We make a lot of pizzas in our house. In fact, we make them so often that we have had the opportunity to totally refine our dough making process since the last time we posted a recipe. When we received a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas in 2010, we started comparing our old stand-by recipe with the food processor versus one with a stand mixer.
The results of the experimenting led to a new winner – the stand mixer. While the food processor method works well too (and kneading by hand is also an option!), we get great and consistent results every time with the mixer. Using the mixer, and a single rise, the dough almost melts into shape when you stretch it. Also, you can adjust the dough while it is mixing – a little flour here, a bit of water there – which helps make it a very reliable method.
Pizza is the most common meal that we serve to guests. It’s easy to make, pleases everyone, and is quite healthy if made at home (and you’d be surprised at the number of sworn carnivores who don’t even notice that a delicious homemade pizza is meat-free).
If you’re up for the challenge, below is the recipe to go along with our instructional Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Video!
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Pizza Dough–Stand Mixer Method
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Prep Time: 1 hour - Cook Time: 6 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 6 mins
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Yield: 2 medium pizzas -
Category: Pizza Dough -
Cuisine: Italian
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Pin RecipeDescription
Start out by watching our Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Video
Ingredients
- 450 grams (3 cups) flour
- 2 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
- 1/2 tablespoon (1 glug) olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon (2 pinches) kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cups warm water
- Cornmeal
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all ingredients (except cornmeal). Leave out a small amount of the water.
- Using the dough hook from the mixer, stir until a loose dough forms. If a dough doesn’t form, add the rest of the water. If the dough is extremely wet and sticky, and a pinch of flour.
- Attach the dough hook to the mixer and start on a low speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium until a ball forms. This should take about 30 seconds. If the dough does not release from the sides of the bowl, add a pinch of flour. If the dough is very dry and floury, add a small amount of water.
- Once the dough forms into a ball, allow the mixer to knead for 8 minutes at medium-high.
- After the kneading is finished, divide the dough in half. Using floured hands, gently shape each dough into a boule. Set each boule on a floured surface and dab with a little bit of olive oil to keep moist. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- To stretch the dough, pick up the risen dough and gently shape it into a circle. Do not over-work or fold the dough. Drape the dough over both of your knuckles and rotate it around, allowing gravity to stretch it into a circle. If the dough starts to resist stretching, put it down and allow it to rest for a few minutes, at which point it will stretch more easily.
- Sprinkle a little bit of cornmeal onto a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Place the stretched dough onto the peel and quickly add toppings. Cook at 500° for 5-7 minutes until browned. Enjoy!
Notes
Start this recipe about an hour before you want to make your pizza. Start pre-heating your oven 15 minutes into the rise time.
About the Authors
Sonja Overhiser
Cookbook Author and writer
Sonja Overhiser is author and recipe developer of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the “best vegetarian cookbooks” by Epicurious, and a recipe developer and healthy & sustainable food advocate behind the award-nominated food blog A Couple Cooks.
132 Comments
Jessica
January 19, 2012 at 6:20 amLove this! And I can’t wait to go watch the video of y’all in motion! :-)
Liz
January 19, 2012 at 9:19 amI’m already excited to try this out and I haven’t even watched your video yet. My husband and I have made a flour-cornmeal pizza crust before and this looks tasty too.
I have to say, I love the specificity and details in your recipe and the wording you use to explain everything. It’s so much easier to grasp than some of the other food blogs I read. The only part that I feel slightly unsure of is the whole knuckling the dough to stretch it out bit, but I’m sure the video will clear that up.
(We’re going to make your Greek Quesadillas tonight! Lol. I typed “Geek” first.)
Alex
January 19, 2012 at 10:11 amThanks! We’ve tried to make our recipes as clear as possible. One of the reasons I wanted to do a video was to explain the “knuckling” technique! It’s so hard to say in words, but really not that complicated. It helps to prevent you from tearing the dough while stretching.
Hope you enjoy the Geek Quesadillas!
kcanded
February 13, 2018 at 1:46 amIt’s not clear from the recipe that you’re not supposed to add cornmeal to the dough. You say later in the recipe that you put a pinch of cornmeal in the pan before putting in the dough, but in step one you say to ‘combine all the ingredients’.
Sonja
March 14, 2018 at 2:15 pmWe’ve updated the instructions to make this more clear. THANKS so much for your feedback!
ren
December 31, 2017 at 7:13 pmJust made this and it was perfect. really nice to stretch and my kids helped too :)
Sonja
January 14, 2018 at 2:20 pmWhat fun that your kiddos helped in the kitchen — LOVE IT! We’re so glad this was a success.
