I’m becoming a pro at homemade pizzas. At least, my family thinks so. The other day I was talking to my husband about ordering pizza and my daughters asked if I could make it instead. They are so sweet!
I don’t always have the time to make it, but when I do I always use this super easy pizza crust recipe that is so simple, it’s almost fool-proof.
I think the main reason my daughters like me to make it at home is because they want to help. Emma, my 4-yr-old, can practically make it by herself, she has done it so many times.
Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe
A secret trick I use to help the dough rise fast, is to preheat the oven to 170 degrees. After I knead it, I put it in a greased metal bowl covered with tinfoil, turn off the oven, and let it rise in the oven for about 30 minutes. This cuts the rising time in half.
Just make sure you remove the dough before preheating your oven to cook the pizza. I made that mistake and got a loaf of bread instead. Oops!
I love this recipe because it makes 2 large thick crust or 3 medium thin crust pizzas and it is great for calzones. It’s really versatile.
- 2¾ cup unbleached flour (plus ¼ cup more for kneading)
- 2¼ tsp quick rise yeast or 1 yeast packet
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tbs Herbs de Provence (or ¼ tsp more salt and 1 tbs of your favorite herbs to taste)
- 1¼ cup hot water (about 110- 115 degrees)
- 2 tbs olive oil
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Measure flour into a mixing bowl or stand mixer. Add yeast, sugar, salt, pepper and herbs.
- Prepare your hot water and get your olive oil measured out. With the bread hook attachment, turn the stand mixer on low and add the water and then the olive oil while the mixer is stirring.
- Mix for 2 minutes or until the dough comes together around the bread hook. If mixing by hand, add the water and olive oil to the flour and stir until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Let the dough sit for 10 minutes and then turn it out on a generously floured surface and knead, adding flour until you get a smooth dough. The dough should not be sticky.
- Place in a greased oven-safe bowl and cover with tinfoil. Turn off the oven and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size. Remove from oven.
- Preheat the oven and your pizza stone or baking sheet to 425 degrees. Meanwhile, separate the dough into 2 parts for thicker crust or 3 parts for thin crust. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to your desired thickness.
- Place the crust on your preheated stone or pan and add your desired toppings. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the pizza are dark golden brown.
Some of our favorite toppings are bacon, baby spinach, Canadian bacon, sausage, bell peppers, zucchini, and sun-dried tomatoes, but mostly bacon. It makes everything taste amazing right!?
Don’t forget to season your pizza crust with salt and pepper before you put the toppings on to enhance all the flavors!
What do you like on your pizza?
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Dan Brusca says
Oh wow. That recipe looks so good.
Dan Brusca recently posted…Abomb.co.uk
Tania says
Can you freeze the dough?
Janine says
I haven’t tried it. I’ve refrigerated it before after letting it rise then taking it out and letting it sit for 30 minutes before I use it. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Lynda says
This was the nicest dough I’ve work with. Excellent taste! Thanks
Janine says
So glad you liked it Lynda!
melissa e says
Thanks for sharing this. Im looking forward to trying it and seeing how well it freezes.
melissa e recently posted…mahlicadesigns is now at Thread: A Denver Handmade Consignment Boutique
Annie says
Look’s good!! Thank you for sharing. May God in Heaven Bless you and your’s!.
Christine says
I made this and it turned out great, I did add 1tbsp of granulated garlic to get the garlic crust flavor like dominion’s pizza and it was awesome. I was able to freeze the other half of the dough and when I made it everything was just as great as the first batch. Thank you!
Janine says
Yay! So glad it worked for you. I love it.
Leslie says
So excited to try this!!! It is rising in the oven right now! I’m so glad Christine tried freezing it! I will be freezing part of it too since I’m using one to make a Thanksgiving Leftovers Stromboli! So excited to see how dinner turns out tonight! 🙂
Stephanie says
I made this recipe tonight for stromboli dough – it was delicious!!! Rave reviews from the whole family. Nice and crispy, and super easy to work with. I love how easily it rolled out. This is a new family favorite. Thanks so much!
Janine says
So glad Stephanie! Thanks for leaving the nice comment.
Beth says
I made this recipe last night and my husband raved and raved over the crust! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
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Janine says
So glad Beth! Thanks for trying it out 🙂
Emma says
So this makes two to three pizzas?
Emma says
Nevermind, saw it says this towards the top! (:
N. says
Hi, made the crust and mine was super sticky. I used an extra cup of flour and it was still sticky. Any ideas what is going on? Yours looks wonderful so I’d like to try again sometime. Thanks!
Janine says
Oh wow! That is weird. Maybe too much water? I usually just scoop the flour out of my container and don’t sift or level it. It will be a little sticky when it comes out of the mixer, but then I knead some more flour in it before I let it rise. So sorry about that! Maybe cook it up anyways and see how it is?
N. says
I did use it and it was delicious! Next time I’ll try less water 🙂 Thanks!
Sarah MacMillan says
This turned out so well and was absolutely delish. Yay! My first attempt at dough from scratch was a success. Thanks for the recipe!
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Misty Lose says
Made this today. The flavor was great, but like a previous person commented I had to add a lot of extra flour. Also, at the 10 minute mark my cheese was dark (almost burnt), but my crust wasn’t browned at all. Any ideas?
Janine says
Hi Misty! Sorry about that. Did you preheat your pan? Maybe cook the crust for 5 minutes before adding the toppings or use less water?
Maria says
Thanks for sharing this, I was after a easy and quick recipe and it is very easy. Hopefully will bake it properly as most of my pizzas are dried or raw… never got the right time/temperature thing.
Dariela says
Can I use bleached since that’s what I have?
Janine says
It might not rise the same, but you can try it. I’m sure it will be fine.
Dariela says
Can I use all purpose flour will it make a difference
Margot says
I’ve been using your recipe for a year now, and at 8pm ON A SUNDAY, my family decides they want pizza. And, that I’m to make it. LOL awesome dough! I’ve added finely chopped sun dried tomatoes, and then topped with cheese, for breadsticks! Delish
Janine says
So glad Margot! That makes it worth posting 🙂
Rhonda Smith says
I love this recipe,my family always wanted me to make homemade pizza but i never would because I didnt like the crusts from the store or the pizza sauces.I ran across your recipe and thought surely I can make this if her little girls can! I tried it and we loved it! We make it every week now! Thank you!
Amanda says
I’ve been making this crust for about two years now. It’s my favorite quick crust for sure! I add something more like 3 tbsp of Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp of garlic and a little red pepper flakes because I like lots of flavor! Everyone loves it and I love that it creates a beautiful family night.
asiansnacks says
Hi author!
Love the way you describe. Its really amazing.Thanks for sharing your knowledge about this recipes.
Regards:
Snacks Near Me
Garlic Girl says
Made it last night for a mushroom pizza recipe. Mmmm delicious. It had that right amount of chew.
Stephen says
When i add olive oil the crust becomes dense and i do not add it rises but stays dry. What is the mistake?