Nothing fancy with this pizza dough recipe, and that’s a good thing. No mixer needed and no overnight proofing! It only requires 6 ingredients, and sometimes I toss in dried herbs for good measure. It really is the best recipe we’ve used and it’s our current go-to. It’s quick, easy, and pretty much fool proof.


Pizza is such a fun and easy dinner. I love it because it’s so easy to share and it’s such a fun way to bring the family together. We make the pizza dough together and take turns rolling it out, and everyone gets to customize their own pie with different toppings and no one fights over a thing (except for who gets the last piece).
Pizza night originally started with me buying frozen pizzas, which was no biggie when it was just the two of us. But as family dinners started including more family members and friends, buying frozen pizzas suddenly started to be costly. Not only is this pizza dough recipe easy and fast, but it’s also super budget friendly and uses pantry items – nothing fancy that’ll break the budget!
You just need 6 ingredients for the pizza dough: yeast, sugar, water, flour, oil, and salt. Throw in some dried herbs for an extra kick – we featured oregano and rosemary below.
To prep, you’ll need to do a few things. First, preheat the oven. Next, get a spot floured and ready for rolling the pizza dough. And lastly, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper for cooking.
And, if you find this recipe and you’re making pizza dough….then click here, for our favorite pizza sauce recipe. It’s the recipe that is featured in the images below.
Onward!
For the photos, we doubled the recipe and made four pizzas. The recipe listed below in the recipe card will yield two pizza crusts. Double it for four.
Pop open a baggie of Rapid Rise Yeast and mix it in with warm water and sugar. The sugar and warm water will encourage the yeast to proof. Sugar isn’t necessary, but we use it here because it gives the yeast energy to create carbon dioxide bubbles, which will help the crust rise. Ideally, the water can’t be cold, or nothing will happen. If that water is too hot, then the yeast won’t proof. Try to get the water between 105 – 110, which is lukewarm to the touch. If you want to delve more into the science of yeast, here’s a cool article.
Give the yeast a quick stir, and then let it sit for 10 minutes. The mixture should get frothy.
Mix the flour, salt, and any herbs together, then mix in the olive oil. Once the olive oil is in, incorporate the yeast mixture.
Give it a few quick stirs until everything is incorporated, then dump it out onto a prepared and floured surface. Kneed it a few times, until the dough starts to come together.
Then, separate into four balls.
Roll out each ball of pizza dough, until about a quarter of an inch thik. Try to get it round, though that sometimes (more often than not) doesn’t happen and you’ll get a wonky circle. Don’t sweat it – you’re not going for perfection!
Transfer the pizza dough to the prepared pan, and then add your pizza sauce. Top with shredded mozzarella, pepperonis, olives, and any desired yummies. My favorite is pizza with white sauce and mushroom, topped with a fried egg.
A few notes on the pizza dough…
- The most important note – which we have learned through trial and error – is to roll your pizza dough out THEN transfer it to the prepared pan. After that, you can decorate the dough once it’s on the prepared pan. However, if you roll the dough and then top it with sauce and cheese, and then try to transfer it on the prepared sheet…..everything might just slide off. It’s easy to get excited and forget to transfer it after rolling it, but be sure to transfer it first! It really will make your pizza experience a lot smoother.
- You don’t need fancy bread flour for this pizza dough. Nope! All-purpose flour will totally work, and we’ve used it interchangeably with bread flour. Just use either one that’s in your pantry, and you should be okay (as long as it’s not self-rising flour) in making the dough for your pizza! Just take care to note that if you use all-purpose flour, you’ll get a fluffier bread like crust. If you use bread flour, you’ll get a more dense and chewy crust. Our tasters liked both crusts, it was just a matter of personal preference.
- No fancy equipment is necessary. I hand mix everything and then roll it out on the countertop. You’ll also just need a flat cookie sheet to place the pizza dough on – it’s not necessary to splurge on a pizza stone. We like this sheet the best. It’s flat on the edges and can accommodate an overly large, awkwardly shaped piazza (which won’t happen, because you’ll be a pizza dough rolling pro!).
- This is our favorite pizza sauce recipe. It’s easy and quick and is a perfect compliment to this dough. Find it here!
- This is a recipe that’s so easy that it’s totally okay to be messy. Let the kids help out and play around with the ingredients. If you’re feeling creative, cut out letters or shapes for fun designs. You can easily adjust this for different holidays or events. See the Jack-O-Lantern happy face someone made on this pizza? Super fun.
Cheese!
Small disclaimer : we’re an Amazon Affiliate. If you purchase something from the links listed, we’ll receive a small commission, at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting us!
Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package of Rapid Rise yeast approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 2.5 cups flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Optional
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
Instructions
- Turn oven on to 450 F.
- In a bowl, mix the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for about 10 minutes, or until creamy and foamy.
- In a seperate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
- Add the olive oil to the dry ingredients.
- Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients, then give everything a mix to combine.
- Stir a few times, before putting the dough onto a floured surface.
- Roll out the dough a few times, until it's thin and round, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet, and then decorate.
- Cook between 15-20 minutes.
No Comments