Melissa @ Kids in the Sink
January 19, 2012 at 9:36 amI got a Kitchen Aid this past Christmas and couldn’t WAIT to start making my own pizza crust. I had been making homemade pizza crust in my bread machine but isn’t as good as in a stand mixer. This recipe has a little less oil though so I think I’ll try yours soon. I’ve also been trying to sub white wheat in place of some white flour. Have you tried this? I might try starting with 1 cup white wheat and 2 cups regular all purpose. Or do you use bread flour? Thanks for the delicious recipes!
Alex
January 19, 2012 at 10:20 amWe just use standard all-purpose flour (I like King Arthur). You can definitely add up to 1/2 whole wheat flour, but the texture of the dough changes. We’ve decided that we get plenty of whole grains elsewhere, so we enjoy the goodness of white flour pizza dough.
Kelly
January 20, 2012 at 7:46 pmThis recipe is amazing! By far the BEST pizza dough I’ve ever tried. It even beats my mom’s!
Angie
January 22, 2012 at 2:16 pmWe too make a lot of pizzas at home – they are perfect to experiment with. And our dough is a mixer recipe – you’ve got to love it!
Janet
January 23, 2012 at 12:15 pmHi there – Thanks for the recipe and video – we made this recipe over the weekend and loved it.
Have you ever frozen or refrigerated the dough after it rises? Just wondering since it make two pizzas and we only ate one (we made the second one and at it the next day for lunch).
Thanks, Janet
Alex
January 23, 2012 at 12:21 pmHi! Glad you enjoyed the recipe :)
You can refrigerate the dough for a couple of days (watch out, it will expand!), or freezing in a baggie works fine as well.
Although it doesn’t harm the dough, I find it to be a little bit more difficult to stretch it out with both of these methods than when it is fresh.
Hope that helps!
Tracee
January 28, 2012 at 9:27 pmI’m a good “cook”…but new to “baking”. This was our second attempt at pizza dough and I’ll be honest…I wasn’t feeling too good since our first try was an epic fail! What fun we had!! Not only was it easy…but we had fun sitting there watching it rise!! It rose! It actually rose!!! Thank you!! I feel vindicated and just may dip my toes a little deeper into the baking end of the pool. Thanks again!
Alex
January 30, 2012 at 9:08 amHaha! We had are fair share of pizza failures in the past too! I’m so glad that we have a reliable method to share! You should check out our no-knead bread recipe, it’s super simple and quite gratifying! http://www.acouplecooks.com/2010/12/rustic-country-bread/
christopher.
February 22, 2012 at 11:52 amMan, thank you for this. I’m going to have to try this recipe out. Britt and I have been looking to find a good pizza dough recipe for the past year or so, but we’ve yet to find one that’s turned out well.
Alex
February 22, 2012 at 11:56 amYou’re welcome! You’ll have to let us know if it works out for you guys. I definitely find that this method gives me the most consistent results :)
christopher.
February 22, 2012 at 9:57 pmWill do!
Also, I appreciate your use of the Chunk font. I just got a hold of it last week, and it’s quickly become one of my favs.
Cheers!
Alex
February 22, 2012 at 10:26 pmHah! Thanks, we went through our fair share of fonts before landing on this one…
Brian
February 29, 2012 at 11:43 pmThank You for the recipe! I’m new in the kitchen, and have a new stand mixer. After a couple failed attempts with other pizza dough recipes, I stumbled across this website and tried yours. Wow, I nailed it on my first try and pizza was delicious. This recipe is a life saver. Can’t wait to try your other recipes. Thank You!!!
Alex
March 1, 2012 at 10:23 amAwesome! This makes me so happy :) Thanks for letting us know!
Wil
May 9, 2012 at 4:08 pmI used this recipe twice now with success. I added some garlic & herb mix (Epicure) into the dough while it was mixing. Just a pinch. I also added a tidbit more salt. Fantastic!
Thanks for sharing.
Mary
May 9, 2012 at 4:53 pmWhat temp do we bake the pizzas and how long? You sad to preheat but didn’t mention the temperature that I see. The Kitchenaid was hilarious to watch while kneading. Thanks for the recipe!
Alex
May 9, 2012 at 5:13 pmWe cook the at 500 degrees. See any of our pizza recipes for full instructions :)
Bet
June 28, 2012 at 7:09 pmThis turned out awesome! I’ve made pizza dough in our food processor for a couple of years, but I liked the way this crust turned out even better. The video was SO helpful in terms of getting the dough the right consistency! I agree with a previous reviewer that it could use a little more salt, and will up it a bit next time. THANKS!
Shelley
July 20, 2012 at 12:25 amI made this dough twice tonight because the first one turned out really sticky even though I added way more extra flour than I thought should be necessary. The secondary one turned out lovely. I think the first one tanked because my “warm” water was actually fairly hot tap water. I’ve never made any kind of dough before and I managed to make it work so I’m very satisfied with this recipe.
