Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

I love a fresh, homemade pizza. There’s nothing quite like making the pizza dough yourself and adding your favourite toppings for the perfect Friday night dinner feast or family pizza night. Quick and easy to make, my pizza dough recipe tastes just as good (or if not better) than takeaway pizza or frozen pizza and you only need a few ingredients and tools for pizza dough perfection.

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Tools for making homemade pizza dough

It’s relatively easy to make pizza dough by hand, but that can take time and effort. For quick and easy results, you only need a few essential tools and pieces of kitchen equipment to make pizza making a breeze.

• Stand Mixer and Bowl – to mix and combine the dough
• Sieve – to sift the flour
• Pizza Stone – to cook the pizza dough on
• Tea Towel – to cover the dough to let it rise
• Rolling Pin – to roll out the dough
• A Hot Oven – to cook the pizza

Top tips for making homemade pizza dough

There are a few hidden secrets and top tips to making the perfect homemade pizza dough. After testing and trialing various recipes and techniques over a decade, I have come across one that works to ensure a thin crispy crust, that’s still soft and fluffy in the inside.

1. Don’t use too much water – only add a little bit of water at a time to avoid your pizza dough getting too wet. If it does get too wet, you can save it by adding some more flour.
2. Use warm water – don’t use cold water or boiling hot water. Warm water will wake up the yeast to let it do its magic.
3. Don’t use too much dried yeast – too much yeast will make the pizza dough rise too much, leading to a thick, doughy crust and no one likes that.
4. Let it rest – the key to the perfect pizza is letting the pizza dough rest for as long as possible in a warm place.
5. Use a pizza stone – this works much better than a baking tray or pizza pan as the stone heats up, helping form a crispier base.
6. Pre heat the oven to 275˚C before adding in the pizza. Note: you don’t need to heat the pizza stone first, just make sure the oven is hot.
7. Drop some olive oil on the pizza stone to stop the dough from sticking. You won’t need to flour the pizza stone or use baking paper.
8. Make the dough at least an hour ahead to give the dough plenty of time to rise.

How to store your leftover pizza dough?

If you have any dough leftover, you can store this in the refrigerator to use the next day. Before using it, remove it from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before to bring the dough to room temperature. You can also freeze the dough. Just simply divide the dough after it’s risen and roll into balls of dough and place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. To use, simply thaw it in the fridge overnight.

The best toppings for your homemade pizza

Once your pizza dough is ready, there are so many toppings you can add to it. Of course, this is all taste dependent, but some of my favourite pizza toppings include the following:

• Pepperoni and Chilli Pizza
• Vegetarian Pizza – onions, mushrooms, pineapple, red chilli, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes
• BBQ Chicken Pizza – BBQ sauce, shredded chicken, red onion, smoked paprika
• Quattro Formaggio (Four Cheese Pizza) – mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, blue cheese
• Hawaiian Pizza – ham, pineapple, mozzarella
• Classic Margherita – fresh buffalo mozzarella and basil leaves

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | Serves 2 | Easy | 30 minutes (plus rising time)

Ingredients

• 300g (2 ¼ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting (can also use all purpose flour or bread flour)
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus a few drops for the pizza stone and bowl
• 3.5g dried yeast or instant yeast
• Approx. 400ml (1 ¾ cups) warm water

Pizza Toppings

• 60ml (1/4 cup) Leggo’s pizza sauce (or enough to cover the base)
• Half an onion, diced
• 1 Chilli finely chopped
• 100g (2/3 cup) Pineapple cubes
• 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 jar of Piquillo Peppers – sliced
• 140g (1 1/3 cups) mixture of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheese

Method

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift 300g plain flour and add the yeast and a swirl of olive oil (2 tbsp).
2. Mix on a medium speed and slowly add the warm water a little at a time.
3. When the mix becomes too dry, add some more water and continue to knead the dough until it comes together and is firm. You can test this with your finger – it should spring back.
4. Take the pizza dough out of the mixer bowl and add a drop of olive oil at the bottom to stop the dough from sticking. Place the dough back in the bowl and place a towel on top and leave in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hour.
5. Once ready, take the dough out of the bowl and pre-heat your oven to 275˚C. The dough should have risen to double the size.
6. On a lightly floured surface, shape and turn the dough with your hands by pushing down and stretching it into a round circle. Use a rolling pin to finish it off to match the size of your pizza stone.
7. Add your favourite toppings (pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, onions, mushrooms, pineapple, red chilli, tomatoes and Piquillo peppers) and place the pizza on the slightly oiled pizza stone. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
8. Serve immediately with a side salad, garlic bread or chicken wings.

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