Make this easy and delicious homemade pizza dough recipe and skip the takeout!

Make this homemade pizza crust recipe for game day or whenever you want a delicious pizza with fresh toppings. Bake it now or store the dough in the refrigerator for later. It will keep for 4 days in the fridge or freeze it in a sealed container and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight when you’re ready to use it.

Making pizza dough requires a little feeling and knowing when the dough is just right. Depending on your elevation and the seasons, you may need more or less flour. See more tips below.

And speaking of flour, there’s a lot of controversy on whether to use bread flour or all-purpose flour when making pizza dough. I’ve used both and prefer bread flour. Bread flour yeilds a crispy crust that’s soft on the inside. All-purpose flour yeilds a crispy but denser crust. Try both to see which crust you prefer.

Below, I share all my tips and the recipe to make the best homemade pizza dough around.

Tip For Blooming Yeast

• I recommend using active dry yeast and not rapid-rise yeast. Rapid rise yeast rises too quickly and cause the crust texture to be bready.
• When doubling this recipe you don’t need to double the yeast.
• Use warm, not hot water to activate the yeast (around 105–115°F). Also, heat the bowl by running it under warm water to help the temperate stay stable longer.
• Mix yeast, warm water, and sugar, and let sit for about 10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingedients.
• Properly bloomed yeast looks foamy, almost creamy, and has a few bubbles (see photo below). If your yeast doesn’t look this way it may be old or inactive and your dough won’t rise. Try making a new batch of yeast in warm water and sugar before continuing.

Tip For Kneading, Rising, and Baking

• Knead dough by hand or with a stand mixer and a dough hook attachment until smooth and elastic. If your dough feels too sticky add a tablespoon of flour (or two). If dry, add a tablespoon of water.
  • To knead by hand, combine the ingredients with a spoon then knead the dough with the palm of your hand on a lightly floured surface for about 5-7 minutes.
  • When using a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine your ingredients slowly then knead for about 5 minutes.
• Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour before baking. If it’s cold in your kitchen, warm up the oven to 100°F, shut it off, and put the covered bowl in the warm oven to rise.
• Before baking, brush the crust with extra olive oil for a crispy, golden crust.
• Poke holes into your dough before going into the oven to avoid bubbles from forming as the crust bakes.
• Pre-bake your crust for about 5 minutes before adding sauce and toppings. Doing this helps cook the crust through to the center and keeps it from getting soggy from the toppings.
• Add delicate toppings like fresh basil and herbs after baking to avoid burning them.

Balance the savory with something sweet! Try my Chocolate Bundt Cake With Coconut Filling Recipe.