This Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe is a game-changer, delivering a crispy, golden crust with a soft, airy interior in just 25 minutes. With no kneading required, it’s effortlessly simple yet yields professional-quality results every time.
The dough’s subtle tang and chewy texture make it the perfect canvas for your favorite toppings, whether you’re craving classic margherita or a loaded meat lover’s pie.
In just 15 minutes of prep, you’ll create a dough that bakes into a flavorful, aromatic masterpiece in under 10 minutes. Its versatility shines, whether you’re making thin-crust, deep-dish, or even calzones. This recipe is your ticket to homemade pizza that’s fresher, tastier, and more satisfying than any takeout.
Ingredients for the Best-Ever Pizza Dough
- 3 1/2 cups (18 oz / 497 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon dried yeast (instant yeast works best)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/3 cups (10 1/2 fl oz / 298 g) water (at blood temperature, around 98°F / 37°C)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Step-by-Step Instructions
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- In a large bowl or a lidded container, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Avoid placing the salt and yeast directly on each other, as this can deactivate the yeast.
- Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly until evenly combined.
- Stir the olive oil into the water until fully incorporated.
- Pour the water and oil mixture into the dry ingredients all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon or your hand until the dough comes together. Adjust water slightly if needed, but avoid over-wetting the dough.
- Mix until all the flour is hydrated and no dry lumps remain. The dough will be wet and slightly saggy.
- Use a spatula to scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl or container. Seal tightly with a lid or plastic wrap to prevent air from forming a skin on the dough.
- Let the dough ferment at room temperature for 12–18 hours. Alternatively, proof for 1 hour at room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to use. The dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days to develop deeper flavor.
- After fermentation, the dough will more than double in size, with bubbles on the surface and a slightly boozy aroma.
Sauce and Topping Ideas to Elevate Your Pizza
For a classic Margherita, use a simple tomato sauce made with crushed San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Top with fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil.
If you’re feeling adventurous, try a white pizza with ricotta, sautéed spinach, and caramelized onions. Pro tip: Less is more—avoid overloading your pizza to keep the crust crisp and flavorful.
Storage and Reheating Tips for Perfect Leftovers
Unused dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, wrap individual dough balls in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag.
When ready to use, thaw in the fridge overnight. For reheating leftover pizza, use a preheated skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes to restore the crust’s crispiness. No soggy slices here!
Time-Saving Tips for Busy Pizza Nights
If you’re short on time, proof the dough for just 1 hour at room temperature before refrigerating it. This speeds up the fermentation process while still developing flavor. Alternatively, prepare the dough a day ahead and let it ferment overnight. Bonus tip: Pre-measure your ingredients the night before to make prep even quicker.
Equipment Guidance for Pizza Perfection
For the best results, use a cast iron skillet or pizza stone to bake your pizza. These tools help achieve a crispy, golden crust. If you don’t have a pizza peel, a flat baking tray dusted with flour or semolina works just as well. Don’t forget a sharp pizza cutter for clean slices!
Common Questions Answered
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant? Yes, but you’ll need to activate it in warm water first. Why is my dough too sticky? Stickiness is normal—it leads to a better crust texture. Just dust your hands and surface with flour as needed. Can I halve the recipe? Absolutely! Adjust the ingredients proportionally for smaller batches.
Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead)
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon dried yeast I use instant
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/3 cups water at blood temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl or a plastic container with a lid, add in the flour, salt and yeast. Do not add the yeast and salt directly on each other as this can deactivate the yeast.
- Mix all of your dry ingredients together well.
- Mix the oil into the water.
- Pour the blood temperature water/oil mixture in all at once and stir with a wooden spoon or your hand, which is what I prefer so you can tell by the feel of the dough if you need more water early on. Adjust the water to your flour, do not over-wet it.
- Mix it until all of the flour is incorporated into the dough and is hydrated. You don’t want any lumps of flour left dry. You can see it will be a wet, saggy dough.
- With a spatula scrape the dough off the sides of the container to join the dough. Put the lid on the container tightly or cover your bowl with plastic wrap ensuring that no air gets into your dough as it rests. Air can cause the dough to form a skin which is not good for a dough.
- Allow the dough to sit at room temperature and ferment for about 12-18 hours at cool room temperature. Or you can proof it for about one hour to get it moving and refrigerate it until you wish to use it. After18 hours in a cool place, if you are not planning on baking off the dough you can refrigerate it. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days at this stage and baked off any time. While in the fridge the flavor will deepen over that time, developing sourdough characteristics.
- The next day the dough will have more than doubled in size with lots of the bubbles on top. Also it will smell boozy and fermented. This is exactly what you want.
- Dust your hands and the surface of the dough with a little flour, just enough to prevent it from sticking to your hands. Gently turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Don’t knock out the air from the dough.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces and using extra flour to handle if needed. If you are using it from the fridge this action will wake up the dough for you. Lightly knead each portion of dough just to form a ball. Allow the dough to rest on a floured board covered for 30 minutes. Your pizza dough is ready to use!
- On a flat baking tray or pizza peel, dust it with flour or semolina. With floured hands gently stretch your pizza dough to 10 inches. You can also use a rolling pin to stretch it out. If you find the dough is springing back and is hard to stretch then let it rest for 10 minutes on the board.
- Once you have gotten your desired thickness spread on your sauce and add your topping.
- Important note: Less is more. You don’t want to add too many heavy topping on your pizza otherwise you won’t be able to slide it off the baking tray onto the cast iron tray.
- Bake at 450oF (225oC) for roughly 10 minutes or until the base is crisp and golden brown.
- Any dough that does not get used can be refrigerated or even frozen.
- NOTE: As with all dough recipes, the amount of flour will vary depending on weather, brand of flour, etc. Use as much flour as you need to handle the dough, but keep in mind that the stickier the dough, the better the texture of your pizza crust will be.