My poor little Kitchenaid got a bit overheated dancing all over the countertop while kneading for 16 total minutes!
Alex
July 20, 2012 at 8:21 amWay to stick with it! We did the video to hopefully share a bit of what it should look like ~ but there’s nothing like experience. What type of pizza did you make?
Jodi
August 16, 2012 at 8:44 pmI have never commented on a recipe before but I had to on this one! We buy grocery store pizza dough several time a month, I have a couple pizza addicts in my house. This was the first time I have ever attempted pizza dough and it turned out perfect! I love trying new recipes. This will definately be in the dinner rotation. Thanks!!
Alex
August 17, 2012 at 9:45 amWell, thanks for the comment! We love to hear that to hear that our recipes are being used — glad you enjoyed it :)
Kate
September 6, 2012 at 11:26 pmHow much cornmeal? There is no quantity and I’m very new to cooking :/
Alex
September 7, 2012 at 8:56 amMaybe about 2 tablespoons. Just enough to make the board gritty. The dough should slide on the cornmeal instead of sticking to the board. Hope that helps!
Marleen
November 28, 2014 at 6:46 pmHi,I made your pizza dough for the first time today and am very happy with the result.I just got a standard kitchen aid mixer for my birthday ,and looked for a pizza dough that I could use my mixer with .Thank you so much and I will look for more of your recipi es .My husband and son were very surprised with what I made
Thank you
Bernadette @ B3HD
September 22, 2012 at 11:29 pmI get teased that I don’t use my stand mixer enough. I tease that we don’t eat pizza enough (mostly, because the offerings around here are less than ideal). I think we might both get our ways sometime soon
Jeff
December 27, 2012 at 8:53 pmJust checking that there isn’t a need for sugar? A lot of other recipes use sugar to activate the yeast.
Is this correct?
Thanks
Jeff
Alex
December 27, 2012 at 11:26 pmI’ve found that if you buy instant active yeast, the proofing with sugar step isn’t really necessary. I guess there’s a chance that your dough wouldn’t rise, but I’ve never had that happen!
Brig
December 27, 2012 at 9:44 pmGreat pizza base recipe! I made it last night, adjusting slightly to make a bit more dough. The initial step of mixing with the hook not attached to the mixer is a great way to get it started and determine if addition water or flour is needed.
The resulting pizzas were delicious – pear and blue cheese for the first, and left-over Christmas ham, fresh pineapple, olive and hard cheese for the second.
Lari
January 13, 2013 at 6:13 pmIs it me? What is the oven temps??
Alex
January 13, 2013 at 6:28 pmSorry! Just updated the recipe (500°F). We have the temp in all of our various pizza ideas — but didn’t on the dough. Thanks!
Diana
January 21, 2013 at 11:12 amWhat speed should my mixer be on? I made this and I think it was on 2 the whole 8 minutes. It was still a little/tad sticky and was sticking to the bowl at the bottom and to the hook when I removed it. I even added a tsp of flour a little at a time to see if it would release but it never did. Thanks
Alex
January 21, 2013 at 11:14 amWe gradually speed up from low at the start to medium once a ball is formed. It should still be tacky, but not terribly sticky when it is finished.
syirin
February 1, 2013 at 8:48 amHi, stumbled on this when I googled for the method of making pizza dough using the Kitchen Aid mixer, and the result was a success! Although I was worried at first because in the midst of kneading the dough didn’t look like yours in the video, and I kept adjusting, adding flour until I thought okay let’s try it out, and luckily it came out good, thanks so much for the guide!
Christie
March 11, 2013 at 12:35 amI made this recipe this evening and I had a heck of a time with it. Despite following the ingredients to a tee, it was super sticky. I had dough all over my hands, counter top, towel…
I was ready to forget this recipe after that experience but I managed to salvage what was left of the dough (by adding some extra flour) and the pizza turned out great. I loved the crust.
Can you shed some light on what I could do different when giving this one another try?
Alex
March 11, 2013 at 7:14 amSorry you had trouble with it! Sounds like you just needed more flour. We did the video in hopes that the texture of the dough would come through — sometimes, especially when measuring in cups instead of grams, it just seems like more flour is needed. Hope you try it again now that you have some experience!
Maura
August 28, 2015 at 4:55 pmSyirin, I agree. Mine is proofing now but when it was all done kneading, even though it was in a tight ball it was still like wallpaper paste when I tried to touch it – sticking to everything (including me!) – I put it back in the bowl and added a little bit of flour and let it combine with the hook. It was still fairly sticky when I took it out but I was afraid of over-flouring it. I was able to use floured hands to get it into boules but I’m a little worried that when I go to stretch them, the inside will still be sticky. I’m crossing my fingers!
Andrea
April 28, 2013 at 8:54 pmHi!
I realized that I’ve been using this recipe as our go to pizza night crust recipe for almost a year now. It comes out perfect every time and just wanted to say thanks for a great recipe! I’ve got some rising right now getting ready for another tasty pizza night!
Alex
April 28, 2013 at 8:56 pmAwesome! Thanks so much for letting us know :)
Elizabeth
May 6, 2013 at 8:16 pmI stumbled across your recipe the other day through google. Oh boy! Is this recipe great! I used half the dough one night and stuck the other half in the fridge (in a glass bowl greased with evoo and covered in plastic wrap) and the dough was just as good, if not better the second night. I like my pizza really thin and was worried it would be too fluffy the second day – no problems – pure deliciousness! I made a white pizza topped with arugula and can’t wait to try more with this dough. You guys are awesome!
Alex
May 6, 2013 at 8:24 pmSo glad you enjoyed it! The white pizza with arugula sounds tasty :)
Elyse
May 11, 2013 at 4:40 pmHey Alex. Just made your recipe for pizza dough and it was so easy and worked out so well, we will never buy pizza dough again. It had the same consistency as our favorite dough we buy at a local pizzeria. Heres to many years of pizza making with your recipe.
Alex
May 11, 2013 at 6:34 pmGreat! Thanks for letting us know. Here’s to many years!
amanda rose
June 12, 2013 at 3:00 pmThis looks delicious! I’m going to try it tonight!
Micael
June 14, 2013 at 7:31 amHi! I only want to make one pizza tonight. Can I freeze the other dough ball?
Alex
June 14, 2013 at 9:11 amYep! To freeze: Place each dough ball in a zip-top bag and put in the freezer. The morning that you are going to use the dough, remove it from the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw. About 30 minutes before making the pizza, take it out of the baggie and allow it to relax on the counter, covered with plastic wrap.
Jessica
July 3, 2013 at 7:35 pmThis might be obvious, but if freezing or refrigerating, should I let it rise before freezing/putting in fridge? I never need two crusts at once :(
Sonja
July 7, 2013 at 7:55 pmJessica, good question! Yes, you should let the dough rise before freezing or refrigerating. Good luck!
Casey
July 11, 2013 at 3:18 pmLove, love, love this pizza dough recipe! Super simple to make! I make several batches at a time and divide it out, freeze it, and voila – pizza any time ya want for a tiny fraction of the cost of buying pizza – and after making pizza like this, you will never care to buy that junk in a box ever again!
Alex
July 11, 2013 at 3:20 pmSo glad you enjoy it!
Megan
July 16, 2013 at 10:09 amWas curious if you’ve ever used this recipe for calzones? And if so would you make any changes, or have any baking recommendations?
Alex
July 16, 2013 at 10:13 amThis recipe is great for calzones — we have one recipe here with instructions for baking: http://www.acouplecooks.com/2011/01/spinach-calzones/
4Sullyz
August 3, 2013 at 1:30 pmQuick question. Dough started out fine in mixer (rolling around in a nice ball), but at about the 6 minute point it became quite sticky. Should I stop when it starts to become sticky, or should I add more flour – either at the start or at the ‘sticky’ point of mixing. Loved the crust despite the dough covered hands!
Alex
August 6, 2013 at 10:02 amHi! I think you should probably add a bit more flour. I’m guessing that it just took a while for all of the water to get spread through. I usually add flour if it’s on the really sticky side. You can always roll the dough in a bit of flour after it’s done mixing too. Hope that helps!
Jon
September 7, 2013 at 4:05 pmThanks a million :) I was pretty close to giving up having tried loads of “others” recipes for making dough & mine suffered from being too thick/chewy or even tasteless. Your recipe is so simple and clear to follow my bases are now raved about & Ive given it to all my friends. Thanks guys :)
Alex
September 8, 2013 at 10:20 pmSo glad the recipe worked for you! Thanks for letting us know. We just used it again yesterday — never fails :)
Heather
September 21, 2013 at 5:13 pmThank you for sharing this awesome recipe! We love pizza, and I’ve long wanted to learn how to make my own dough, but I was too nervous to do too much experimenting. Your recipe gave me the courage to start! My first try (last weekend) turned out a bit too sticky at first, but it rose just fine and tasted GREAT.
My second attempt is in the oven (which I preheated to 170 and then turned off) rising right now. It looked JUST LIKE YOUR VIDEO — a nice, round ball. :-) I decided to weigh the flour this time to be sure I was using the correct amount. This helped me determine that I had NOT used enough flour the first time. I measure pretty loosely, and didn’t pack the flour, so by my way of “measuring,” I really needed almost 4 cups of flour to reach the 450 grams. So now I know to use a bit more flour than I used the first time.
Our first attempt, I made a standard cheese pizza with Trader Joe’s pizza sauce and their yummy mozzarella. I plan to do that again, but the second pizza this time is going to be made with pesto and mozzarella for my basil-loving 10yo DD. If I’m feeling not-so-lazy, I might add a bit of chicken to it.
I have had my Kitchen Aid for about 20 years and had never used the dough hook until I tried your recipe!!! Thanks again!
Alex
September 22, 2013 at 7:21 pmSo glad that the recipe is working for you — I always weigh it out now, you can definitely get inconsistent results otherwise. Thanks for commenting!
Sona
September 22, 2013 at 4:08 pmHi,
My God! What a pizza. My husband moved to Montreal from Italy 5 years ago and he told me that there is no difference between the one I made (your recipe) and the one he had in Italy. I realized that there is no sugar. Normally, it is recommended to add sugar when using instant yeast. It worked great. Why then it is recommended? Any idea? Also, if doubling the size, do,I need to kneed more or 8 minutes is good?
Thanks a lot.
Alby
Alex
September 22, 2013 at 8:19 pmWell, the approval of a real Italian is just about as good of a compliment as a recipe could get :) So glad you enjoy it.
The sugar addition for proofing the yeast is just to give you a check that the yeast is live before you use it. From what I understand, most store bought yeast is pretty consistent now, so that step isn’t as necessary as it used to be. We keep our yeast in the freezer, so I think it is good pretty much indefinitely.
If doubling the recipe, 8 minutes should still be fine. That can be pretty hard on the mixer though. I often do 600 grams of flour for a recipe if I’m making a lot.
Suzy Khan
November 12, 2013 at 10:32 amThis is the best pizza dough I have ever made!! We host pizza parties where we invite our guests to make their own pizza. I have made up to 20 pizza crusts at a time. What I usually do is make the dough and then refrigerate until the party, typically a day in advance. I separate into individual pizza dough balls; place into an aluminum pan; brush with olive oil and then cover with plastic wrap. Then the next day I get out the dough about an hour before we prepare the pizzas. I use a dough knife to separate/cut the dough because it sticks together in the pan. Other than separating each dough ball into individual bags is there any other way to keep them from sticking together?
Another question for you? We are hosting a Thanksgiving pizza party and I was trying to think of a pizza recipe that would incorporate some of the traditional thanksgiving food. I was thinking about a garlic butter sauce with grilled turkey, mushroom, cranberries, goat cheese & arugula? Perhaps some sage?
Thanks so much!
Suzy
Alex
November 12, 2013 at 10:42 amSo glad that you like the recipe! We usually just use separate bags when we freeze them (we haven’t ever made so many!). I supposed you could plastic wrap the balls and then stick them in one larger ziploc bag — still a lot of plastic though.
Your pizza idea sounds good! Have you ever had thin-sliced potatoes on a pizza? That might be good with some sage or rosemary and some arugula.
Jackie
November 26, 2013 at 2:35 pmJust wanted you two love birds to know how much our family has enjoyed your blog and recipes. Love the video!
Sonja
November 27, 2013 at 4:27 pmThank you so much, Jackie! We’re so glad you’ve enjoyed our blog – it makes our day!
Sona
December 5, 2013 at 11:56 pmAlex, have you mentioned in your site about the pizza stone? It is 20 or 30 dollars, sometimes even less (certain stores) and it makes a huge difference. I keep the stone in the oven for 45 minutes at 500 degrees and then I put the pizza on it. It is so popular with my family that I have requests on a regular basis. Thanks again for this lovely and easy recipe.
Alex
December 6, 2013 at 9:02 amHi! Yes — we suggest using a pizza stone in all of our pizza recipes. We couldn’t live without it!
Steve
February 13, 2014 at 3:03 pmThanks for this. I tried it out and it worked great – the best pizza dough I’ve made! One small change was throwing some garlic powder and basil into the mixer. And speaking of the mixer, I kneaded on speed #2; things worked out just fine, and that is the maximum speed that Kitchenaid says is safe for the motor when using the dough-hook.
Marisa
March 2, 2014 at 4:12 pmWe are so so happy we found this recipe after so many failed pizza doughs. Is it okay to let it rise more than 45 minutes if we are not ready to make pizza? Is there a max time for the rising? Thanks so much.
