Armed with this easy, 1-hour pizza dough recipe, you can have homemade pizza on even the busiest weeknights. All you need is a big bowl with a lid, a sturdy wooden spoon, and some ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen: instant yeast, sugar, salt, flour, and olive oil. Mix it up, let it rise for at least 45 minutes, and you're ready to go!
This is an update of the weeknight pizza dough recipe (adapted from the pizza dough in Cuisinart's food processor recipe booklet) that started it all. It's the first recipe I demo in every pizza making class I teach, and it's the one I refer to every time someone tells me they're intimidated by the idea of making pizza at home. Do you have a big bowl and a wooden spoon? Then you can master 1-hour pizza dough — I promise. (Once you get the hang of it and start whipping up pizzas on the regular, consider investing $15 in a dough whisk, which makes quick work of mixing the dough. *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*)
So what are you waiting for? I tried to make the recipe below as easy to follow as possible. And I even made a video so you can follow along step by step.
Because this weeknight pizza dough rises for much less time than my Slow-Rise and Neapolitan recipes, it makes a crust that's less airy and a bit more dense and bready. The flavor, however, is not that much different. And, in fact, the denser structure of this crust holds up better to lots of toppings. Give it a try, and let me know what you think!
1-Hour Pizza Dough in Photos
1-Hour Pizza Dough
Equipment
- Large bowl with lid
- Sturdy wooden spoon or dough whisk
- Rolling pin (optional)
Ingredients
- 3⅓ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, dipped and leveled (483 grams)
- 1 packet instant (rapid-rise) dry yeast (2-½ teaspoons)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1¼ cups warm water
- extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until everything is mixed together.
- Pour in the warm water and stir with the wooden spoon or dough whisk until a shaggy dough forms and there is only a little bit of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl.
- If you're wearing any rings on your fingers, take them off. Knead the dough in the bowl with both hands until no more dry flour remains in the bottom of the bowl and the dough comes together into a ball. Start by poking the dough with your fingertips and squishing it through your fists, and then, when the dry flour is incorporated, keep folding and pressing it down with the heel of your hand until the dough doesn't stick to your hands and stays together in a smooth-ish ball. (This whole process should only take a few minutes.)
- Grab a large bowl (preferably one that has a lid) and drizzle in some olive oil to coat the inside. (Or, you could clean the bowl you made the dough in and use that.) Place the dough ball in the greased bowl, cover tightly with the lid or plastic wrap, and put it in a warm place to rise for at least 45 minutes or up to 2 hours. (In the winter when my kitchen is chilly, I let the dough rise on the floor or on a chair near the radiator.)
- Check your dough after 45 minutes. It should have puffed up and grown by at least 50 percent to fill out the bowl; on a warm day, it will probably have doubled by now, and there will be little bubbles on the bottom. You can ball up the dough and use it now, or you can let it rise for another hour or so to get a slightly airier dough.
- Dust a clean work surface lightly with flour. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and form each piece into a ball by stretching the edges underneath and grabbing the bottom of the ball with your fist. Place the dough balls on your floured work surface and cover with an inverted bowl or a piece of plastic wrap. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes or until the balls puff up a bit. (If you're in a hurry, you can skip this extra resting time and roll out the dough balls right after you form them.)
- To stretch/roll out the dough: Grab one dough ball and place it on a lightly floured surface. Set the other dough ball aside, still under the bowl so it won't dry out.
- Flatten the dough a little with your hand or a rolling pin. (This will help keep it even as you stretch or roll it out.) Pick up the dough disk and tug gently on one side. If it gives easily, then you should have no problem stretching it out: keep turning and tugging gently on the edges, letting it hang from your forearm to let gravity do its work, and gently moving your fist underneath from the center to the edges until you have a 12-inch round. If the flattened dough disk barely gives at all when you give it that first tug, you might be better off rolling it out instead.
- Finito! Top and bake the dough, then repeat the stretching or rolling process with the second ball of dough and top and bake that one, too. (Or, if you're only making one ball of dough, you can freeze the second ball in a zip-top bag or refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 2 days (just make sure you thaw it out and let it come to room temperature before stretching).
Abu Bakar says
I want to try it, hopefully I can 🙂
Jacob says
Nice photos! It is a pleasure to watch. The recipe is great, and 10 minutes is not so long for me ... I mean the preparation. I love quick recipes.
Gabrielė says
In which step the dough can be put to freezer?
Looking forward to try this recipe 😉
Peggy Paul Casella says
You can freeze the dough after it's divided in half and balled up. Freeze each ball in a separate container (I use zip-top bags). Good luck!
Michelle says
I must have missed it. What temperature and how long do you cook it?
