How to Make Pizza Dough Step by Step
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Make Your Own Pizza
Roll up your sleeves and get ready to learn the basics of How to Make the Best Pizza Dough.
What Will You Find Here?
- The Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
- Step 1: The Yeast
- Step 2: Mixing Your Dough
- Step 3: Kneading the Dough
- Step 4: Wait
- Step 5: Rolling The Dough Into Shape
- Watch this Video to Learn How to Roll Out the Dough
- Step 6: Transform the Dough into a Pizza
- Pizza Books on Amazon
- I Recommend These Two Books in Particular
- More Recipes for Pizza Dough
- Thick or Thin?
- Learn How to Make Your Pizza Crust Even Better!
- Pizza Stones on Amazon
- What's Your Favorite Pizza Topping?
- Pizza Stuff on eBay
- Blogging About Pizza Dough
- Are You in the Mood to Do a Bit of Shopping?
- Here's a Great Recipe for Fall
- More Yummy Food and Recipes
- Let Me Know!
The Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
Use more flour if necessary to get a soft dough.
Photo courtesy of Flickr and Sarah and Jason
The following ingredients are the basis for most standard white-flour dough/crust recipes. Some people like to use olive oil. You can put lots of other things into the dough too. Try herbs like basil, oregano, or rosemary. Put in some minced garlic or garlic powder, but be a little careful here; too much garlic can retard the action of the yeast (pamper that yeast). I'll bet some chopped sun-dried tomatoes would be yummy.
1 package active dry yeast (2 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (105° to 115°, no more)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
(optional) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little for coating
Step 1: The Yeast
Photo courtesy of Diamond-Mind
Dissolve the yeast in warm water (this takes about five minutes). You'll know it's working if it bubbles up like the picture here. It doesn't have to bubble quite so much, but you want at least a few bubbles.
Make sure your water is not too hot. You want it quite warm, but not hot. High temperatures will kill the yeast. Too much garlic or too much salt will also mess it up. Yeast is such a pansy.
How does yeast work?
What's the difference between dry yeast and cake yeast?
What's the difference between regular yeast and rapid-rise?
Step 2: Mixing Your Dough
Photo courtesy of Flickr and Life on Mars
If making your dough by hand, stir until the mixture forms a ball, using a little more flour or water to get a ball that holds together but is soft and sticky. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about five minutes.
If you have a mixer with a dough hook, knead the ingredients on low for about five minutes with the dough hook.
Why do I have to knead the dough, anyway?
Step 3: Kneading the Dough
Rather than reading about the kneading process, watch this video.
Step 4: Wait
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap........
Photo courtesy of Shelli Akers
Once the dough has been kneaded enough to be really smooth and stretchy, it needs to rest (you would need a rest too, if you had just been through that). Place the dough ball into a greased bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it sit in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in volume. This may take one to two hours.
What should I do if the dough doesn't rise?
Where should I put the dough to get the best rise?
What if I have to leave before the dough is finished rising?
Can I make a pizza crust that I don't have to knead?
Step 5: Rolling The Dough Into Shape
Photo courtesy of Flickr and Benjamin Harrison
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and move it, by hand or with a rolling pin, into the desired shape and thickness. You'll need to keep your hands a little floury to keep them from sticking to the dough. If you're rolling out the dough, sprinkle it with a bit of flour as it begins to get too sticky to work. Make sure your edges are a little thicker than the rest of the pie crust.
Watch this Video to Learn How to Roll Out the Dough
Includes a yummy recipes for a thin-crust pizza.
Step 6: Transform the Dough into a Pizza
This is the best part.
Photo courtesy of Flickr and Jeezuz84
Sprinkle a little cornmeal onto your baking sheet or pizza stone. Transfer carefully to baking sheet or stone and add the desired toppings. Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is melted and lightly browned.When you pull it out of the oven, transfer the pizza from the baking sheet to a rack for a few minutes. This helps to keep the bottom from getting soggy (we all hate soggy bottoms).
How do you use a pizza stone?
Pizza Books on Amazon
I Recommend These Two Books in Particular
More Recipes for Pizza Dough
Using the same technique, you can make wonderful variations.
- Thin Crust Dough
- Crispy, crunchy.
