Learn how to make pizza at home with my perfect homemade pizza crust recipe with this easy step-by-step recipe! This foolproof dough is chewy, crisp, and ready for all your favorite toppings. Ideal for beginners and pizza-lovers alike.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe
- What IS Rapid/Instant Yeast?
- Pizza Crust Ingredients:
- What Can I Add To Pizza Dough To Season It?
- How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough
- Tips For My Pizza Crust Recipe
- What Toppings Can You Put On This Pizza Crust?
- Topping Ideas for Homemade Pizza
- Storing Pizza Dough
- Get the Recipe
- Looking For More Pizza Recipes? Try These:
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe
You might wonder how it’s possible to have this recipe ready to go in the oven in 15 minutes…I wouldn’t believe it either, if I hadn’t made it so many times! The secret is you don’t have to let the dough rise!!
- Texture – Crispy edges with a soft, chewy center
- Quick and Easy to Make – No fancy equipment required, and extra quick with instant yeast!
- Only 6 basic ingredients – You probably have everything on your pantry right now to make your dough!
- Customizable thickness – Thin crust or thick, you decide!
- Freezer-friendly – Perfect for meal prep!
What IS Rapid/Instant Yeast?
Quick or instant yeast is milled into finer particles which allows it to dissolve faster! This is why you don’t have to “bloom” the yeast in water before adding it into your dry ingredients and it doesn’t require a second rise time!
Pizza Crust Ingredients:
The full recipe list and instructions are at the bottom of this post in the recipe card!
- All-purpose flour – No need to use bread flour in this recipe, simple all purpose works perfectly!
- Rapid Rise or Instant Yeast – This is the reason you can have the crust done so quickly! If you choose to use traditional yeast you will need to allow the dough to rise for 2 – 3 hours in a warm place before rolling the dough out.
- Granulated sugar. The addition of sugar aids in activating the yeast as well as a bit of flavor!
- Kosher salt – This just adds flavor!
- Warm water (120° to 130°F) – Make sure the water is warm, not hot. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast and it won’t rise.
- Olive oil – This will help contribute to a softer, more tender, and flavorful crust, while also aiding in elasticity.
What Can I Add To Pizza Dough To Season It?
This is another great way to put your own stamp on your homemade pizza. Adding seasonings into the dough is a fantastic idea to add more flavor! You will add the seasonings in with the flour mixture in Step #2 of the recipe below.
How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough
Make the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine some of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Then add in the water and oil and stir, gradually adding the remaining flour until a soft dough that holds together in a ball and is slightly sticky.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 4 minutes or you can use the dough hook on your mixer for this step too!
- Cover with a clean towel and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Top and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and if you’re using a pizza stone place that in the oven while it’s preheating.
- Press the dough into a 12 – 15 inch round circle. If you are using a hot pizza pizza stone I recommend doing this step on your floured surface.
- Top with sauce, cheese, and desired toppings. If using a pizza stone, lightly dust it with corn meal, and then gently place the assembled pizza onto the stone to bake.
- Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until crispy and golden!
Tips For My Pizza Crust Recipe
- Use warm—not hot—water to activate the yeast properly.
- Preheat your oven fully before baking to ensure a crisp bottom.
- Add cornmeal to the pan or stone for a pizzeria-style texture.
- Don’t overload with toppings or your crust may get soggy.
- For extra flavor, mix garlic powder or Italian seasoning into the dough.
What Toppings Can You Put On This Pizza Crust?
Well, this is where your creativity comes into play! I just used mini pepperoni on today’s pizza, but the sky is the limit! Again, this is a great time to get your kids involved and let them create their very own pizza flavor!
Topping Ideas for Homemade Pizza
- Classic Margherita: Tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil
- Meat Lover’s: Pepperoni, sausage, bacon
- Veggie Delight: Bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, spinach
- BBQ Chicken: BBQ sauce, cooked chicken, red onion, cilantro
Storing Pizza Dough
- To Refrigerate: After prepping the dough, form it into a ball, lightly coat it with olive oil and place in an airtight bag, doing your best to remove as much air as possible. Place the dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: After prepping the dough, form it into a ball, lightly coat it with olive oil and place in an airtight bag, doing your best to remove as much air as possible. Place the dough in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To Thaw: Transfer frozen dough to the refrigerator and let it thaw overnight. Once thawed, let it sit at room temperature for 30–45 minutes before shaping.