Peggy Paul Casella says
Bake the pizza at 500 on a baking sheet, or preheat a baking stone or steel to 550, then switch to Broil. The pizza should take about 10 minutes on a baking sheet, 6 to 8 minutes on a stone or steel.
Renee says
I made this and it was sooooo easy and sooooo delicious. It will be my forever go to for pizza crust. My family LOVED it!! I wonder if anyone has made anything else with the dough such as cheese sticks, dinner rolls?
Peggy Paul Casella says
I'm glad you love that recipe as much as I do! If you want to make something other than pizza, try this awesome pull-apart bread (https://www.thursdaynightpizza.com/christmas-tree-pull-apart-bread/), which you can make into any shape you like.
Aidan says
Yes! I made this last night and was pleased; beautiful flop on the crust. I used type 00 flour and laid my dough balls on cornmeal-dusted parchment and par baked them when I had stretched them out, for 4 minutes each at 425, on a “stone.” (my stone is actually a grid of clay tiles) When topped, I cooked them on the stone for ~10 minutes each. Meant to turn up the oven, but it worked fine at 425. So glad to have a decent one-rise dough. Than you for providing weights for measurements; I only cook by weight and it was either double rise or cup measure for other recipes.
Peggy Paul Casella says
So glad you liked the recipe!
Adriana G. says
Seems an easy recipe, I added some dried oregano and basil to it and it is now rising. Thank you for the recipe!
Peggy Paul Casella says
Great! Let me know how it turns out!
Denise says
You didn’t list the temperature of the oven anywhere!
Peggy Paul Casella says
The temp depends on how you are baking your pizza--just use this dough for any pizza recipe. Bake on a baking sheet at 500°F for 10 to 12 minutes, or, if using a baking stone/steel, preheat your oven to 550°F or as high as it goes, then set it to broil and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the crust and toppings begin to blister.
Megan says
Could i use this dough to make stromboli?
Peggy Paul Casella says
Absolutely!
Shubhda Garg says
Have you tried using wheat flour for the recipe? I tried making this one and it came out amazing!!! However looking for a healthy substitute.
Peggy Paul Casella says
Yes, I have tinkered with whole wheat flour, but the texture really suffers if you swap in too much whole wheat flour for the bread flour. I would start by using 1-1/3 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups bread flour. Let me know how it turns out!
Sarah Piano says
Hi Peggy,
I can not find instant yeast or pizza yeast anywhere. Can I use nutritional yeast? Are there any other options?
Peggy Paul Casella says
Hi! Nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast, so it won't work in this recipe. You can use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast--just let it rise longer until it has about doubled in size. If you can't find instant or active dry yeast, try making my beer pizza dough or no-yeast sourdough pizza dough. Happy pizza making!
Sunny says
I am obsessed with this recipe. It is so easy and always so good.
Peggy Paul Casella says
thanks!
Samantha Ariens says
Tried recipe for the first time. Water/yeast/sugar 10min then gradually added the rest of the ingredients, but added 1 tablespoon malt baking powder as well. Dough puffed up beautifully! I used gravity when putting in pan. Living in Sicily I used a plain simple tomato sauce then added several spices.
Hannah says
Can you let it sit for longer than an hour?
Peggy Paul Casella says
Yes! I've let it rise for up to 4 hours with great success!
Marsha says
So absolutely delicious! I cut the dough in half and made 2 smaller pizzas out of the first half, and put the second half in the fridge for another day.
I agree with another reviewer: 450 for 10 min for high altitude was perfect.
Thank you for your hard work on this recipe 🙂
Anita says
What is the temperature of the oven. And how long to bake thank you
Peggy Paul Casella says
If you're using a baking sheet or pizza pan, bake at 500F for about 15 minutes, until the crust is browned around the edges and evenly golden on the bottom. If you're using a baking stone or steel, preheat the stone/steel in your oven to 550F or as high as your oven can get, let it preheat for 30 minutes to an hour, then switch to Broil; slide the topped dough onto the hot stone/steel and Broil for 6 to 8 minutes.
Angie says
Do I need to oil the baking sheet before putting the topped dough on it to cook?
Peggy Paul Casella says
It's up to you. I have nonstick baking sheets, so I don't always grease them for pizza. However, a little olive oil on the baking sheet will help make the crust even more flavorful!
Lisa says
I've been making a pizza crust that requires several hours or overnight proofing but wanted a crust that I could make tonight. What a great crust! I used about a cup of 00 flour, bit followed the rest of the recipe faithfully. My family was as impressed as when I made the "more work" crust. Thanks!!
Peggy Paul Casella says
I'm so glad to hear that!
Erica says
This is a WINNER! I made a few adjustments like blooming the yeast for 10 min, I added another t of sugar and 2T of EVOO. By the time I got around to starting the recipe I really didn’t want to wait the full amount of time to proof so I cheated turned the oven to 170 for 20 min and we were good to go. I like that from the recipe I got 2 pizzas for tonight and had 2 to freeze for another dinner. Any time I can get 2 meals with no extra effort I’m sold.
