My Pizza Dough Recipe

Pizza Dough Recipe

I am a big huge fan of pizza!

Homemade pizza tastes so good that I almost feel bad when we call out for delivery (I said almost, I am not superwoman! Some days, delivery pizza is the only way my family will get fed! I’m sure you’ve all had THOSE days.)

I’ve tried many pizza dough recipes (here’s the main pizza dough recipe I used for years) and they all are pretty much the same with just slight variations. However,  those slight variations can make the difference between a piece of cardboard or a slice of heaven.

I finally settled on this recipe. It’s a mix of several recipes I’ve come across and tried over the years and it seems to produce the tastiest crust. You can make 2 pizzas out of this recipe OR you can get super frugal and make 4 very thin crust pizzas. Totally up to you!

My Pizza Dough Recipe

Inspired by: Every pizza dough recipe I’ve ever tried.

Pizza Dough Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm (not hot) water
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. yeast
• 3 cups bread flour
• 3 tbsp. olive oil (see directions)

*I make this pizza dough recipe in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer using a dough hook. You could also mix the ingredients together and knead by hand or use your bread machine to do the work. My directions for this particular pizza dough recipe will be for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer though.

Pizza Dough Recipe Part 1

1. Pour your sugar and  your yeast into your cup of water and stir. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mix the flour and salt together in your mixer bowl.
3. Start your mixer and begin pouring your water/yeast/sugar mixer into the mixing bowl.
4. Now, trickle 2 tablespoons of olive oil into your mixer
5. Allow the mixer to knead  your pizza dough recipe and add the 3rd tablespoon of olive oil only if the dough looks like it really needs it (mine usually does!).
6. Let your machine knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Or until the dough is completely wrapped around the dough hook and the mixing bowl looks pretty clean!

At this point, you need to decide how soon you want to make your pizza! Also, how many pizzas do you want to make from this pizza dough recipe? Separate the dough into however many pizza crusts you will need.

If you are making it soon, you’ll want to cover it and stick it into a warm place to rise for about an hour or until it’s doubled in size.

If you want to freeze or refrigerate it and use it later, you can let it go through the rising process first and then store or you could just store now. I tend to like the double rise though! If you do freeze/refrigerate your dough, allow extra time for your dough to rise. Anywhere from 2 1/2-3 hours.

Pizza Dough Recipe Part 2

1. When you are ready to make your pizza, and the dough has fully risen…go ahead and punch it down. I know! All that patience just to punch it down again? Take out your frustration on the dough ;). Then run over and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grab your cutting board and sprinkle some flour across it. Grab your rolling pin and rub some flour across it as well.
3. Now lay your pizza dough (1 of your pizza dough balls) on your cutting board and roll roll roll! Once you get to your desired thickness, you’ll want to transfer your pizza dough to a baking sheet or pizza stone/peel (I just use an old baking sheet, I’d love a stone one day though!).
4. I like to sprinkle some cornmeal on the bottom of the pan to give it some texture and keep the dough from sticking.
5. Prick the pizza with a fork a few times to prevent air pockets and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
6. Throw into the oven for around 6-8 minutes until the pizza looks like it’s just about to brown.
7. Take it out and pile on your toppings!
8. Throw your topped pizza back into the oven (you might want to reduce the temp to 350 at this point. I never do though) and take it out when your cheese is melty and your crust is golden brown!

Voila! This pizza dough recipe just made you everyone’s favorite person. 😉

Consider this your basic pizza dough recipe. Jazz this pizza dough recipe up by adding some tasty herbs to the dough OR if you are feeling particularly naughty, throw some cheese in there and turn this pizza dough recipe into a cheesy pizza dough recipe!

Enjoy!

Use this pizza dough recipe for this yummy Chicken Alfredo Veggie Pizza!