Pizza night just got even better because of this easy homemade pizza crust recipe! With only a few ingredients, you can make this easy and delicious recipe that will have your family begging for seconds!
The Easiest Homemade Pizza Crust
Pizza is one of our family’s favorite dinner choices at our house. We definitely eat homemade pizza at least once a week because it’s fast, easy and delicious (and mom never has to hear any complaints about it, so that’s a plus)!
The secret to the very best homemade pizza is definitely making a hearty homemade pizza crust!
This homemade pizza crust recipe is the base for all of our favorite pizza recipes including chicken pesto pizza, cheese pizza, and pepperoni pizza.
Don’t be intimidated, your favorite pizza place isn’t the only one that can make yummy pizza!
Classic Homemade Pizza Crust
Makes: One 12 inch pizza
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12-15 minutes
Ingredients for Homemade Pizza Crust
1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope Rapid Rising Yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup very warm water (120° to 130°F)*
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-2 cups pizza sauce
1 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Additional toppings
How to Make Homemade Pizza Crust
Start by preheating your oven to 425°F. Prepare a pizza pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, and salt. Whisk all of these ingredients until everything is fully combined.
Measure and test the temperature of your water. You want the water to be warm, but NOT hot. If you want to be precise, about 105°F is the perfect temperature.
When the temperature is just right, add it to the dry ingredients along with the oil. Mix for one minute or until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Form the dough into a ball, the dough should be slightly sticky. If it is too sticky to handle, add flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you can handle it without it sticking to your fingers. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 4 minutes.
Let the dough rise for 10 minutes.
Spread the dough evenly to fill the greased pizza pan or baking sheet. This is very important! You want to stretch the dough so that it reaches the edges.
Top your stretched dough with sauce, cheese, and your desired toppings.
Bake on the lowest oven rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust starts to brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Tips and Tricks for Homemade Pizza Crust
- Be careful with the flour on this recipe! You don’t want to add too much, it will make the dough hard and chewy.
- Spread the crust out! Make sure you stretch the crust to fill the entire pan that you are using.
- If you have a pizza stone you are using, don’t worry about greasing it.
How can I get creative with my pizza?
There are so many ways you can get creative with this recipe! The first suggestion I have is to think outside the box when it comes to your pizza sauce choice.
The sauce is a huge building block for the taste of your pizza, if you change this you change the whole flavor of the pizza. Some of my favorite pizza sauce options are barbeque sauce, alfredo sauce, olive oil and herb, pesto, and ranch dressing.
You can also get really creative with your toppings. Don’t be afraid to add lots of veggies and maybe even some fruit like pineapple. This is a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies.
Some of our favorite vegetables to put on pizza are bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, banana peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms, and more!
Don’t be afraid to try different combinations.
How can I cook my pizza to perfection?
Sometimes it can be hard to cook your pizza to perfection. I used to have the problem of taking my pizza out too early or too late. So my pizza was often a bit doughy or too hard and chewy.
Try and make sure you cook your pizza in a preheated oven. This helps your pizza maintain a constant temperature when cooking, helping it to cook right for the right amount of time.
Cook your pizza at a high temperature. If you’ve ever been to a pizza restaurant, you’ll notice they can cook pizza in like 7 or 8 minutes. This is because the pizza ovens stay incredibly hot. If you want to try and recreate this flavor, we recommend turning the temperature to 500°F. If this intimidates you, it’s ok to just stick with the 425°F given in the recipe.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes! This recipe is easily doubled or tripled. If you have a big family, this recipe is perfect for you.
Can I substitute different ingredients?
Yes, you can totally substitute different ingredients in this homemade pizza recipe. If you are looking for a healthier substitution, you could do half whole wheat flour and half white flour. You can also make this recipe gluten-free by substituting 1:1 gluten-free flour.
Is it alright that I don’t have a pizza stone?
You don’t need a pizza stone to make a yummy pizza. Any pan will work!
However, if you do get a pizza stone, you will more than likely love it. I recommend the Unicook Pizza Stone. But, if you have a pizza stone you may have to put in more work. You can’t put cold pizza dough on a warm pizza stone. This sudden temperature change could cause the stone to crack.
Allow your dough to come to room temperature before putting it on the stone, and let your pizza stone heat up in the oven for at least 30 minutes before cooking your pizza. I usually put mine in the oven while it’s preheating to bring it up to temperature.
How can I make my crust more crispy?
This is super easy to accomplish! Before adding your toppings and your sauce, precook your pizza crust in a preheated oven for 5-10 minutes. Don’t let it start to brown or it will overcook after you add your toppings. But if you just precook it for a few minutes, then the pizza will be nice and crispy after you bake it fully with everything on it!
We hope that you and your family enjoy this yummy Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe! Be sure to share a picture of your pizza in your stories on Instagram and tag us @confessions_of_parenting! We love seeing what you are up to!
Check out these other great Homemade Pizza Recipes!
Cheese Pizza
Pepperoni Pizza
Chicken Pesto Pizza
Homemade Pizza Crust
Pizza night just got even better because of this easy homemade pizza crust recipe! With only a few ingredients, you can make this easy and delicious recipe that will have your family begging for seconds!
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 envelope Rapid Rising Yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup very warm water (120° to 130°F)*
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1-2 cups pizza sauce
- 1 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Additional toppings
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and prepare a pizza pan with cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt. Whisk until fully combined.
- Measure and test the temperature of your water. When the temperature is correct, add it to the dry ingredients along with the oil. Mix for one minute or until fully incorporated.
- Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. If it is too sticky to handle, add flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you can handle it. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 4 minutes.
- Let the dough rise for 10 minutes.
- Spread the dough evenly to fill greased pizza pan or baking sheet.
- Top with sauce, cheese and desired toppings.
- Bake on lowest oven rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust starts to brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
- Do not add too much flour to your dough. Only add enough flour so you can handle the dough without it sticking to your fingers too much.
- Be sure to spread the crust completely to the edge of the 12inch baking pan.
- If you are using a pizza stone, you do not need to grease the bottom.
Don’t forget to save this Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe on Pinterest so you can find it next time you are looking for a quick and easy meal your family will love!