Peggy Paul Casella says
So glad you like the recipe! Thanks for commenting and rating!
Sandra says
I used the listed grams for flour and it came out extremely tough, the dough was over worked by the time I got the flour mixed in. 3 1/3 cups of bread flour is actually 448 grams and 3 1/3 cup of all purpose is 412 grams!
Patrycia says
I did it by weight today and the dough came out perfect. I usually do a 2 or three night dough but wanted something last minute, it was perfect.
May says
I thought so too. Haven’t baked it yet to determine taste, but fearful it won’t be good.
Carol McCreesh says
Can this dough be used to cook in an outdoor pizza oven? My understanding is that some are better in a oven vs a high heat pizza oven
Peggy Paul Casella says
Hi! You can use this dough in an outdoor oven, but just make sure you roll it out as thinly as possible. When I use my Ooni pizza oven, I like to use the overnight pizza dough (https://www.thursdaynightpizza.com/slow-rise-pizza-dough/), beer pizza dough (https://www.thursdaynightpizza.com/beer-pizza-dough-or-the-world-will-not-end-if-you-run-out-of-yeast/), or Neapolitan (https://www.thursdaynightpizza.com/neapolitan-pizza-dough/).
Carol McCreesh says
Thanks. I will give some of them a try…have been trying different recipes for my ooni
Andre says
I made this instead of my usual dough to test out a pizza topping on a whim. I did end up leaving it on the counter for a couple hours rising happily, to no harm what so ever. It was SOOOOOOO good. Chewy, crispy underneath, good flavor! Definitely going to use it with intentions this weekend. A real keeper. Thanks!
Peggy Paul Casella says
That's great to hear, Andre! I'm thrilled that you like the recipe as much as I do. 🙂
Jay says
Question...if i let it rise for the additional hour, is that only after punching it down first, after the first hour, or can i just let it go for two hours before punching it down. I made it letting it rise for one hour and my family says its the best pizza i ever made. Just wanted to try the longer rise. Thanks for the terrific recipe!
Peggy Paul Casella says
You can let it proof for 2 hours if you want before balling it up. Just don't let it go too long if it's hot in your kitchen or the dough will over-ferment. So glad you like the recipe!
Miranda says
The crust from this dough recipe is the only crust my partner will ever eat. And that is quite an achievement.
Love the cookbook and this blog
Peggy Paul Casella says
Wow! Reading this comment was the BEST way to start my Monday. Thanks!
Kristi B says
I made this today because it was a snow day! When my daughter and husband came in from snow plowing, we made our own personal pizzas. Baking at 500* for just about 5 mins was just right! I live in a very dry climate, so added about 1/4 c extra water. Thank you for sharing your recipe. We will use this for every family pizza night!
Peggy Paul Casella says
So glad you like the recipe, Kristi! Happy pizza making!
Poe says
Well no temp and time. 🤷♀️. I’ll figure it out myself
Freckles says
Ive made this recipe twice and it's delicious! So easy also. The second time I added a little garlic powder and rosemary.
My kids love it as well. It's so much better making home made pizza.
BUT....has anyone used Gluten free flour for this recipe? My nephew has celiac disease and I wanted to share this recipe with my sister but she has to make it gluten free.
Can this recipe be made gluten free?
Hopefully someone will respond. I tried looking in the comments but no luck yet. I'll keep looking.
Tracey says
I have arthritis, could i use my bread machine to make the dough.
Peggy Paul Casella says
Yes! Let me know how it turns out!
Venturi says
First time I did it didn’t work. 280 grams of water was a lot. Then I saw the video and noticed it was a lot less than the written measure. I ended up doing with a smaller glass and 1 1/4 cup was about 120 grams. Then the recipe worked great. Thank you. Is it a typo or do you really use 280g of water?
Peggy Paul Casella says
Ahhh--thanks for catching that! It's best to measure the water in a cup measure (1.25 cups). Glad the recipe worked well for you!
MaxReko says
Love this recipe. If you have an Ooni and struggle with dough that sticks or falls apart in the Ooni this recipe is for one. This recipe makes two dough balls that roll out to the perfect size for an Ooni. This is my absolute go to for a quick dinner...or lunch pizza.
Thanks!
Peggy Paul Casella says
You're very welcome!
Gene says
What temperature and for how long do you bake it?
I can't seem to find that posted anywhere in the recipe
Peggy Paul Casella says
Check out the baking instructions in any of my pizza recipes, or here: https://www.thursdaynightpizza.com/easy-homemade-pizza-recipe/
Basit says
Nice