# Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners

A foolproof, beginner-friendly dough recipe for making delicious homemade pizza with just five basic ingredients.

- Servings: 2 servings
- Cuisine: Italian
- Category: Baked Goods
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 4 cups bread flour
- 1.33 cups Warm Water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp olive oil

## Instructions

1. Add warm water to a large mixing bowl.
2. Sprinkle in the instant yeast and give it a quick stir.
3. Add the flour, followed by the salt on top of the flour.
4. Add the olive oil and start mixing everything together with a spoon, fork, or your hands until the flour is fully incorporated and you get a shaggy, sticky dough.
5. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
6. Pull the dough out onto the countertop.
7. Knead the dough for about 5 to 7 minutes by pressing down with the heel of your hand, folding the dough over, and giving it a quarter turn, until it becomes smooth and elastic.
8. Place the smooth dough into a lightly oiled bowl.
9. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, a lid, or a damp towel and let it rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes to 2 hours until it doubles in size.
10. After the rise, gently punch down the dough to release some gas.
11. Divide the dough into two equal portions.
12. Shape each dough ball by tucking the edges underneath to create tension on top.
13. Let the dough balls rest for 1 hour, or in the fridge if making pizza later (take out 30 minutes beforehand).
14. Lightly flour your surface and use your fingers to press the dough outward from the center.
15. Gently stretch the dough to about 14 inches wide.
16. Top the pizza however you like.
17. Bake in a 500-degree Fahrenheit oven that has been preheated with a baking stone or steel for about 7 to 10 minutes.

## Equipment

- large mixing bowl
- spoon
- fork
- plastic wrap
- lid
- damp towel
- pizza stone
- pizza steel
- baking sheet

## Tips

- If you don't have bread flour, all-purpose flour is fine.
- Use instant yeast, not active yeast.
- Add salt on top of the flour, not directly into the yeast, to prevent slowing down fermentation.
- Don't worry about kneading initially; the dough is supposed to be shaggy and sticky.
- The 10-minute rest after initial mixing allows flour to absorb water, making kneading easier.
- The goal of kneading is to bring the dough into a smooth ball, not to overwork it.
- If storing dough for more than an hour before making pizza, rest it in the fridge and take it out 30 minutes before to warm up.
- When stretching dough, use fingers to press outward from the center, then let gravity do the work.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q-0dPDkbZU
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/9c205e8a-18be-438d-9bee-63890e3892b3
- Extracted: 2026-02-12

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt