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Absolutely delicious pizza dough recipe! Get your wood fired oven on!
Have you ever wondered how to make the perfect dough for your favorite pizza in your portable oven? This dough recipe will make you want to cook pizza every night of the week! The best part is, this dough recipe is great for anyone, even beginners!
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Great pizza dough for beginners! Got Flour?
I used to say this is the best pizza dough recipe for beginners.
Now, out of all my recipes, I just say it is my favorite recipe for pizza dough! Who out there wants a delicious wood fired pizza dough recipe that puts many pizza shops’ dough to shame?! I do! This dough recipe will make it in your pizza oven recipes!
Better Than Restaurant Crust? Get that Brooklyn Style Pizza On!
A friend told me that he buys fresh pizza dough from a specialty pizza shop. After trying my pizza made from this recipe, he asked for the dough recipe – his reply was that it was better than the dough from the pizzeria! Next time you want an Italian taste in your pizza dough, skip the pizzeria shop and break out this dough recipe! Bring on the that Brooklyn style taste to your pizza! They’ll never guess that it is homemade crust when they bite into your delicious pizza! To share the recipe or not share the recipe, that is the question!
The best part is that this pizza dough is so easy to make! And it makes the best pizza crust! You can even make a nice thin crust pizza if that’s what you like!
You’ll notice that I like to measure the flour and divide the dough balls by grams using a food scale. I find it gives me more consistent results in the size of my pizza.
Decisions, Decisions…
How Big Should Your Dough Be?
I prefer making dough balls of 250 grams in weight. I find that this size makes a good 12-14 inch pizza – which is typically the size I prefer.
Even though I typically cook in a 16 inch pizza oven, I prefer cooking 12-14 inch pizzas. The extra oven size just make it more convenient to cook.
If I want to make a 16 inch pizza, I increase the dough weight to 300 grams.
When Do You Want It?
This is an important question.
If you plan ahead, you can let your dough “cold proof”, or sit in the fridge overnight while the yeast slowly does its job. Believe it or not, but this actually enhances the flavor of the dough. But, it is not mandatory for this recipe to be great.
If you decide today that you want to make pizza, there is still hope. If you decide right now to make pizza and have at least two hours to make the dough and let it rise, then you could still have amazing pizza today. The only changes that you have to make to the recipe are:
- Add more yeast
- Use water that is just a little warmer than room temperature
- The day of cooking, allow time for dough to get to room temperature and rise properly
My Favorite Dough Recipe of All Recipes!
All measurements are in grams because weight is better for precision than volume measurements. For best results, you will want a digital food scale.
Easiest Pizza Dough Recipe – Overnight Cold Proof Preparation
This recipe assumes that the dough will be in the fridge 14-16 hours and will be taken out of the oven 4-5 hours before cooking.
Makes 5 dough balls of 250 grams
708 grams of all-purpose flour
17 grams of salt
17 grams of sugar
2.5 grams of yeast
42 grams of extra virgin olive oil
482 grams of water
Using an electric mixer, combine all dry ingredients in the mixer’s bowl and give it a quick mix. Then add the olive oil and water and set mixer on low until everything is thoroughly mixed.
Let sit covered for 5 minutes to let the yeast get started.
Turn mixer on high for 5 minutes – this will act as kneading the dough. Slowly add flour as needed until dough is not sticking to the walls of the bowl.
Store full dough in an oiled, covered bowl in the fridge overnight.
Cut dough into 250 gram sections and ball the dough using the technique below. Cover for 4-5 hours before cooking.
Easiest Pizza Dough Recipe – 2 Hour Preparation
This recipe assumes that you have at least 30 minutes to prepare and at least 1 hour to let it rise.
Makes 5 dough balls of 250 grams
708 grams of all-purpose flour
18 grams of salt
18 grams of sugar
13 grams of yeast
42 grams of extra virgin olive oil
482 grams of water (just warmer than room temperature)
Using an electric mixer, combine all dry ingredients in the mixer’s bowl and give it a quick mix. Then add the olive oil and water and set mixer on low until everything is thoroughly mixed.
Let sit covered for 5 minutes to let the yeast get started.
Turn mixer on high for 5 minutes – this will act as kneading the dough. Slowly add flour as needed until dough is not sticking to the walls of the bowl.
Cut dough into 250 gram sections and ball the dough using the technique below. Cover for at least an hour before cooking.
Making the Dough Balls
To make the dough balls: Use a food scale to divide your large dough ball into smaller balls, individual pizza dough balls between 225-250 grams for a 12″ pizza. You will end up with 5-6 dough balls per batch.
Give the dough ball a quick roll in the flour and then hold the dough ball with two hands while using your fingers to push the bottom of the dough up into the middle of the ball.
Use your palms to stretch and smooth the top of the dough.
You’re actually folding the dough into itself.
Pinch off the bottom of the dough and roll it around in your hands to finish the dough ball.
Roll the dough ball around in the flour once in a while during this process and then again in the flour when you are done.
You can either place the dough balls on a floured cookie sheet (a large sheet can hold 6) or a plastic food container with a lid. Leave plenty of space for expansion of the dough as it will continue to rise.
Cover with a top so it doesn’t get cold (clear wrap over the cookie sheet) and cover with a cloth to keep it dark.
When it is time to cook your pizza, the dough needs to be room temperature and properly proofed so that when you poke it with your finger it doesn’t spring back.
Now you’re ready to be like…
Instructions for Making Dough by Hand (Instead of an Electric Mixer)
In this recipe of making the dough by hand: Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and give it a quick mix. Then add the wet ingredients and stir with a fork until everything is thoroughly mixed through the pizza dough.
Put on a lid or cover the bowl with plastic wrap to seal in as much heat as possible and and cover with a cloth to keep it dark for 5 minutes (let the yeast get started). You don’t want it to get cold.
Prepare a clean surface with a covering of flour and knead the dough for 5 minutes. Keep folding the dough in half and pushing your hand through the dough. Keep adding flour so the dough is only slightly sticky.
What Mixer Do I Use?
I thought you’d never ask. My wife has always been partial to the Bosch Universal Mixers. The Bosch Universal Mixer’s bowl is easily big enough to do a double batch for pizza parties! (maybe even a triple batch of your pizza recipe, but I’ve never tried it)
I’ve also tried a Kitchen-Aid mixer, but the dough hook was disappointing for mixing or kneading this pizza dough.
The Bosch Dough Hook is amazing for mixing and kneading this dough because there are two arms and a scraper moving through the dough.
But the secret weapon for the Bosch Mixer is the Dough Hook Extender. It keeps the inside core of the bowl clean and mixes the dough even better than the dough hook scraper by itself!
What’s my Favorite Ooni Oven?
What is my oven of choice for cooking pizza? That’s a tough question! I have 5 ovens at my house – how do I choose just one oven?! Do I want to use only gas ovens, or do I want the option of wood or charcoal? We have a pizza oven overview for each oven that can be used as guides when you shop for outdoor pizza ovens! We’ve even provided a link for each oven site. Remember to get that pizza peel that you like to use in your oven and have all your favorite toppings that you love on your pizza ready to go to launch that pizza in your favorite oven!
Which Pizza Oven is Right For You?
This is a trick question because we all have different needs.
Ooni started the pizza oven revolution, and they are still the top pizza oven brand – even though there is some great competition up and coming. If you want Ooni, you may want to read my comparison of all Ooni Ovens.
Having said that, the Ooni Koda 16 is the pizza oven is the one that I most frequently recommend. It is definitely my favorite portable outdoor gas pizza oven. It has the wall of flame like the Koda (actually it has two of them!), combined with the spacious interior of the Pro. And the price point is likely the best value. It’s also big enough to make other foods besides pizza.
If you want super portable, I love the Ooni Koda pizza oven! In my opinion, this oven is the most portable gas pizza oven on the market! And it looks pretty dang cool too.
Click here for 10 Hacks you need to know to master the Koda!
The Bertello pizza oven with the gas burner and wood tray for the gas burner is the only portable outdoor oven that will let you cook with gas and wood AT THE SAME TIME!! Now that’s a wood fired oven!
It also comes in a 12 inch and 16 inch version – I recommend the 16 inch oven.
Ooni has an ever expanding line of ovens. Click on the pizza oven photo below to find the one best for you!
There is a learning curve to using an oven. This recipe will help you get over that faster. In no time you’ll be an expert pizza chef and enjoying the Good Life!
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Tim Palmer
Tim is a self proclaimed social eater – so it’s not surprise that he’s obsessed making pizzas with his kids, friends, his kids friends, close family, extended family, people with the same last name but aren’t actually family, neighbors, random people in the neighborhood, and complete strangers!
There’s nothing quite like helping other people embrace their creative side as they make their own pizza masterpieces!
