Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog. Let me ask you a question: Do you know anyone who wouldn’t love pizza? I certainly don’t. But how many people actually make their pizza dough at home? Not many, I’m afraid. Most people think it’s hard to make a proper homemade pizza dough, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Let me show you how I make mine. You will be surprised how easy it actually is.

NOTE: I’m using this pizza dough in both my Prosciutto and jalapenos pizza and White chicken pizza recipes, but you can use whatever toppings you like. Maybe even something less common such as this Nutella pizza from Mandy 🙂

What flour to use for homemade pizza dough?

Personally, I have the best experience with the 00 type flour, which is a very finely milled white wheat flour with high protein content. You can also use “strong flour” or “all purpose flour” and I have also used “bread flour” with great results. Since my pizza dough recipe works with yeast, do not use self raising flour. Whole grain flours can also be used for a bit more healthy version of your pizza crust.

To put it simply, you can use several flour types to make a great pizza dough, just make sure you choose a finely grained type with a high protein content of 12% or more. The type of flour has more of an impact on the texture of the crust than it has on the taste. So whatever type of flour you choose, the pizza will still taste great. A type 00 crust will be lighter with a puffy edge full of air pockets, while a crust made from whole grain bread flour will be on the heavier, thicker and more dense side.

Can You Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough?

Simple answer: YES! Pizza dough freezes just nicely. You can divide the remaining dough into individual balls, cover them with plastic wrap or put them in a freezer bag and off to the freezer with them. Frozen homemade pizza dough stays good for at least 3 months. When making pizza from frozen dough, let it thaw and come to room temperature first.

My Pizza Dough Recipe Ingredients

800g (6.5 cups) Type 00 Flour
500ml (2 cups) water (60-70% hydration)
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

How to make homemade pizza dough

Watch the video or scroll down for step by step instructions:

Let’s start by bringing the yeast back to life. I’m using dried yeast today, but you can also use instant or fresh one. Simply mix it with a cup of water and a teaspoon of sugar and let it sit for about 5 minutes or until it starts to bloom. It’s also possible to activate the yeast without adding sugar! To make this happen, use less water and drop in a tablespoon or two of flour. It will take longer this way, but it works.

NOTE: The total amount of water includes the amount you have used to activate the yeast, so make sure you measure this.

In the meantime, prepare the flour. Usually, I’m using the 00 type, but all purpose or bread flour works fine too. Sift the flour with a strainer and add it to a bowl. I’m working with 800 grams which equals 6 and a half cups. This amount is just about right to make 3 or even 4 large pizzas.

Add 3 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Garlic powder is an optional ingredient, but I think it makes the pizza crust taste better. Now whisk everything together properly.

Once the yeast and water mixture starts to bubble or bloom, the yeast is ready so add it to the bowl. The last pizza dough ingredient I’m using is olive oil, add about 3 tablespoons. Now turn the mixer on and let it work for about 10 minutes. You can also knead the dough by hand, I just like to save myself some work.

We need to talk about the amount of water that goes into the dough for a bit. Aim for 60-70% hydration. Closer to 60% if you’re making pizza dough for the first time. More hydrated dough translates into lighter pizza crust but it’s harder to work with as it’s more sticky.

In our case, this means 500 milliliters or roughly 2 cups of water in total, including the water we have used to activate the yeast. This is about 63% hydration and that’s a ratio I like to work with. But please, this is not rocket science, don’t worry if you have used a tablespoon or two of extra flour.

NOTE: The water and flour ratio is calculated from the weight, not volume! Use a kitchen scale to make sure you are using the right amount.

Once the pizza dough doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl anymore, it’s ready and we can turn the mixer off.

Dust your desk with flour and remove the dough from the bowl. Use your hands to form a nice ball, place it in a sealable container and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours or until it doubles in size. Alternatively, you can go for slow fermentation in the fridge, for up to 3 days.

TIP: If you decide to let the dough ferment slowly in the fridge, give it some time to come back to room temperature before working with it.

Once the pizza dough has risen, it’s time to form our pizza crust. Dust your desk with flour again and take the dough out of the container. Put some flour on the dough too and form it into an oval shape. As I mentioned, this amount of dough is enough for 3 pizzas, so let’s divide what we have into 3 smaller parts.

Store the dough you’re not working with in a sealable container again, or else it will dry out. And now, let me tell you how to form a nice round pizza crust. Start by pushing the edges away from the center with your knuckles or fingers. Use the palms of your hands to flatten the dough further and keep pushing the edges further from the center. To reach a thin crust, use a roller but try not to run over the edge, we want it thick and puffy.

NOTE: It’s kind of hard to describe the process of forming the pizza crust, please watch the video that you can find above.

I strongly recommend getting one of these round pizza pans, it makes forming a nice crust so much easier. Spread some olive oil over the pan and transfer the pizza dough on it. Use your hands to make some final touches and we are ready for the toppings.

But that’s another story for another blog post. Looking for some inspiration? Try my Prosciutto and Jalapeno Pizza or the delicious White Chicken Pizza. Thanks for reading and please come back again to see my new recipes. You can also use this pizza dough recipe to make Pepperoni Rolls as a fun appetizer.

TIP: Ever heard of the Hungarian Langos? It looks almost like a pizza, but it’s something completely different, give it a try 🙂