We LOVE homemade pizza, and this is the best homemade pizza dough recipe I’ve made. It comes out thick, yet still fluffy, and the flavor is amazing. Best of all, it’s a quick dough recipe so you can have your pizza in the oven in no time!
Best Pizza Crust
Pizza is one of our family’s favorite foods. I’ve mentioned it before, but Forrest loved making homemade pizza when he was growing up. On our first Valentine’s Day, Forrest made me pizzas (as in…like five), and he introduced me to how fun and delicious it can be to make homemade pizza. Recently, we’ve been making a lot of homemade pizza — usually on the weekends — and I think it’s becoming a weekly tradition.
Since Jack is on a gluten-free diet, I’ve searched high and low for the best gluten-free pizza crust. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a recipe, but we are really loving Pamela’s gluten-free pizza mix. A friend suggested it, and it tastes great – Forrest even mentioned he forgot it was gluten-free…which is saying something because he always comments on things tasting gluten-free. Ha! Anyways, a few weeks ago, we invited my little brother over to go bowling and make pizza. While I made a gluten-free pizza for Jack, we decided to make a traditional, gluten-filled crust as well..and boy, was it delicious.
I had been looking around for an easy, fast-rising pizza dough recipe recently. There are a lot of them online, but they always seemed to have something missing. So I looked at a bunch and then kind of created my own. This turned out great. My little brother said it was better than Pizza Hut (which is saying something. He likes Pizza Hut a lot!) At first, I thought it wasn’t done, because it didn’t get golden brown…but it tasted perfect, so we just looked past that. It takes a very short time to make and let it rise, and it tastes great.
One thing to keep in mind is that you need to use fresh yeast. We made this another time, and it turned out super dense, which we feel was because our yeast was pretty old. However, it’s turned out really delicious every other time…so I still call it a win. This is great for college students, or people who just don’t want to wait forever for pizza dough to rise!
This recipe makes two pizza crusts – we only used one when we made it with my brother though. We used the other half to make cheesy garlic bread . . .
and cinnamon sticks!
Here is a video of us making it!
Which were both big hits. For the cinnamon sticks, you just need to spread melted butter on top of the dough and combine together about 1/4 cup sugar with 1-2 teaspoon cinnamon. For the garlic bread, just mix about 1/4 cup melted butter with garlic, spread that on top of the dough, and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Both bake at 425 for about 10 minutes. YUM!
Best Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 packages of quick rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5-5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Add water, yeast, and sugar to a mixing bowl. Stir and then let proof for about 5 minutes.
- Add salt, honey, and about 2.5 cups of flour. Mix with a dough hook by hand.
- Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough doesn't stick to your hands.
- Form until ball and knead several times (or use a dough hook for this part.)
- Place in an oiled boil, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at least 30 minutes. The longer it rises, the better.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Form pizza on a stone or pizza pan
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Add toppings& sauce and then bake 10-15 minutes more.
- Enjoy!
Michelle says
If I put on a metal baking sheet should I grease the pan first? Excited to try!
Katie says
Yes, I would!
Kelly Gillund says
Awesome recipe! Thank you!!
Katie says
So glad you love it!!
Sara says
Hi! I am new to making my own doughs, but I am so excited to try this. Could I make the dough in the morning and have it sit in the fridge or on the counter until I’m ready to bake for dinner?
Katie says
Hi, Sara! It would likely get really big if you let it set out all day – but I haven’t actually tried it! I think you could safely put it in the fridge.
Sara says
Thanks so much for your quick response, Katie!
Katie says
Of course!
Trista says
How much is in a “packet” of yeast? I have a large container of instant yeast so I’m not sure how much to add this recipe. Also does this make 2 full (not thin) crusts?
Katie says
Hi, Trista! One packet of yeast is approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast. The thickness is shown in the pictures – it makes two crusts that size. I wouldn’t say it’s thin!
Trista says
Thank you!!!
Katie says
Good luck!
