Homemade Pizza Dough

There is nothing quite as delicious as homemade pizza.  And, making pizza dough is really very simple!   Making your own pizza (dough and all) is MUCH cheaper than ordering out for delivery which is a MAJOR plus in our household too!

You can make a double batch and freeze the rest.  Just wrap it in plastic wrap and pop it in a freezer bag.  The next time you want to make homemade pizza you can just pull it out of the freezer in morning and place it in a greased bowl (roll a little olive oil around in it). Then, it will rise just in time for dinner!

I use my pizza dough for more than just homemade baked pizza!  I also use it to make calzones, mini personal sized pizzas, and grilled pizza!  Any way you make it … it is delicious!

Homemade Pizza Dough

3/4 c. warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
1 envelop (or the equivalent) of active dry yeast
2 cups (or more) all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil (plus more for brushing bowl)

Stir yeast into measuring cup with 3/4 cup warm water. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. In the meantime, brush a large bowl lightly with olive oil.

Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of your mixer (or other bowl if you are hand mixing/kneading – I use my Kitchen Aid mixer to make quick work of it!). Add yeast mixture and 3 Tbsp olive oil. Process with mixer’s dough hook until dough forms a sticky ball. It dough is too sticky to remove, add a little more flour and process a little more. Mix on low speed, using dough hook until the dough is smooth, and dough springs back when pressed (7 to 10 minutes). Transfer to oiled bowl.

Here’s my trick for helping my dough rise in a draft free area:
Place the bowl of dough in cold oven and cover with a clean cloth. Boil a pot of water on the stove and place the pot in the oven with the dough. The warmth from the boiling water/steam will help the dough to rise.

Allow dough to rise for 1 hour. When you are ready to use it, punch it down and roll it out for your pizza! This will make two medium pizzas or one very large one.

You can also make this dough a day ahead and place it in the refrigerator. It will rise in the fridge some. Take it out a few hours before you are ready to use it to allow it to come back to room temperature.