Pizza dough is very easy to make. It’s actually easier than making bread, and can be used to make delicious homemade pizzas.
Ingredients in Homemade Pizza Dough
You’ll need a package of active-dry yeast. This is unavoidable, but once you buy it it basically lasts forever.
You’ll also need:
- Four cups of flour
- One and a half cups of warm water
- A teaspoon and a half of salt
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
How to Make Pizza Dough
You’ll need to actually ensure your water is very warm. If you aren’t sure what temperature your hot tap water is, then a safe bet is to boil a kettle in advance and let it cool.
Put your active-dry yeast into a bowl, and slowly pour the warm water over it. This will help ensure the yeast dissolves into the water properly. Don’t be afraid to mix it together a little bit extra.
In another large bowl, mix four cups of flour with a teaspoon and a half of salt. Mix together.
Now, slowly add the yeast-water mixture into the flour-salt mixture, while stirring and mixing vigorously.
Once everything is mixed and you’re left with a sticky dough place it on a lightly floured, clean, dry surface.
Knead the dough until it is a soft, smooth mass. Lightly coating the outside of the dough while kneading it will help this process along, but be careful not to add too much flour.
Cut the dough ball into four equal pieces, and roll into small balls.
Technically, this is already pizza dough, but…
When Are You Making Pizza?
You need to let your dough rise. This process takes a minimum of of forty-five minutes, but giving it longer is usually a good idea.
To make pizza today:
Place your four dough balls onto a lightly floured surface and cover them with a clean dish towel.
You will want to wait until the dough balls roughly double in size.
To make pizza tomorrow:
Place the dough balls onto a lightly floured baking sheet and cover them with a clean dish towel. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap. (Loosely, because you need room for the dough to rise and expand.)
When ready to use, just pull the dough balls out of the refrigerator fifteen minutes in advance.
To make pizza in a few weeks:
You can freeze your dough balls and they will keep for up to a month.
As soon as you’re done kneading the dough, coat the outside of each dough ball with flour and put them in a plastic zipper bag.
When you want to use the frozen dough, place them in the refrigerator the night before to thaw.
Tips for Making Homemade Pizza Dough
When you’re first mixing the dough, scrape the edges of the bowl to ensure it doesn’t all get too sticky.
You can use a food processor instead of hand mixing, but then you need to have (and clean) a food processor. It’s typically easier just to make pizza dough by hand.
Pizza dough is best when made fresh, so unless you eat a lot of pizza, there should be no reason to freeze it.