Deana Slone says
It made 3 really good thin crusts for us. Make sure to use cornmeal on the board you use to put it in the oven. You can also roll it around a rolling pin and place it on the pan and then build you pizza.
Katie says
Thanks for sharing, Deana!
Veronica Udall says
This is a great recipe! So simple and fast! It’s super fun to make! Definitely keeping it in my recipe board! Love it!
V Byrne says
Super easy and super yummy! I’ve never had much luck with pizza dough but this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much!
Katie says
Thank you! So glad!
Deana says
I love this recipe and my husband thanks you for it because he could live on pizza. We made Stromboli with it.
Dianna says
Well this just turned out fantastically! Super easy and yummy! Love that the recipe yielded enough dough for 2 good sized pizzas. I can’t wait to play with it again and maybe try the cinnamon sticks. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Katie says
So glad you loved it! I appreciate you coming back to comment 🙂
Cora says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I tried many different pizza crust recipes before this one, and now I make yours almost every week. I have made it more times than I can count! I only do one thing differently–I sub 2 Cups of the flour for Spelt flour, so then I usually add about 3 1/2 cups of white flour after that. And if I want a thin crust, I don’t wait for the dough to rise. Again, my whole family thanks you for this great recipe!!
Brian says
I like that this recipe only has to sit for at least 30 minutes. I’d like to try it in our wood fired pizza oven.
How important is the pre baking, or is that only for thin crust? Is this just a thin crust recipe?
Katie says
I don’t think pre-baking is SUPER important. I skip that step a lot 😀
Shireen says
I can i use instant active yeast and how many tsp for this recipe
Katie says
You can – just use the same amount that is in this recipe. I believe I use instant active yeast!
Jordan says
Can I use brewer’s yeast or Fleischmanns bread machin yeast?
Katie says
I would not use Brewer’s. Bread machine might work, but I haven’t personally tried!
Brittani says
This is a family favorite in our house as well! SOOO fast and sooo easy and sooooo tasty! Love it! Thanks!
Katie says
So glad you love it! Thanks for commenting and letting me know 🙂
Stephanee Phillips says
What do you think about freezing the other half (second crust)? My dough is currently rising and looking beautiful! I can’t say how well it tastes yet (although I have no doubts) but, we are making a ham and cheese sandwich loaf out of it. My kids eat the SAME THING EVERY DAY FOR LUNCH and I am tired of it! I hope this will be an addition to our lunch list that they will love!
Katie says
We have frozen it several times and LOVED it. A ham and cheese sandwich loaf sounds excellent. I hope that the dough lives up to your expectations 🙂
Car says
At what point do you freeze it?
Katie says
After the dough is completely made 🙂
Andy V says
Can I substitute agave nectar for the honey in a pinch?
Katie says
I haven’t tried that, but I imagine it could work. Let me know if you try it!
Laurissa says
This recipe is fantastic! What a life saver!! Going to try pretzels here soon!
Katie says
So glad you love it! Let me know how the pretzels turn out!
Tanya says
Why do you bake the dough prior to putting on sauce and toppings? That is what the directions call for, correct?
Katie says
Hello! It’s to help prevent the crust from getting soggy. It is called par-baking. This is especially important if you are doing a thin crust.
Rita says
Can I make this with whole wheat flour? Thanks!
Katie says
I actually made a whole wheat version! https://www.clarkscondensed.com/food/the-best-honey-whole-wheat-pizza-crust-recipe/
Debbie says
What does proof mean?can I leave out salt?
Katie says
Proof basically means let it sit. I would not leave out the salt. Salt adds a flavor that will be lost otherwise. Good luck!
Agleris says
I have made this dough two times and my family loves it, Our children asks for pizza and “nuditos” = bread knots (same as garlic bread) all the time. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe, It is a must have. Love from Puerto Rico.
Katie says
Thanks so much for letting me know! It’s always nice to hear that a recipe has become a family favorite 🙂