Alex
March 2, 2014 at 4:15 pmGlad you liked it! You want it to rise until it is doubled in size. If you get a full rise, you can cover it and place in the fridge if you need more time :)
Lesley T
March 9, 2014 at 4:43 pmReferring to your response above regarding freezing, do you freeze before or after rising? (I’m assuming it’s after.) Thanks
Alex
March 9, 2014 at 10:27 pmYes, we freeze after rising. Thanks for asking!
Heather
April 27, 2014 at 6:03 pmAn update from me, as my latest batch of this dough is rising in the oven. ;-) I’ve made it many, many times. I’ve noticed that, if I follow the directions to the letter (especially the part about stirring the ingredients together with the dough hook at the beginning), then it comes out beautifully! If I get distracted and forget that step, or if I don’t measure the flour, I will need to play with with the consistency of the dough for a bit to get the right texture before I set it out to rise.
I LOVE this recipe. It is definitely our go-to recipe now. It has saved us so much time and money in having to order pizza out. And we’re trying some more interesting combos, though I’m still traditional (mozzarella, tomato sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage) and DD likes pesto and chicken. (DH will eat whatever!)
There is something lovely and elemental about a nice round boule of bread dough that becomes a delicious meal. I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe — I’m over my fear of using the dough hook now!
Alex
April 28, 2014 at 10:34 amThis makes me so happy! Thanks for writing :)
Susannah
May 24, 2014 at 9:05 amTodayI was feeding the 4 men who are trimming the trees and hedges around our property. When I asked them what they would like for lunch the response was pizza American style. That means it is going to need American pizza dough. When my children were at home I use to make sour dough pizza dough but I have not made pizza dough since they all spread their wings 20 years ago. I was suddenly hungry for an American Pizza. So I googled and found your video and quickly assembled the recipe. It was a hit! I will be using your recipe over and over again now. I can finally have American Pizza in France! Heaven!
Richard H
June 6, 2014 at 5:31 pmAfter buying a food mixer with a dough hook I decided it was time to make my own pizza from scratch and a quick Google search found your recipe. I’m so glad I tried your recipe first as it was really easy to follow and even with a slightly sticky first attempt as I used cups (a previous commenter had the same issue and weighing helps) it turns out amazing every time.
I’m hooked now and have bought a pizza stone too which makes the base lovely and crisp. Also after a chat with a lovely guy from an artisan mobile pizza kitchen I discovered that storing the risen dough in the fridge for 3 days makes the dough amazing. As little as 24 hours is good too. They roll their dough out with a rolling pin for a really thin base which works well for me. Plus they brush the edge with an olive oil, garlic and oregano mix which gives it a crisp garlic bread taste. Pure heaven.
Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe.
Alex
June 6, 2014 at 7:17 pmSo glad you enjoy the recipe! We’ll have to try the trick of letting it sit in the fridge for a few days :)
Anonymous
June 30, 2014 at 7:00 pmI love this pizza dough!!! Thanks so much for sharing, the video was really helpful.
Jessica
July 6, 2014 at 1:28 pmThis is my absolute favorite recipe for making pizza. My husband and I make it VERY often and love it!! Thank you for making it so simple and “fool-proof” :-)
I did, however, make it ahead of time the other day (I had to go to work and wasn’t going to get back until late) and let it rise for nearly 5 hours (I had my husband punch it down at 3 hours). The pizza was still delicious, but the crust on the bottom was very hard. I even cut my mouth devouring it haha!! I don’t think I’ll make it in advance again, unless you have any tips on how to avoid the harder crust?
Alex
July 6, 2014 at 3:49 pmHi!
So glad you like the recipe. You can put the dough in the fridge after the first rise in a sealed container, this slows down the rising process allowing you to use it anytime in the next week or so. Just give it about an hour to come to room temperature before you are ready to bake it. :)
Amanda
August 25, 2014 at 7:47 pmThis made the best consistency dough! Do you recommend regular all purpose flour or strong bread flour?
Alex
August 25, 2014 at 8:05 pmGlad it worked for you! We either use all-purpose flour or Tipo 00 Italian flour if you can find it!
Ricardo chan
September 26, 2014 at 1:27 pmSeems like I’m the only one with issues with this recipe-sorry! Followed it precisely, used US cups, as differ from uk, but dough was completely unusable. Did it four times and gave up. I’m using a kenwood kmix with dough hook. Dough comes out very very heavy, sticky and like glue. I’ve tried adding more flour, less water…… Still comes out unworkable. Any suggestions please? Thanks
Alex
September 26, 2014 at 1:36 pmSo sorry you’re having troubles! Did you watch the video here: http://www.acouplecooks.com/2012/01/video-easy-homemade-pizza-dough/ ? It seems like maybe you just need to add an extra few tablespoons while it is kneading so that it just releases from the sides of the bowl. The only other thing I can think of is that perhaps British all-purpose flour is a bit denser than American. You could try a mix of bread and all-purpose flour, or Tipo 00 flour is awesome if you can find it!