Easy Pizza Crust Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dinner
Description
This Easy Pizza Crust Recipe is going to be your go-to recipe from now on! Chewy, flavorful and on your dinner table in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 envelope Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup warm water (120° to 130°F)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup sliced pepperoni or preferred topping
- 1–2 tablespoons cornmeal if using a pizza stone
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. If using a baking stone, place the baking stone in the oven while it preheats. Otherwise, lightly coat a pizza pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl stir together 1 cup of flour, dry yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Add warm water and oil. Stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula for 1 minute.
- Gradually add more flour to form a soft dough that holds together in a ball and is slightly sticky.
- Knead on a floured surface for 4 minutes until smooth and elastic. Alternately, you can do this in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix the ingredients together with the paddle attachment, and then attach the dough hook to knead for 4 minutes on medium speed.
- Cover with a clean towel and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
- Place the dough onto the prepared pizza pan. Or if you’re using a pizza stone to bake, I recommend doing this step on a floured pizza peel or a cutting board. Press the dough into a 12 – 15-inch circle.
- Top with your pizza sauce, cheese, and topping(s).
- Place the pizza pan into the oven, or if using a pizza stone, remove the stone from the oven and sprinkle with corn meal. Slide the pizza onto the stone and place back in the oven.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 slices
- Calories: 622
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 1595 mg
- Fat: 37.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 47.4 g
- Protein: 23.4 g
- Cholesterol: 66.3 mg
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My crust came out kind of “bready” instead of thin and crispy. I rolled it out quite large and I also cooked longer . I also felt the crust did not have much flavor. Any advice . I’d like to try making again as it was super easy to stretch the dough
First time making pizza crust and it was a hit! My kiddo is autistic and particularly about textures but he loved this! Thank you!
great recipe — dough was easy to work with- my new go to for my weekly Pizza meal
Can I make this the day ahead and bring it to room temp before rolling out to place in pizza pan?
Yep! You can make this ahead, just put it in the fridge before it rises, allowing it to rise more slowly overnight!
Made this today and it’s yummy. I may use whole wheat flour next time!
SO glad you enjoyed!!
Very easy and very good! Will definitely make this again. Quicker than takeout! Will also try making ahead for a slow rest in the refrigerator.
just made this today amidst of the pandemic because we are not going out to order pizza. added the seasonings like you suggested to the crust (rosemary basil and garlic powder). everyone made their own portion how they liked it with the toppings and the cheese was a mix of mozz and parm. incredibly yummy and flavorful. did noooooot tast like cardboard. Thanks for an awesome recipe that the whole family enjoyed. we will be making this again and so glad it doesn’t take that long too.
So glad you enjoyed!!
I made this last night, I’m sure going to make this recipe my go to pizza crust recipe! In trying times with the stay at home in effect because of the COVID-19. I could not find rapid rise yeast at 3 different stores but I picked up some groceries for a neighbor and told her I found everything on our lists we needed except the yeast….with a big smile she ran to her kitchen and handed me a packet. Thank you for sharing and stay safe.
So glad you were able to find the yeast!! Stay safe and I’m so glad you enjoyed!
So I have a (probably unfounded) fear of yeast but since this didn’t require a long proofing time I thought I’d try it out for dinner last night and OMG- this was sooo yummy! The dough was so simple to make and it had such a good flavor even without any additional flavoring to the dough. I just made a simple pepperoni, olives and cheese pizza and my husband and I really enjoyed it. Thank you for this!
SO glad you liked it!!! It’s our go-to for quick pizza dough!!
Is there a pizza sauce you would recommend? Or a homemade pizza sauce? Do you have any recipes for a homemade pizza? Lol. The last homemade crust i made and sauce had no flavor! I like garlicky tastes! Any tips would be appreciated!
We like Don Pepino pizza sauce which is inexpensive and available at my local stores. Here is a link to it on amazon if you’re interested! https://amzn.to/2WSiWE6
And to amp up the garlic flavor in the crust you can absolutely add garlic powder to the crust dough, or melt some butter with a little fresh garlic or powder and brush it on the dough as soon as it comes out of the oven!
Going to try this out on our next Pizza Night – my question is – I purchase my rapid yeast by the container and the recipe requests “1 envelope of rapid yeast” what is the equivalent to tsp.
And I look forward to seasoning the dough with a garlic seasoning that I have on hand..
Have a great day
Germaine
One packet is 1/4 ounce, or approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons 🙂