Homemade Pizza Dough: Cooking 101

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Last Updated on June 18, 2020 by Lisa Johnson

This is my go-to Homemade Pizza Dough recipe. It is simple to make, and so delicious! I even gave making pizza dough from scratch (without a bread machine) a try this week <insert applause>. I have had no real desire to make yeast dough from scratch, that is why I never have…before now. I was pleasantly surprised, it was nowhere near as hard as I had expected…..

I have had several people ask how to make Homemade Pizza Dough from scratch, without a bread machine, so I have included directions to make Homemade Pizza Dough in a Stand Mixer as well. Now as is always the case when I plan to do something specific, everything goes haywire! I used the last drop of yeast, the house was very cold, and things did not go as planned. BUT….this is the perfect learning opportunity! I am going to show you how things went wrong, but still turned out okay. 🙂

How to make Homemade Pizza Dough with a Stand Mixer:

Place the warm water and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast, stir, and allow to sit for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the yeast to foam (proof)…..

Um well, it bubbled but it did not foam….but we’ll keep going.

Add the oil, flour and salt to the bowl…..

and mix for 4 – 5 minutes, until fully incorporated…..

Hmmm, I underestimated the dryness of the desert. I added an additional tablespoon of water, but that is still too dry.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and flip it over so the oil is on top…..

Cover dough and allow to rise for 1 and a 1/2 hours, or until doubled in a draft free location……

Okay, so the yeast is still active…just lazy! 😉

Punch down the dough and divide into 4-pieces for individual pizzas or into 2-pieces for medium pizzas.

Ideally the dough should be wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours to allow the gluten to relax…..

but if you are in the hurry,  you can go ahead and use the dough immediately, like I did today…..

to take new pictures for a very old Chicken Enchilada Pizza post…..

Voilà

How to make Homemade Pizza Dough with a Bread Machine:

Pour the water, honey, and oil into bucket/pan of dough machine…..

Add the salt and flour. Make an indentation in the center of the flour, and add the yeast….

This image is from the day I made a Chicken Tostada Pizza…ignore the cornmeal. 😉

Place bucket/pan into dough machine and close lid. Turn on the machine, and select the “dough” setting.

When the machine beeps, look thru the window and see how high the dough has risen. Do Not Open the lid, that will allow all of the heat to escape!

If the dough is not more than halfway to the top, unplug the machine and allow dough to rise for an additional 30 – 60 minutes…..

Remove the dough from the machine and roll into a ball. This will release the air bubbles…..

Cut the dough into 4-pieces for individual pizzas or into 2-pieces for medium pizzas…..

Set dough on a floured surface and allow to rest for 10 minutes. This will allow the dough to relax and roll out more easily. Roll dough to 1/4″ thickness in desired shapes…..

Place dough onto a cornmeal or parchment paper covered pizza peel or flat baking sheet and top as desired…..

The cornmeal keeps the dough from sticking if you are using a baking stone.

Now you are ready to make lots of pizzas!!

Notes:

• The salt is added last so it does not kill the yeast!
• I use hot water because it is getting poured into a cold pan or bowl, which drops the temperature down quite a bit. You are looking for 110 – 115 degrees when you add the yeast.
• Parchment paper is cleaner than using cornmeal, but it is a personal choice. You cannot use parchment paper if you plan to use a grill pizza oven, it will burn and stick!!

My favorite Pizza recipes:

• Steakhouse Pizza
• Shrimp Scampi Pizza
• Greens Pizza
• Chili Cheese Dog Pizza
• Eggs Benedict Pizza
• Prosciutto-Arugula Pizza – cooked on the grill using a baking stone or pizza oven in case you would like to give that a try

I also have a recipe for an authentic Italian Pizza Dough using “00” flour that is made by hand, no machines necessary. 😉

Tools used to create this recipe: contains affiliate links

• Bread Machine – the one used in this post died. 🙁 They no longer make it so I bought this one as a replacement
• Stand Mixer – I love it!! I also bought the Glass Bowl so you could see what I was doing. 😉

So there you have it. My favorite Homemade Pizza Dough prepared two different ways. I still prefer making it in my bread machine, but at least now I know I have another option.

Enjoy!!

Homemade Pizza Dough

Homemade Pizza Dough is easier to make than you think, and I have step-by-step directions to help make the perfect pizza crust!

5 from 4 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: recipe, pizza, dough, crust, homemade, machine, mixer, scratch

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 Servings

Calories: 399kcal

Author: Lisa Johnson

1/21x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup water (110 to 115 degrees)
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional - substitute 2 teaspoons sugar)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (plus 1 Tablespoon for the bowl)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

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Instructions

How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough in a Stand Mixer

• Place the warm water and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast, stir, and allow to sit for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the yeast to foam (proof).
• Add the oil, flour and salt to the bowl and mix for 4 – 5 minutes, until fully incorporated.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl and flip it over so the oil is on top. Cover dough and allow to rise for 1 and a 1/2 hours, or until doubled in a draft free location.
• Punch down the dough and divide into 4-pieces for individual pizzas or into 2-pieces for medium pizzas.
• Ideally the dough should be wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours to allow the gluten to relax, but if you are in the hurry, you can go ahead and use the dough immediately.

How to make Homemade Pizza Dough in a Bread Machine

• Pour the water, honey, and oil into bucket/pan of dough machine.
• Add the salt and flour. Make an indentation in the center of the flour, and add the yeast.
• Place bucket/pan into dough machine and close lid. Turn on the machine, and select the “dough” setting.
• When the machine beeps, look thru the window and see how high the dough has risen. Do Not Open the lid, that will allow all of the heat to escape! If the dough is not more than halfway to the top, unplug the machine and allow dough to rise for an additional 30 – 60 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the machine and roll into a ball. This will release the air bubbles.
• Cut the dough into 4-pieces for individual pizzas or into 2-pieces for medium pizzas.
• Set dough on a floured surface and allow to rest for 10 minutes. This will allow the dough to relax and roll out more easily. Roll dough to 1/4″ thickness in desired shapes.
• Place dough onto a cornmeal or parchment paper covered pizza peel or flat baking sheet and top as desired.

Notes

• The salt is added last so it does not kill the yeast!
• I use hot water because it is getting poured into a cold pan or bowl, which drops the temperature down quite a bit. You are looking for 110 – 115 degrees when you add the yeast.
• Parchment paper is cleaner than using cornmeal, but it is a personal choice. You cannot use parchment paper if you plan to use a grill pizza oven, it will burn and stick!!

Nutrition

Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 589mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 4.5mg