Anonymous
October 3, 2014 at 3:18 amWell ive got a day off today so will go on a hunt for tipo 00 flour and get stuck in again this afternoon. Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated.
Alex
October 3, 2014 at 9:25 amGood luck!
Anonymous
November 16, 2014 at 9:39 pmThank you for posting this recipe. It was delicious and very easy. This will be my new go to recipe. It turned out perfectly. I even added in some finely grated parmesan and herbs for an extra special dough.
Carrie
January 2, 2015 at 10:10 pmHi! I am so excited to try this recipe! I just got a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas and I’m all about figuring out how to use it. I watched the video and hopefully I won’t screw it up :) One question- this recipe will make 2 pizzas, correct?
Thanks again!
Alex
January 3, 2015 at 12:02 amHi! Yes, two pizzas. Good luck!
Carrie
January 4, 2015 at 9:34 pmYay! It was a success! I used sundried tomato pesto and mushrooms-delicious! One question- I’m totally new to the shaping of a pizza crust. I wanted it a little thinner but it just would stay where i stretched it. Any ideas? Thanks again for the awesome recipe!
Alex
January 5, 2015 at 8:51 amGlad it worked out! If the dough is over-worked it tends to get a little tough. Cover it with a towel and let the gluten relax for a bout 5 minutes and it should be willing to stretch again.
What type of pizzas did you make?
Carrie
January 5, 2015 at 7:28 pmah-ha! I will try that next time (probabaly in a couple of days)! I made pesto, mushroom and cheese and a white pizza with spinach, ricotta, onion and spinach. Seriously delicious crust!
Sonja
January 8, 2015 at 12:31 pmHello! Can you provide instructions on how to knead the dough (minutes etc) by hand? thanks!
Alex
January 8, 2015 at 12:47 pmHi! It would take about the same amount of time as the mixer — about 8-10 minutes. Just keep folding and pushing the dough with the heel of your hand until it has a similar texture as you see in the video. Hope that helps!
vanna
February 9, 2015 at 8:27 pmi chose this recipe for use during my first attempt at homemade dough and it turned out nothing short of perfect. it produces an extremely consistent and delicious product. thank you for sharing it!
Alex
February 10, 2015 at 9:23 amThat’s awesome! Thanks for letting us know :)
Marc
February 16, 2015 at 1:58 amDoes this recipe work with the j shaped dough hook. You have the fancier dough hook for the larger KAs. But we have a smaller one with the old style hook. Any thoughts?
Alex
February 16, 2015 at 9:09 amI think that should work fine.
Denise
March 20, 2015 at 2:32 pmGot a stand mixer for my birthday and started making pizza dough as my first project. Over a month I tried 4 different stand mixer recipes and tested them on my teens and their friends when we had make your own pizza nights. Everyone consistently voted for this crust as being the best. I have found the recipe easily can be split into 5 balls to make 5 individual pizzas.
Thanks so much for posting!
Dirk
May 1, 2015 at 7:50 pmFor those of you who ask about other flour. Use 1/4-1/3 spelt flour for a nuttier flavor. You can use bread flour (which I always do) without any noticable change (but it has higher protien and may increase the chew a little). Try reducing yeast and taking longer to rise…like reduce yeast to 1/4 or less of the recipe and let it take some real time to rise (I have made no knead bread with 1/16 of a tsp of yeast and 24 hour to rise, makes excellent pizza dough from that point on).
You can use 00 flour (very finely ground) for all or some of the flour, again, changes everything. How about some No 1 Durham wheat (Semolina), use about 1/4 to 1/3 for a completely different texture and chew. (while you are at it make some home made egg noodles of Semolina flour for your next spaghetti or ravioli..or possibly your lasagna, you wont beleive the difference.)
Kurt Hoogenboom
December 9, 2015 at 10:05 pmGreat recipe. Just follow and It’s awesome.
chris
February 11, 2016 at 6:41 pmtoo bland, needs sugar and salt
Char
February 13, 2016 at 4:26 pmThis is my go-to!! Countless people have asked for the secret to my delicious pizzas! Thanks!
Molly Rodriguez
May 15, 2016 at 2:48 pmThis recipe was a HIT in my house! My two boys can’t eat it fast enough. After many other recipes this is the one! https://healthykitchenhealthybudget.com/2016/05/15/pizza-pizza/
Brisa
May 31, 2016 at 6:50 pmI made this dough according to your instructions for a holiday pizza lunch in December 2015. I would like to make it again for an upcoming event. I wonder if the dough would benefit from a slow rise in the refrigerator. If so, do you think I should place it in the fridge after the 45-60 minute room-temp rise or instead of that?
