How Long Do I Cook Pizza Dough

This Easy Homemade Pizza Dough recipe yields the best homemade pizza in 30 minutes from start to finish! It's made with only 5 ingredients and does not require any rising!

Front view of a ball of Easy Homemade Pizza Dough recipe

I got my very first job when I was 14, answering phones at our favorite local pizza place. It was owned by a very nice man who was friends with my dad. So I went into the office at my Junior High, got a work permit, and embarked on my employment journey!

I worked there for years, and loved every second of it. I truly believe my experiences there were critical in shaping and molding me into the person I became. Plus, it gave me a deep appreciation and understanding of truly great pizza.

Since I have such high pizza standards, we usually opt to make it ourselves. We make this easy pizza dough recipe (paired with this homemade pizza sauce) at least once a week, and I am a firm believer that the deliciousness of a pizza lies in the quality of it's crust.

This Easy Pizza Dough recipe comes together really fast (because there's zero rising required - although rising is an option) that it's hard to believe you can make the best pizza crust with so little effort! Plus, this dough is vegan and can be made gluten-free.

We make homemade pizza weekly, and I was tired of crust recipes that required waiting for the dough to undergo multiple rises over the course of many hours. I needed a recipe that tasted amazing but could be thrown together in 30 minutes, flat! So here it is.

overhead view of a ball of Easy Homemade Pizza Dough recipe

How to make Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

Since we make this easy homemade pizza dough recipe once a week, I have many tips and tricks to ensure it turns out perfectly every time. So let's walk through the process step by step, and don't forget to watch the video.

Note: you can mix this pizza dough by hand or use a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook!

Proof the yeast

Begin this recipe by proofing the yeast, which means mixing together water, sugar and yeast and letting it sit until it becomes foamy and bubbly (about 5 minutes). It's important that you use warm, but not hot water. Ideally around 105 degrees F.

If the water is too warm it will kill the yeast and it won't proof (become nice and foamy and activated). Use a thermometer to measure the temperature if you aren't confident in your ability to guess. But it should be warm to the touch but not feel hot.

overhead photo showing yeast proofing in a glass bowl to make homemade pizza dough

Make some homemade pizza sauce

While your yeast is proofing, take 5 minutes and make this homemade sauce (you won't be sorry).

front view showing spreading sauce over Homemade Pizza Dough

Make the homemade pizza dough

Once the yeast is proofed, add the olive oil, 2 cups of the flour and salt and stir to combine. The dough will start to form a sticky ball, add more flour as needed. Once it does, transfer it to a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until a smooth ball forms.

two overhead photos showing How to Make Pizza Dough - mixing the dough

Knead the dough

I make this easy pizza dough recipe by hand, but it can easily be made and kneaded in a standing mixer. It's so fast and simple that I prefer to save some dishes and not pull out my mixer for this one.

Knead it until it becomes smooth and not sticky. Adding a little extra floured may be required to achieve the perfect consistency. Be sure to only add it 1-2 TBS at a time so you don't overdo it.

overhead photo of a ball of homemade pizza dough

Optional - Let the dough rise

If you have more than 30 minutes you can let this dough rise until doubled in size at this point. It results in a softer, more tender dough but rising is not necessary for a great pizza.

two overhead photos showing How to Make Pizza Dough - dough before and after rising in a bowl

Roll the homemade pizza dough

Once the dough is smooth and elastic, form into your desired shape. We usually make one circular and one rectangular pizza because those are the shapes of our pizza stones. However we have made them in fun shapes too, including a football for the Super Bowl, and obviously round like in this post.

Once you form it into the desired shape, roll it out on a well-floured surface until it's about ½" thick.

photo showing How to Make Pizza Dough - rolling out the dough

Pre-bake (optional)

If you don't have a pizza stone (which we discuss in a minute) you may want to pre-bake the pizza crust before putting the toppings on. I have had a few too many experiences with perfectly browned cheese on top of disappointing, undercooked crust. Boo! So, to make sure that doesn't happen I do two things...

Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes (no more) in the preheated oven until it looks slightly set and a little bubbly (not brown at all)
Bake the pizza on the lower rack of your oven to ensure the crust is closer to the heating element than than the cheese. I use a convection oven and still choose to do this.

If you have a pizza stone that can be preheated, there is no need to pre-bake the crust.

Prick the dough with a fork

If you notice pockets of air forming in the dough while it's baking, simply prick it with a fork to let the gas out. This happens to me sometimes when I pre-bake the dough, and it's a problem that is easily solved! To prevent this from happening, you can always prick the dough with a fork before baking.

front view showing How to Make Pizza Dough - dough rolled out on parchment paper

Add toppings and bake

Once the dough is pre-baked, slather on the sauce, toppings, etc. and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Use a pizza stone

Since we make pizza so regularly we invested in two pizza stones. We LOVE baking our pizzas on a stone because it crisps the bottom nicely and there's no pre-baking required, making the recipe even easier.

