Insanely Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Perfect for Pizza Night

Ditch the box and go for this easy homemade pizza dough for your pizza night! With simple ingredients a little shaping, you can have a large family pizza or individual pizzas to please everyone.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Does your family do Friday night pizza night? It seems like a Midwest tradition! Growing up I always remember being excited about pizza & movie night. My parents would grab out the Chefboyardee box pizza kit and we would work together as a family to create our pizza masterpieces.

My dad always seemed to add more to the dough recipe – more flour, oil, water, something. He was never happy with the pre-made mix. When I was little I didn’t know any different, I just liked pizza. But as an adult, I get it!

That’s why I LOVE this easy pizza dough recipe for homemade pizza night. Ditch the box mix and make the dough yourself. It’s fluffy, crunchy, not too doughy (if you know you know), and holds its shape.

Now that I’m in charge of pizza night, I love making homemade pizzas in circle pans, rectangle cookie sheets, or even trying out our deep dish pan. The dough works so well in any setting, creating that Chicago deep dish everyone loves, or a thinner crust that lets the toppings shine!

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How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough

Here are the ingredients you need to make homemade pizza dough. Most of the variations come when adding your favorite sauces or toppings. We follow this recipe to the T for a great homemade pizza dough each time.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 T active dry yeast (or 2 packets)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or coconut)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

Recommended Equipment

• Stand mixer with the dough hook attachment 
• Plastic wrap (or my favorite baking hack – a plastic shower cap)
• Cookie sheet, deep dish pan, or pizza stone

Instructions

Fill the bowl of your stand mixer with hot water and let set for 2 minutes. This warms up the bowl and will help activate the yeast.

Drain the water and add 1 1/2 cups warm water plus yeast packets. Stir and let set until foamy (about 5 minutes). Next, add sugar, salt, oil, and flour.

Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then move the dough to an oiled bowl. I formed mine into a ball during this point and covered it with plastic wrap.

Let sit for about 1 hour (it should almost double in size).

After this, take out the homemade pizza dough, punch it down, and roll it flat on a floured surface. You can use this dough for one large pizza, two round pans, or 4 individual pizzas. This flexibility works great for families like ours who can’t agree on toppings. 😆

We like some combination of pizza sauce, cooked ground sausage, pepperoni, spinach, banana peppers, onions, and shredded cheese.

This is a great opportunity to get the family involved and have each person make their pizza. Maybe ham and pineapple or meat lovers or all veggies. Not every recipe lends itself to having “help” from the kiddos, but this one does!

After adding the desired toppings, bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, then check.

Add 4-10 minutes based on pizza size and how brown you like your crust. If you have a deep dish or pizza stone you could be cooking longer. I like to rotate the pans at the 10-minute mark and cook for about 10 minutes more.

Also, keep in mind that some cookie sheets cook faster than others. Our newest cookie sheet did not cook the dough as much as our old one within the same time frame. Just leave the oven light on and keep an eye out.

Options for Cooking Homemade Pizza Dough

• Make your dough ahead of time – you can mix this homemade pizza dough up in the morning and then keep it in the fridge until you are ready to roll out and bake.
• Make smaller pizzas – instead of four 8×11 size pizzas, try creating Lunchables size pizzas for kids to enjoy. Mix and match toppings for a fun and tasty experiment. This can also help feed a crowd for a birthday party.
• Substitute sourdough discard – use 1/4 cup less water and substitute sourdough discard for a depth of flavor to your pizza crust.
• Add seasoning to your crust – Brush the homemade pizza dough with olive oil and sprinkle garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese for more flavor. Or mix up some melted butter and garlic powder and brush on before baking.

Let us know if you make this fun homemade pizza dough – we love to see others enjoying from-scratch cooking – tag us on Instagram @circlecityhomestead.

Thanks for stopping by the homestead.