Alex
May 31, 2016 at 8:20 pmHi! Yes, the dough ages well in the fridge. I recommend sticking it in after the rise.
Siobhan
March 25, 2017 at 9:39 pmMaking it right now looks perfect so far. I’m just heating the oven.
Sonja
April 27, 2017 at 12:38 pmOoo wonderful! I hope it worked out! Let us know.
Jodie
July 25, 2017 at 5:52 pmDo you happen to the fat grams, carb grams and protein for this recipe? Thank you :)
Sonja
July 26, 2017 at 2:36 pmHi there! We don’t post nutrition information for our recipes, but you could run it through an online nutrition counter!
Carolee
October 26, 2017 at 1:44 pmSpecial thanks for posting the weight of the flour as well as the volume. I weighed out the flour, and couldn’t believe how beautifully it all came together in my Breville stand mixer. The texture felt perfect, and it’s rising now, and I’m looking forward to building the pizza. I’ve been looking for a ‘one-step’ recipe for pizza dough, and this seems to be great. Thank you!
Sonja
November 5, 2017 at 8:55 pmOh we’re so glad this worked for you! Happy that the weight was helpful. Let us know how the pizza tasted!
BABS
November 10, 2017 at 10:53 amHi! I just got a stand mixer and so so excited to use it. What a great video! When I unpacked my mixer it had a big warning not to use the dough hook on anything above level 2. In your opinion, is it safe to go about 2 without ruining the mixer? The last thing I would want is to break the mixer. Do you know why they recommend going slow?
Anandi
November 15, 2017 at 6:06 pmUsed these for calzones last night. The dough worked beautifully. Thanks for testing this out on the stand mixer. Cheers.
Rod
November 19, 2017 at 1:14 pmGreat recipe; I’ve have many frustrations making pizza and last night this recipe was a success. Thanks !
Alison
November 25, 2017 at 8:57 pmHello. I’m completely new to baking. I’m trying out my new Kitchenaid, and thought I followed this recipe for dough correctly, however l’ve ended up with a sticky, sloppy mess after eight minutes of kneading. Any ideas on how I can do better next time? I have tried one of your other recipes and it was a success, so I’ve done something really stupid.
Alex
November 26, 2017 at 10:30 amHi!
If you have a super sticky dough, just add flour to the edge of the bowl one spoonful at a time until it starts to ball up. Thanks for reading!
Jacquie
January 3, 2018 at 3:37 pmI’m not sure what happened? Followed the recipe to a T and I was left with an ooey, gooey mess that had to be thrown out. Kept adding more flour, it didn’t help at all. I checked the KitchenAid website and it said to never knead dough involving yeast above a 2, and this recipe instructs to knead at medium-high… could this have been my problem? Looking for suggestions. Really disappointed with my first try to use my brand new KitchenAid mixer I got for Christmas. :(
Alex
January 4, 2018 at 3:25 pmHi!
So sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. The kneading speed shouldn’t matter, we’ve tried at varying levels and you should following the instructions for your model of mixer. You probably just need more flour worked into the dough to get it to ball up.
All the best!
Steve
January 4, 2018 at 1:57 pmHi. Tried this recipe before and it’s perfect.
Quick question though; we are hosting a pizza party and will be cooking around 12 pizzas throughout the night over a 3 or 4 hours… will the dough be ok left out for that long rather than putting in the fridge? Or I guess the question is if I make the dough early afternoon will it be ok left out till the night?
Many thanks
Alex
January 4, 2018 at 3:24 pmHi!
You probably want to refrigerate the dough after the rise and then take it out in stages about 45 minutes before baking time. It will be ok if you left it out the whole time (covered in plastic wrap) but it can get a little funky and over-risen towards the end. Happy cooking!
Rick
January 29, 2018 at 11:08 amExcellent advice throughout this thread, so much appreciated. The simple answer as to how long to leave the dough in the mixer kneading is great, and so hard to find online. Happy 6th year birthday to this post, amazing!
Sonja
March 14, 2018 at 2:45 pmHaha thank you! This recipe has been around for quite a while — it’s our tried and true standard!
Lauren
February 12, 2018 at 5:43 amCan this dough be frozen, thawed, and used later?
Alex
February 12, 2018 at 2:10 pmHi! Yes, you can freeze the dough after proofing and then let it thaw in a refrigerator.
Sheryl
June 11, 2018 at 5:15 amLoved this recipe. I do think itcould use more salt. I proof min in the oven and found the damp towel stuck to the dough….not a big issue, completely salvageable. However, will use saran wrap next time! Used to make mine by hand making a mess and taking wsymore time. This is a great find! Thanks!