Easy Bread Flour Pizza Dough

This Easy Bread Flour Pizza Dough recipe quickly comes together using just 5 ingredients. The best choice for Italian-style pizza, bread flour always produces light, chewy, and irresistibly soft homemade pizza dough. You’ll never go back to all-purpose flour again!

Jump to Recipe

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

Making homemade pizza dough using bread flour is easy and so delicious! My Easy Bread Flour Pizza Dough recipe can be tackled by anyone; from experienced bakers to average home cooks! All you need are 5 ingredients and a little bit of time.

Light and finely ground bread flour is the supreme choice when it comes to creating a soft and chewy pizza dough from scratch. Compared to thick and heavy homemade pizza dough usually made with all-purpose flour, you’ll find the results from this recipe to be much more appetizing, lighter, and softer (so you can eat more pizza!). 

This is the best homemade pizza crust recipe to always keep in your back pocket. It stores well in the fridge or freezer so you can always be prepared when it’s your turn to host make-your-own-pizza nights or use it to make fresh Dinner Rolls and indulgent Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread).

What Flour Is Best For Pizza Dough?

There are endless amounts of flours available nowadays – all-purpose, bread, cake, almond, oat flour… the list goes on! To make the best homemade pizza dough, you have to choose wisely.

When making homemade pizza dough, Tipo “00” Extra Fine Bread Flour is the best you can use. “00” flour is so finely ground and produces a pizza crust that’s airy, chewy, and soft. This flour also gives the finished crust an 11-12% gluten level which keeps it from being overly heavy or dense. But if you can’t find it or don’t want to order the flour online, grab a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Bread flour at your local grocery store or order some online.

Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients

• Bread flour – Using the right kind of flour is more important than you may think! Go for a high quality bread flour, like Tipo “00” Extra Fine Bread Flour. All purpose flour has a higher percentage of gluten whereas bread flour is finely ground and has a lower gluten percentage, producing a lighter and softer homemade pizza dough. 
• Active dry yeast – This is the type of yeast that needs to be bloomed before making the dough to ensure it’s alive. If you’re new to baking with yeast, feel free to use Instant Yeast instead. It’s easier to use but you won’t be able to tell if it’s alive or not before baking.
• Warm water – Too hot and it will kill the yeast. Try to use water between 110-115°F.
• Olive oil – For moisture and flavor.
• Sea salt – Don’t skip the salt! Your dough will be too bland without it.

How to Make Easy Pizza Dough

1. Place the warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer and sprinkle the yeast over top. Stir, then let it bloom for a few minutes.
2. Next, add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Use the dough hook to mix on low until the pizza dough comes together.
3. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rest for up to 1 hour or until it’s doubled in size. You can transfer the dough into a bowl with a teaspoon of olive oil and let it rest there if you are making more than one dough ball.
4. Cut the risen dough into 2 equal pieces. Stretch and roll it out to use for your favorite pizza, or store it in the fridge or freezer for later (see my storing instructions below).

Tips and tricks

• Baking with yeast – Check the expiration date on your yeast packet. You’ll know the yeast is alive if it turns foamy in the warm water. If it doesn’t bloom or bubble, the yeast is dead and won’t produce the same results.
• Is the dough sticky? Mix in 1 tablespoon of flour at a time if the dough is too sticky to work with.
• Stretching the dough – Use your hands to stretch and pull the dough into a circle (it doesn’t need to be perfect). Try not to overwork it or else the pizza will turn out dry and crispy. If you’re having trouble using your hands, a rolling pin is always a great backup!

Helpful equipment

A Kitchenaid mixer is the secret to an easy pizza dough recipe. You don’t even need to get your hands dirty or knead the dough! It does all the mixing and kneading for you. 

When it comes to pizza night, I can’t recommend the Ooni pizza oven enough. We got one a few months ago and have been hosting pizza-making nights with friends weekly. It speeds up the cooking time and cooks homemade pizza beautifully, just like a real wood oven!

No room for a pizza oven? No problem! A pizza stone not only makes your homemade pizza dough so crisp, but it speeds up the cooking time. Keep the stone in your oven as it’s preheating as this is how it retains heat and cooks the dough evenly.

How to Store and Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough

Make your pizza dough up to a month in advance! Store it in a sealed ziploc bag and keep the dough in your freezer until your next pizza night. If you plan on using it sooner, keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To thaw, keep the frozen dough in the fridge overnight. Let it sit on the counter (covered in a damp towel) so it can come down to room temperature before baking.

Use Your Homemade Dough For These Recipes

• Homemade Focaccia Bread
• Proscuitto and Egg Tart
• Grilled Chicken Pizza
• Bacon Breakfast Biscuits

Did you try this Easy Bread Flour Pizza Dough recipe? Don’t forget to tell me what you think in the comments below, or share a picture on Instagram! I love to share all of your recreations on my page.