Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
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This quick and easy pizza dough makes a soft, chewy homemade pizza crust with just a few simple ingredients and a 30-minute rise. It’s easy to knead, simple to shape and makes enough dough for two pizzas, so you can have a homemade pizza night without spending hours in the kitchen.
Use this pizza dough as the base for this Margherita pizza and my easy homemade pizza sauce.
Why this recipe works
Ingredients required
- Bread flour: Gives the dough the gluten structure it needs to stretch into pizza bases and bake with a soft, chewy crust.
- Instant (easy bake) yeast: Helps the dough rise and creates a light, airy texture. Use the type specified in the recipe card so the 30-minute proving time works as intended.
- Warm water: Hydrates the flour and helps activate the yeast. It should feel comfortably warm, not hot.
- Honey: Adds a little sweetness and helps the crust develop colour as it bakes.
- Olive oil: Makes the dough easier to handle and helps keep the baked crust tender.
- Salt: Brings out the flavour of the dough so the finished pizza base doesn’t taste bland.
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and full instructions.
Here’s how to make quick and easy pizza dough
- Combine the dry ingredients. Add the bread flour, yeast and salt to a large mixing bowl. In a separate jug, stir the honey and olive oil into the warm water.
- Mix the dough. Pour the warm water mixture into the flour and stir until the ingredients come together into a rough, slightly sticky dough.
- Knead the dough. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until it starts to become smoother and more elastic.
- Knead by hand or with a stand mixer: By hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes. Alternatively, use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed for 5–7 minutes. Whichever method you use, the dough should feel smooth and elastic and spring back slowly when gently pressed. Avoid adding too much extra flour while kneading, as this can make the finished crust dry.
- Shape into a ball. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and supple, then shape it into a ball.
- Prepare for proving. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it.
- Let the dough rise. Leave it in a warm place for about 30 minutes, until it has risen and looks noticeably puffier.
- Knock back the dough. Gently press the air out of the risen dough, then turn it out of the bowl.
- Divide and shape. Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Shape each piece into a pizza base, then add your pizza sauce and favourite toppings before baking according to your pizza recipe.
Chef’s Guide: Expert Tips
Here are a few simple tips, drawn from my training and kitchen experience, to help you get the best results every time.
- Choose the right yeast: This recipe uses instant (easy-bake) yeast, which can be mixed directly into the flour. Traditional active dry yeast may need to be dissolved in warm water before use, so check the packet instructions. Whichever type you use, make sure it’s in date and keep the water comfortably warm, not hot.
- Use warm, not hot, water. The water should feel comfortably warm to the touch. Water that’s too hot can damage the yeast and prevent the dough from rising properly.
- Hold back on extra flour. The dough may feel slightly sticky when you first turn it out. Knead it for a minute or two before adding more flour, as too much can make the baked crust dense and dry.
- Knead until smooth and elastic. The dough should become supple and spring back slowly when gently pressed. This helps it stretch into pizza bases without tearing.
- Judge the rise by the dough, not just the clock. The 30-minute rise is a guide. In a cool kitchen, the dough may need a little longer to become noticeably puffy.
- Let the dough rest if it springs back. If it keeps shrinking as you stretch it into a pizza base, leave it covered for 5–10 minutes. This gives the gluten time to relax so the dough is easier to shape.
Storing & Freezing
- Fridge: If you’re making the dough ahead, place it in a lightly oiled, covered container with room to rise. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Let it come to room temperature before shaping so it’s easier to stretch.
- Freezer: This recipe makes two pizza bases, so you can use one straight away and freeze the other. After the dough has risen, knock it back and divide it in two. Lightly oil the portion you want to freeze, place it in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Defrosting: Transfer the frozen dough to the fridge overnight. Once thawed, let it sit at room temperature for 30–60 minutes, or until soft and easy to stretch. Shape, top and bake as usual.
FAQs
No. This recipe is designed for bread flour, which has the higher protein content needed to develop a strong, elastic dough and give the baked pizza crust its characteristic chew. Plain flour (all-purpose flour in North America) won’t give you the same rise, structure or texture, so I don’t recommend substituting it.
The gluten is still too tight. Cover the dough and let it rest for 5–10 minutes, then try stretching it again. Avoid forcing it, as this can cause the dough to tear.
No. You can bake your pizza on a regular baking tray. Preheat the tray in the oven before adding the shaped dough to help the base cook through and develop a better crust.
Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 400 g (3 cups) bread flour
- 7 g (½ tbsp) instant, easy bake yeast (1 sachet; approximately 2¼ teaspoons)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 225 ml (1 cup) warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients. Add the bread flour, yeast and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate jug or bowl, stir together the warm water, honey and olive oil.
- Make the dough. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hand until a soft, shaggy dough forms. If the mixture feels too dry to come together, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Knead. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Alternatively, knead in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed for 5–7 minutes. The dough should spring back slowly when gently pressed.
- Prepare to rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel.
- Let the dough rise. Leave in a warm place for approximately 30 minutes, until noticeably puffy. It may need a little longer in a cool kitchen.
- Knock back the dough. Gently press the air out of the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Divide and shape. Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Stretch each piece into a pizza base, add your sauce and toppings, and bake according to your pizza recipe. Alternatively, freeze one portion for another day.
Notes
- Flour: Use bread flour for the gluten structure and chewy crust this recipe is designed to produce. Plain flour (all-purpose flour in North America) is not recommended.
- Water: Use comfortably warm water, not hot water, which can damage the yeast.
- Kneading: Avoid adding too much extra flour. The dough should become smoother and less sticky as you knead it.
- Shaping: If the dough springs back when stretched, cover it and leave it to rest for 5–10 minutes before trying again.
- Freezing: After the rise, knock back the dough and divide it in two. Lightly oil the portion you want to freeze, wrap it well and place it in a freezer bag or airtight container.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then let it come to room temperature before shaping.
Nutrition
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Meet the Chef!
Hi, I’m Debs, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef dedicated to helping you create unforgettable meals on a budget. Discover more about my journey and dive into a world of foolproof recipes designed for those who love to eat well without overspending.
Just wanted to mention that this recipe is the BEST pizza base recipe we have tried, and paired with the pizza sauce, it’s phenomenal! We use the two recipes together regularly (at least once a month) as a family and it’s so easy and always superb! Honestly much better than getting a takeaway pizza!
Thank you so much, Jaz! So happy that this recipe is so trusted in your kitchen! 🙂
Can the pizza bases be part-baked before freezing? If so, how long would they need?
Hi Vicky. To part bake these pizza bases they need a low oven (140-150ºc) for about 20 minutes. What you’re looking for is the dough to spring up like they would normally do, but without getting a crust or any colour on them. Hence the low oven. The dough will set without colouring. Let them cool completely and then freeze in freezer bags for up to 4 months. When you’re ready for pizza night, you can bake from frozen or defrost them. They should only need about an hour at room temperature to defrost completely.
Beats takeaway pizza any day. Great easy recipe.