We form our pizza on a piece of parchment paper and use a pizza peel to transfer it from the counter to the stone in the oven.

photo showing How to Make Pizza Dough - assembled pizza on a pizza peel ready to go into the oven

A few tips on making the best homemade pizza:

Use great sauce.If your sauce is just bleh, you pizza will be too. As I've said throughout your post, this 5-minute homemade sauce is the best.
Add a little cheese before the toppings.This was a trick I learned working at the pizza place. Starting with a very thin layer of cheese helps the toppings stick. It also creates like a cheese-topping sandwich on top of your pizza, which is just amazing .
Watch the pizza carefully.The pizza goes from almost done to too brown fairly quickly. So be careful!

Cool & Serve

To avoid burning your mouth on lava hot sauce, let the finished pizza cool for at least 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving. We use these pizza scissors to cut our pizzas and it's so easy!

up close overhead view of Homemade Pizza Dough after baking

To make ahead:

You can make this pizza dough in advance. Mix it together and form a ball, then place it in a bowl and tightly cover it with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Store it in the refrigerator until ready to use (up to overnight).

To freeze

You an freeze this homemade pizza dough in a few ways:

Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container or plastic bag.
Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes without toppings. Let it cool, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. To use, let it thaw, add toppings and bake according to the recipe.
Freeze a fully assembled pizza before baking. You can make your own frozen pizzas by making this pizza dough, topping it with sauce and toppings and flash-freezing it on a baking sheet. One it's hardened, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw and bake.

front view of a baked pizza using Homemade Pizza Dough

Easily Doubled (or tripled)

This homemade pizza dough recipe iseasily doubled or tripled. I love serving homemade pizza with a huge salad (especially this burrata salad) when we have guests over for dinner. You can also make the crust into small personal pizzas and let the kids put their own toppings on it, which is really fun.

Recipe FAQs

Can I freeze this pizza dough?

Yes, there are three ways to freeze this dough:
1. Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container or plastic bag.
2. Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes without toppings. Let it cool, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. To use, let it thaw, add toppings and bake according to the recipe.
3. Freeze a fully assembled pizza before baking. You can make your own frozen pizzas by making this pizza dough, topping it with sauce and toppings and flash-freezing it on a baking sheet. One it's hardened, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw and bake.

Can I let the dough rise?

Yes, for a thicker, fluffier dough let it rise for 15-30 minutes, or until doubled.

Can I make this dough the night before?

Yes, to make this dough the night before put it in a bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and a damp towel and store it in the refrigerator.

Homemade Pizza Dough: Ingredients & Substitutions

All-purpose flour.I regularly use a mixture of whole wheat & all-purpose flour to make this easy pizza crust recipe. I recommend substituting ½ to 1 cup of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. You can also use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking flour with great results. If you're looking for a whole wheat pizza dough recipe, this one is the best!
Sugar.honey can be used in place of sugar.
Olive oil.Any neutral tasting oil works perfectly in this recipe, I suggest olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil.
Toppings: The unanimous pizza topping of choice for my family is pepperoni. My hubby prefers turkey pepperoni. But you can top your dough with anything. My personal favorite is a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar, spinach, green peppers and goat cheese!

Vegan Pizza Crust

The crust is vegan, so you can make some pretty amazing vegan pizzas out of this recipe, and save yourself lots of money buying vegan options at the store.

overhead view of a piece of pizza cut into a triangle using Homemade Pizza Dough

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Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

This Easy Homemade Pizza Dough recipe yields the best ever homemade pizza in 30 minutes from start to finish! It's made with only 5 ingredients and does not require any rising! Plus it is vegan with a gluten-free option.

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course bread, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 1 large pizza (12 Servings)

Calories 67 kcal

▢ 1 cup warm water 105-110 degrees F
▢ 1 TBS sugar
▢ 1 TBS active dry yeast
▢ 1 TBS olive oil
▢ 2 to 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour*
▢ 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a pizza pan or large jelly roll pan and set aside.
Put warm water into a large mixing bowl.
Add sugar and yeast and stir to combine.
Let mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbles form.
Add olive oil and gently stir to combine.
Add 2 cups of flour and salt and mix with a spatula until a ball begins to form (dough will still be slightly sticky). Add more flour as needed to form a dough ball.
Transfer to a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough, adding up to ½ cup extra flour if needed.
Roll dough into your desired shape and gently transfer to your prepared pan. (Or bake on a pizza stone, see instructions in the notes).
To ensure the dough doesn't form air pockets, use a fork to prick to the dough all around (gently so you do not poke holes all the way through the crust).
Bake on the lower rack of your preheated oven for 5 minutes and remove from your oven. (this is just to very slightly prebake the dough). If you notice air bubbles forming, poke them with a fork to let the air out.
Add pizza sauce and toppings of choice!
Bake on the lower rack of your oven for around 15-20 minutes until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned.
Let cool, cut and serve.

Optional Rise:

If you have more than 30 minutes you can let this dough rise until doubled in size after you form a smooth ball. It results in a softer, more tender dough but rising is not necessary for a delicious pizza.