This pizza dough is exactly like the one I remember helping my Italian grandmother make as a kid. It's light, fluffy and very easy to bring together if you are looking for a simple Sunday night dinner. Just add a big salad to round off your meal and you'll be starting the week off on the right foot.
The best topping for this easy-peasy pizza is my Homemade Pizza Sauce without Tomato Paste or my recipe for Pizza Sauce with Cherry Tomatoes. I have made it with the addition of different cheeses as well as a variety of vegetables and cold cuts. The combinations are endless!
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Gather the Ingredients for the Easy Peasy Homemade Fluffy Pizza Dough
- water
- sugar
- Active Dry Yeast
- all-purpose flour
- kosher salt
- extra-virgin olive oil
See the recipe below for specific quantities and details.
How to Make Fluffy Pizza Dough
Prepare yeast: In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water (100-110 degrees Fahrenheit or 38-43 degrees Celsius) and sugar, making sure to fully dissolve the sugar. Next, add the packet of yeast. Stir to combine and let rest until the mixture begins to foam, 5-7 minutes.
Prepare the flour. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, add the flour and whisk in the salt.
Add olive oil. When the yeast mixture has become foamy, add the olive oil and stir.
Add flour to the yeast mixture. Set the bowl with the yeast mixture onto your stand mixer. Attach the dough hook and set the speed to low and begin adding spoonfuls of the flour mixture to the yeast mixture until fully incorporated. Next, increase the speed of the stand mixer to medium and let the machine knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
Check for the right consistency. When the dough is ready, it should be soft and not sticky. A good gauge for readiness is when the bowl of your stand mixer is "clean" with no residual flour in it, as pictured below.
Remove from bowl. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead for 5 minutes by hand. This step is not necessary as the stand mixer already did most of the work, but it's a step I enjoy because I can adjust the consistency if a bit more flour is needed.
Shape the dough. Once kneaded, shape the dough into a ball, drizzle with olive oil and put it back into the oiled bowl of the stand mixer. Cover with parchment paper (so that the dough does not stick) and a damp tea towel over that and let rise in a warm corner of your kitchen for 2 hours or until doubled in size. I like to let it rise in the oven with the oven light on or in the microwave.
After rising. Once doubled in size, as pictured below, it's time to prepare the pizza.
Prepare the pizza. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. After the dough has risen, divide it in two. Oil the pans and begin by stretching the dough onto the pan with your hands. This is an exercise in patience! If the dough is not spreading easily, let it sit for 5-10 minutes to relax the gluten in the flour and try again. Never use a rolling pin to spread and stretch the dough because you will deflate all the bubbles in the dough and your pizza will be dense rather than light and fluffy.
Add your toppings. Add the toppings of your choice to create your pizza. Once you've dressed the pizza, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will give the dough one last chance to rise slightly so that the pizza will be thick and fluffy. Then bake the pizza on the lower rack of the oven for 13-15 minutes or until the bottom is lightly golden brown.
Secrets for Success
- Ensure that the yeast you are using is alive and not expired. If you notice that the yeast does not foam up when you begin the recipe, it could be that it has expired or that the water temperature used was not ideal. The water should be between 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit or 38-43 degrees Celsius.
- Do not use a rolling pin to stretch the dough as this will deflate the dough and your pizza will not bake up nice and fluffy.
- If you have a kitchen scale, use it! It is always more accurate when baking to weigh the ingredients. This recipe was tested by weight. But as a very rough estimate, I have also included the volume measure in the recipe card below.
Substitutions
- A large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon can easily replace a stand mixer. If you don't have one, you will need a little bit more elbow grease! Follow the recipe instructions above, except add the wet ingredients to a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Then add a bit of flour to your hands and knead the dough on a clean counter until a smooth ball of dough has formed and continue with the recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can but you will have to make a few modifications. The Rapid Rise Yeast will need to be added to the dry ingredients and when you add the wet ingredients, you will have to ensure that the temperature of the water is between 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit or 48-54 degrees Celsius, which is hotter than if you were using Active Dry Yeast. After you knead the dough, let it rest for 10-15 minutes and then proceed with stretching your dough onto the pizza pans, garnish and bake.
Yes, you can freeze this dough, however, based on my testing, it did not yield the same fluffy results as you would get if you made the dough and baked it the same day. If you wish to freeze it, before letting the dough rise, wrap it in parchment paper and plastic wrap and freeze it for up to three months. When ready to use, unwrap the dough, let it thaw at room temperature, and let it rise in an oiled bowl covered with parchment paper and a damp tea towel for six hours. You can then proceed with the recipe but will notice that the pizza will have less volume when baked, but it will be as tasty!
Storage Instructions
- The pizza will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days. For best results, reheat on the middle rack of a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 5-10 minutes.
Recipe
Easy Peasy Homemade Fluffy Pizza Dough
Equipment
- small mixing bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
- kitchen thermometer
- kitchen scale
- whisk
- stand mixer with a dough hook, or large mixing bowl
- wooden spoon, if making by hand
- 2 9 inch by 13 inch pizza pans, or two 12 inch round pizza pans
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups water 100-110°F, or 38-43°C
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet), or 8 grams
- 570 grams all-purpose flour, or roughly 4 ⅛ cups
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to oil the ball of dough when rising
Instructions
- Prepare yeast. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water (100-110 degrees Fahrenheit or 38-43 degrees Celsius) and sugar making sure to fully dissolve the sugar. Next, add the packet of yeast. Stir to combine and let rest until the mixture begins to foam, 5-7 minutes.1 ½ cups water 100-110°F, 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet), 1 teaspoon sugar
- Prepare the flour. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl add the flour and whisk in the salt.570 grams all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Add olive oil. When the yeast mixture has become foamy, add the olive oil and stir.2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Add flour to the yeast mixture. Set the bowl with the yeast mixture onto your stand mixer. Attach the dough hook and set the speed to low and begin adding spoonfuls of the flour mixture to the yeast mixture until fully incorporated. Next, increase the speed of the stand mixer to medium and let the machine knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
- Check for the right consistency. When the dough is ready, it should be soft and not sticky. A good gauge for readiness is when the bowl of your stand mixer is "clean" with no residual flour in it.
- Remove from bowl. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead for 5 minutes by hand. This step is not necessary as the stand mixer already did most of the work, but it's a step I enjoy because I can adjust the consistency if a bit more flour is needed.
- Shape the dough. Once kneaded, shape the dough into a ball, drizzle with olive oil and put it back into the oiled bowl of the stand mixer. Cover with parchment paper (so that the dough does not stick) and a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm corner of your kitchen for 2 hours or until doubled in size. I like to let it rise in the oven with the oven light on or in the microwave.
- After rising. Once doubled in size, it's time to prepare the pizza.
- Prepare the pizza. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. After the dough has risen, divide it in two. Oil the pans and begin by stretching the dough onto the pan with your hands. This is an exercise in patience! If the dough is not spreading easily, let it sit for 5-10 minutes to relax the gluten in the flour and try again. Never use a rolling pin to spread and stretch the dough because you will deflate all the bubbles in the dough and your pizza will be dense rather than light and fluffy.
- Add your toppings. Add the toppings of your choice to create your pizza. Once you've dressed the pizza, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will give the dough one last chance to rise slightly so that the pizza will be thick and fluffy. Then bake the pizza on the lower rack of the oven for 13-15 minutes or until the bottom is lightly golden brown.
Tatiana says
This was my first attempt at making pizza dough and your recipe was awesome! This recipe is a keeper, thanks!!!
Donna Poirier says
That's great to hear Tatiana, thank you!