The BEST Homemade Pizza Dough (Pizza Dough with Bread Flour)
This easy and flavorful pizza dough is made using bread flour, which is higher in protein content. The high protein content yields a dough that is chewy yet tender, without being tough.
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Equipment
- 1 Pizza Peel
- 1 pizza stone or thin cookie sheet
- 1 stand mixer with dough hook
Ingredients
- 420 grams bread flour (3 1/2 cups) I use King Arthur Baking bread flour. Depending on humidity, you may need to increase flour. See recipe notes.
- 8 grams instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp) or use 1 envelope instant-dry yeast
- 14 grams honey (2 tsp)
- 237 grams lukewarm water, about 110ºF (1 cup) depending on the humidity, you may need to increase to 1 1/2 cups water. See recipe notes.
- 25 grams olive oil (2 TBSP)
- 7 grams kosher salt (1 1/2 tsp)
Instructions
- Combine & mix ingredients. Mix all ingredients but the salt into a shaggy dough, just until the ingredients have come together.420 grams bread flour (3 1/2 cups), 8 grams instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp), 14 grams honey (2 tsp), 237 grams lukewarm water, about 110ºF (1 cup), 7 grams kosher salt (1 1/2 tsp), 25 grams olive oil (2 TBSP)
- Rest the dough. Let sit for 15-20 minutes to let the flour absorb the water. This helps the dough become more stable, and easier to work with.
- Add the salt. Add the salt & mix the dough on low speed in a stand mixer until the dough comes together.
- Mix until dough clears the bowl. The dough will come clean off the sides of the bowl, but it may still stick to the bottom of the mixer. It will be soft and slightly sticky. This should take about 5 minutes at a medium-low speed.
- Dough too sticky? If the dough is too sticky, add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time.
- Dough too dry? Add more water, 1-2 TBSP at a time.
If you are baking right away:
- Place the dough in a large lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 60-90 mins; until doubled in size.
- Place a pizza stone or a large, thin cookie sheet in the oven, and preheat the oven to 450ºF after about 30 minutes of rising time.
- Divide the dough in half on a lightly floured surface, and gently shape each portion into a ball. Be careful not to punch the dough down too much, but try to get the dough shaped as tightly as you can.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-20 minutes.
- Shape the dough directly on a pizza peel, coated with flour, semolina flour, or cornmeal (I prefer to use semolina flour; because it yields a crispier bottom of the crust).
- Once the dough is shaped, gently shake the pizza peel back and forth to make sure that the dough can easily slide on and off the peel. If it sticks, carefully lift the dough off of the peel and add a light dusting of semolina or flour.
- Slide the dough onto the hot pizza stone or baking sheet, and par-bake the crust for 1-2 minutes, just until barely baked on the bottom, with no toppings on it. This helps you to get a more evenly cooked crust.
- Top with desired toppings, and return to the oven to bake, for about 8-12 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned and the toppings are melted.
If you are baking later:
- Place the dough in a large lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 45 - 60 mins; until almost doubled in size.
- Place the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- Remove it from the fridge 3-5 hours before you intend to bake it. Let it come to room temperature before working with it. It will be too still to work with when it’s very cold.
- Proceed with shaping the dough as desired once it’s at room temperature!
Notes
Dough Shaping Tips:
Gently press from the middle of the ball outward. It may take some time to shape by hand, but be patient with the dough! If it tears or rips, you can pinch the dough back together, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. It’s forgiving!
You may use a rolling pin to shape the dough if you like, just know that it could be a bit denser & chewier than hand-shaped dough, but still tasty!
Topping Tips:
If you are using toppings that have more hydration in them (watery tomato sauce vs tomato paste; burrata or fresh mozzarella vs shredded; etc.) you can add those to the unbaked crust before par-baking, and increase the par-bake to 3-5 minutes.
This helps bake off some excess moisture, so your pizza won’t be watery in the middle. If you’ve ever had pizza toppings slide off of the crust, this is why!
Par-baking helps the pizza be easier to handle if you’re just beginning your homemade pizza journey, so I recommend starting with this method. As you become more comfortable with the look and feel of the dough while sliding it on and off the peel into the oven, you can play around with topping first, then par-baking, or just sliding it all into the oven at once!
Extra Pizza Tips:
If you are too worried about sliding the dough off of a pizza peel, you can line the peel with parchment paper, and trim it to size. This is a tip I picked up from King Arthur Baking, and it works great when your dough is a little too sticky, or you aren’t confident with your pizza peel skills yet!
If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can shape the dough on a cookie sheet--just use the full portion of dough instead of 1/2 portion for a thick crust, or you can still divide it in half for 2 pizzas on 2 separate pans.
You can also use parchment paper on a cutting board (or another item you can easily lift and transfer, like a platter or large plate). Once the dough is shaped you can slide the dough and the parchment paper into the oven!
If you don’t want to make two pizzas at once, you can par-bake one crust and then freeze it! If you don’t have lots of room in your freezer, you can divide the dough into 4 portions, making “personal size” pizzas, and freeze the par-baked crust. Let the crusts come to room temperature before you top and bake them.
You can also let one portion of the dough rest in the fridge overnight. Just let it come to room temperature before shaping and baking the dough. This should take about 3-5 hours, depending on the temperature of your house.
Nutrition
Calories: 903kcalCarbohydrates: 160gProtein: 27gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 1369mgPotassium: 252mgFiber: 6gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 0.05mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 2mg
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Keyword: bread dough, dough, pizza