No more store-bought pizza! Make your own fluffy pizza dough recipe from scratch at home using 6 pantry ingredients within 15 minutes (excluding resting time). It’s a crazy and smart solution to prepare a variety of pizza dough recipes with leavened dough without using electric mixer/machine. Freeze it, use it, and bake!
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Homemade pizza dough is a big bliss for me and always helps to prepare different styles of pizza recipes. Calzone, Pizza Poppers, Garlic Knots, and recently baked Chicken tandoori pizza using the same recipe.
Excited to share this foolproof recipe step by step to make extra fluffy pizza crust. Thick or thin, chew or crispy crust, whatever you want, you will be able to make just by using this recipe. My son says, you made restaurant quality pizza at home and that’s a huge review for me.
To make this recipe, only needed a few ingredients with proper scale to knead. Extremely easy to work, even beginners can also try to enjoy homemade pizza.
With this recipe, you can make one big pizza so if you want to make it in bulk then multiply the ingredients quantity accordingly.
Why This Recipe Works?
- It’s a fact that a pizza recipe never fails if you have good pizza dough or crust that becomes soft, chewy and fluffy after baking.
- This recipe will guide to make soft and extra fluffy pizza.
- Easily manage the thickness of crust as per your choice.
- Make any size of pizza.
- Only minimal ingredients use to make this recipe.
- Comfortably freeze the dough to use again.
- Homemade pizza dough will give an idea to bake variety of pizza recipes using the same dough.
- Special kneading is not required. Knead the dough with hand.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Yeast: Use active dry yeast or instant yeast as per the choice. Instant yeast require no proofing. You can directly add in flour to rise the dough. Active dry yeast require proofing so choose according to your preference.
Sugar: It will help to accelerate the fermentation process of active dry yeast.
Water: Use lukewarm water (115F). Don't use cold or hot water to proof the yeast.
All Purpose Flour: Use the best flour for pizza as it helps to maintain the delicate crust. Gluten in flour will make it stretchy while the protein content will make the firm dough. If the protein is lower dough will show the soft texture. Get more insigh about pizza flour.
Olive Oil: It's best to use the olive oil to add lubrication in dough. The substitute is avocado oil and coconut oil.
Salt: It will not only help to balance the flavor of flour and yeast but also help to bind and strengthen the gluten in dough.
How To Make Fluffy Pizza Dough
Step 1: Yeast Proofing: In a deep bowl pour lukewarm water (range: 105°F to 115°F), and add active dry yeast and granulated white sugar. Give it a good mix, cover it, and let it proof for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, as the yeast shows a bubble and foamy texture move to the next step.
Step 2: Prepare Dough: In the same bowl of activated yeast, add all-purpose flour, salt, and olive oil. Crumble with your hands to mix all ingredients. Now add a little water (if required) and make a soft dough. Knead it for 2 to 3 minutes to make it firm in texture.
[Tip]: If the dough sticking on hands than apply oil on hands as it help you to easily knead the dough.
Alternatively, you can use electric mixer to make the dough.
Step 3: Cover the Dough for Resting: Apply a little oil at the top of the dough to avoid dryness. Now securely cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep it in at warm place without any hindrance for about 2 hours.
[Tip]: I prefer to place in my oven (turned off). Also, make sure the bowl is deep as it help to double the size of dough.
After 2 hours, remove the plastic wrap and punch the dough to release air. Make sure to use flour or oil in your hand to avoid dough sticking issues.
Knead it on board for a few minutes to settle the dough.
Step 4: Roll The Dough: Distribute the dough according to the size of the pizza and make a ball for each distribution. Flat it with a hand or use a roll pin (for beginners) to make a big circular or rectangular flatbread.
Step 5: Place the dough on the Pizza Tray: Shift the flatbread with your hand on the pizza tray and try to twist the edges of the dough with finger as it becomes fluffy after baking.
[Tip]: Brush a little oil on the base of the pizza tray and then place the rolled pizza. To save time, I prefer to flat the dough directly on a pizza tray as it saves time.
Step 6: Apply Topping: First start with brushing pizza sauce. Use homemade or store-bought. Make sure the pizza sauce should not water or runny in texture. Next is to make a generous topping of cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Load with different pizza topping like chicken chunks, salmon, veggies, pepperoni, or sausages.
Step 7: Bake the Pizza: Preheat the oven and bake at 475°F for 15 minutes. Make sure to check the best baking temperature of your oven. Mine took 10 to 15 minutes. Oven temperature varies with different brands.
Pizza Dough Video
Tips For Best Pizza Crush
- Use the good quality yeast. I prefer to use active dry yeast or instant yeast.
- Instant yeast can directly add in flour without rehydration. It's a rapid rise yeast.
- Active dry yeast take more time to rise the dough compared with instant yeast.
- Never dissolve the yeast in hot water.
- Sugar will help to activate the yeasty nature of yeast. Don't skip it! It will not make the dough sweet in taste.
- Monitor the quantity of water to make the dough as more can make it runny than you need to add more flour to fix it. I prefer to add water in batches to avoid this issue.
- Always give enough resting time to fully rise the dough.
- Don't open or create hinderance while dough is resting.
What You Can Make With Pizza Dough
How To Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough
It's easy to freeze the homemade pizza dough. After rising the dough, knead it and make different size that you want to bake. Place it in a freezer bag individually and freeze it for 2 months.
When you need, take it out before 5 to 8 hours and thawed it at room temperature or in fridge.
Make sure the frozen dough should be at room temperature before baking.
Store the Leftover Pizza
It's best to store the leftovers in glass container and place in refrigerator for 3 days. To reheat, microwave for 3 minutes. Or reheat on skillet at stovetop.
Q & A
Pizza dough doesn't rise just because of these common reasons:
- Yeast is expired/old or not a good quality.
- More flour or less yeast.
- Dough resting time was not enough.
- Yeast dissolve in cold or hot water.
- Didn't use the sugar.
- Fix this problem by adding little baking powder in all purpose flour make a mix with little water and add in your pizza dough that didn't rise. Knead the dough for few minutes and rest it for 1 hour. It will 70% will do the job.
Knead the dough with wet hand or add a little lukewarm water and knead it again. Cover it and Keep it in microwave/oven (turned off) for an hour to get soft and firm in texture.
Add little flour in batches and knead the dough to manage the dough consistency. Apply flour or oil in hand to avoid sticking issues.
I personally love to work with wet (high hydration) pizza dough as it helps to make chewy and crispy crust. Deal with it and you will love the end result.
If the flour to water ratio is 80 to 70% (High hydration dough). The crust will be more crispy compared with traditional pizza crust. Try it!
Fluffy Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Lukewarm water Temperature: 115°F
- 1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 2.5 Cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
Active Dry Yeast Proofing
- In a deep bowl pour lukewarm water (range: 105°F to 115°F), and add active dry yeast and granulated white sugar. Give it a good mix, cover it, and let it proof for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, as the yeast shows bubbles and foamy texture move to the next step.
Prepare The Dough
- In the same bowl of activated yeast, add all-purpose flour, salt, and olive oil. Crumble with your hands to mix all ingredients. Now add a little water (if it required) and make a soft dough. Knead it for 2 to 3 minutes to make it firm in texture. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer to make the dough.
Cover the Dough for Resting
- Apply a little oil at the top of the dough to avoid dryness. Now securely cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place without any hindrance for about 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, remove the plastic wrap and punch the dough to release air. Make sure to use flour or oil in your hand to avoid dough sticking issues.
- Knead it on board for a few minutes to settle the dough.
Roll The Dough
- Distribute the dough according to the size of the pizza and make a ball for each distribution.
- Flat it with a hand or use a rolling pin (for beginners) to make a big circular or rectangular flatbread.
Place the dough on the Pizza Tray
- Shift the flatbread with a hand on the pizza tray and try to twist the edges of the dough with a finger as it becomes fluffy after baking.
Apply Topping
- First start with brushing pizza sauce. Use homemade or store-bought. Make sure the pizza sauce should not be water or runny in texture.
- Add a generous topping of cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
- Load the topping with more options like chicken chunks, salmon, veggies, pepperoni, or sausages.
Bake the Pizza
- Preheat the oven and bake at 475°F for 15 minutes. Make sure to check the best baking temperature of your oven. Mine took 10 to 15 minutes. Oven temperature varies with different brands.
Tonya
This dough is fluffy and delicious