- Whole Wheat Dough
- Has more protein, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Healthy and tasty, too!
- New York Style Dough
- Thick edges and very thin middle. Yummo!
- Sicilian Crust Dough
- Toppings are baked right into the dough.
- Cornmeal Crust
- Stronger flavor and great for bold toppings. Try it as a Mexican pizza.
- Mitch's Basic Pizza Dough
- With a big spoonful of honey.
- Quick Pizza Dough Recipes
- Lots of quick and easy recipes from Cooks.com.
Thick or Thin?
I'm not talking about your waist after you eat pizza.
People seem to have some strong opinions about their pizza crusts. Vote for your favorite type of crust in this extremely official, scientific poll. Make your favorite crust the most popular.
Learn How to Make Your Pizza Crust Even Better!
Secrets for the perfect pizza crust
Pizza Stones on Amazon
Pizza stones are absolutely worth having.
Pizza Stuff on eBay
Blogging About Pizza Dough
- Ex-Hawthorne mayor pleads guilty to stealing food mixer
- At the time of his 2010 arrest, Guidi ?- long a polarizing figure in city politics -? reportedly told police that he wanted the kitchen device for mixing pizza dough for the large weekend backyard parties he enjoyed throwing for friends and family.
- Local Pizza Place Raises Dough For St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Domino's Pizza stores in Bowling Green raised nearly 1400 dollars for Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital. It was all part of the "Thanks and Giving" campaign that ended last month. Representatives for Saint Jude say the hospital is free for ...
- Papa Murphy's saw dough rise by 10 percent in 2011
- By The Columbian Convenience-focused consumers helped Vancouver-based Papa Murphy's International draw a larger slice of the multibillion-dollar pizza industry pie in 2011, according to a statement issued Monday. Sales across the chain grew to $702 ...
- Learn to make pizza dough for a do-it-yourself party
- "Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day," by Jeff Hertzberg, MD, and Zoe Francois (Thomas Dunne Books), has a technique to prep the dough that will make you wonder why you've been buying pizza dough (and bread - this is the third book in ...

Countdown to Christmas
Here's a Great Recipe for Fall
More Yummy Food and Recipes
Let Me Know!
I really like to read your comments, so leave some.
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gigglinggranny
Feb 5, 2012 @ 8:34 pm | delete
- Great Lens! I have been making my pizza with the no knead artisan Dough. I will have to give your method a try. I love pizza!
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cdevries
Feb 5, 2012 @ 6:09 pm | delete
- The kneading video was helpful (along with your other advice) thanks!
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BradKamer Jan 17, 2012 @ 6:52 pm | delete
- "yeast is such a pansy". LOL; it sure is. Great lens. I love a good pie with Italian sausage, fresh mushrooms (not canned), and even a little finely chopped garlic on top. These are great step by step instructions on this lens.
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InternetInfoGuy
Jan 6, 2012 @ 4:08 am | delete
- The dough is what makes the pizza! Not to thick & not to thin...
Everyone loves pizza and everyone should make it to their own tastes, but once you get a base to start with the possibilities are endless!
You have a great lense here, Keep up the great work!
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GiselleToner
Dec 30, 2011 @ 6:03 am | delete
- Great info. Sadly I can never get my dough good enough no matter how hard I try. will see how your recipes work. thanks for sharing
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Deadicated
Dec 26, 2011 @ 11:46 am | delete
- Love the lens and pizza, that would be my food of choice if stuck on a desert island. I added this lens to my Zeppole lens; and just unlocked a Squidoo Ad, so you may be seeing more traffic to your already popular Pizza lens. Have a Happy New Year!
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tinaanne
Dec 1, 2011 @ 10:27 pm | delete
- will try the dough for my family. Thanks for the recipes
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veryirie
Nov 28, 2011 @ 12:41 am | delete
- I haven't tried making my own pizza dough in a long while. Thanks for such a thorough recipe. :)
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diaperbagdiva
Nov 17, 2011 @ 6:45 pm | delete
- Great lens! Can't wait to get my own pizza dough started. Thanks for sharing!
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gonzalezdenise Nov 11, 2011 @ 7:24 pm | delete
- Thanks, you have a wonderful lens. I will be visiting again when I make pizza.
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