping ideas try this meatball pizza or jambalaya pizza (yes jambalaya). Also, in honor of this post re-do, I’ll be sharing a new recipe later this week that uses this dough. Hint: It’s a calzone, and you’re going to love it.

Print Recipe

Basic Pizza Dough

This Basic Pizza Dough is one you'll come back to again and again. It's easy to make and so much better than store-bought dough!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Rising Time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course: Breads

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Baking, Breads, Dough, Pizza

Servings: 4

Author: Jonathan Melendez

Equipment

• Mixing bowls

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water about 105°F
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for greasing

Instructions

• In a small bowl, dissolve the water, yeast and honey. Allow to sit until foamy, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture along with the oil. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the dough comes together and all of the dry bits have been mixed in.
• Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until smooth and firm, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel. Let it rise in a warm spot for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Transfer the risen dough onto a floured work surface and divide the dough into four pieces (about 6 ounces each). You can also divide it in half for two larger pizzas. Roll each piece into a tight smooth ball, placing on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. At this point, the balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days, or rolled out, topped and baked. Enjoy!