Perfect Pizza Dough Recipe Ever

Name: Perfect Pizza Dough Ever + Pizza Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 3 medium sized pizzas
Ingredients: 4 cups all purpose flour ((set aside an extra cup for later)); 2 tsp salt; 1/4 cup olive oil ((set aside an extra 2 tbsp for later); 3/4 cup warm water ((this should be warm NOT hot)); 1 tsp instant yeast; 2 tsp honey; 1 cups ice cold water ((14 ounces of water with 1-2 ice cubes in it)); cornmeal for dusting ((optional but I find it helps)); 1 bottle marinara sauce; 1 tsp dried oregano (*); 1 tsp dried basil; freshly cracked black pepper; slices of fresh mozzarella (**); fresh basil and oregano ((optional))

Pizza dough recipe

Sometimes you just feel like making your own pizza dough. While it is easy to pick the phone up and order in, there is something very gratifying about making your own pizza at home. And I am not talking about the ready-made shells type of homemade pizza (though I am not trying to throw shade at that). I am talking about the type of pizza you find at the trendy restaurants downtown. The beautiful thin crust goodness of a dough that is bursting with flavour at each and every bite.

My pizza dough recipe is pretty simple. Do not let the prep work scare you off! There are not many ingredients and honestly, the hardest part is waiting for the dough to rise and then cooking it. I mean when it comes to cooking the hardest part really is waiting to eat what you make. Unless of course, it turns out terrible – then you can order in pizza.

BUT you are not allowed to order in pizza until you give my recipe a try. If the recipe is a massive failure (for you), then I give you the go-ahead to pick up the phone and dial Dominoes for that large pizza.

For the love of pizza

Now what I like about this recipe is that it uses instant yeast. This saves you a lot of time in needing to let the dough rest. In fact, what is good about using instant yeast is that you can pretty much have the dough ready to go after about 30 minutes of resting. However, I would not recommend letting it rest for only 30 minutes. The real flavour and depth comes from letting your dough rise for at least a few hours. Ideally, you would let the dough rest overnight, but I am not a crazy person and I would never make someone wait that long to eat pizza.

My secret ingredient that really gives the dough some oomph is honey! Honey gives the dough a nice sweet touch, that really balances out the flavour of the yeast.

If you are going through the trouble of making pizza at home, I highly encourage you to use high quality ingredients! Fresh mozzarella has this light creamy flavour that really compliments the marinara sauce. I like to augment the pizza sauce by adding some dried oregano and basil as well as some freshly cracked black pepper. But what really makes this pizza taste heavenly is the fresh basil and oregano. Since it’s summer I have been growing a lot of herbs in my backyard.

Personally, I recommend baking the pizza on a pizza stone. This handy little tool has revolutionized the way we eat pizza at home. My dough becomes crispier on the outside while maintaining the yeast-y goodness on the inside. There is something incredibly rustic and rewarding about baking your pizza on a pizza stone. With that being said, you are under no obligation to use one for this recipe. I just think it adds a nice touch!

So, without further ado, here is my perfect pizza dough recipe. Enjoy!

Perfect Pizza Dough Ever + Pizza Recipe

This pizza dough is a breeze to make and doesn't require a lot of prep work. All you need to do is mix a few ingredients together and let it rise. You can make the dough the day of or even a day ahead!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 3 medium sized pizzas

Author Lulu Zayyad

Ingredients

Perfect Pizza Dough Recipe

4 cups all purpose flour (set aside an extra cup for later)
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil (set aside an extra 2 tbsp for later
3/4 cup warm water (this should be warm NOT hot)
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp honey
1 cups ice cold water (14 ounces of water with 1-2 ice cubes in it)
cornmeal for dusting (optional but I find it helps)

Ingredients for the Pizza

1 bottle marinara sauce
1 tsp dried oregano *
1 tsp dried basil
freshly cracked black pepper
slices of fresh mozzarella **
fresh basil and oregano (optional)

Instructions

In the bowl of your mixer (or a large bowl) add yeast, 2 tsp of honey and 3/4 cups of warm water (this will activate the yeast). Let rest for 10 minutes or until the mixture bubbles up
In the same bowl stir together the flour and salt. Mix until gently incorporated (should not be completely mixed)
Add in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed, mixing on low speed with the dough hook attachment. You can mix this by hand, working the dough into a smooth mass. Reverse the motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Mix dough for 5 or until the dough is smooth. If you are using the dough hook, eventually the dough will pull away from the sides. That is when the dough will be ready.
Sprinkle some flour into the bowl to coat the dough just enough so that no dough sticks to your hand. Sprinkle the 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss the dough around. Cover with plastic wrap or a warm towel and let it rise for 4-6 hours or until double in size (if you are in a rush). If you are making this the night before, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Cutting the dough into 3 equal pieces for a medium size pizza or 2 pieces for a large pizza, begin to work one piece of dough. Sprinkle flour over the dough and make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Begin to roll out the dough into the desired shape
Transfer the dough onto a pizza stone or a pizza tray that is sprinkled with cornmeal and add your desired toppings. If you are following my pizza recipe I like to add the sauce, spices, and black pepper and then distribute the remaining ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 410 degrees and bake the pizza for 30 minutes or until the crust and bottom are golden and cheese is melted to your liking. If you are using a pizza stone be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Recipe Notes

* In place of dried oregano and basil, you can use a tsp of an Italian blend of spices

** You do not have to use fresh mozzarella (although it tastes yummier). You can use grated mozzarella instead

*** Feel free to jazz up your pizza with toppings like chicken and your favourite veggies.

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See that wasn’t too bad was it? Once you start making your own dough, you will be obsessed. You will probably get so good at it that you will open up your own trendy restaurant downtown. If that is the case, then I think it’s only fair that you reward me with a lifetime of free pizzas! 😉

Let me know how your pizza dough making endeavours went down below in the comments!

Until next time!