Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Did you know that pizza dough is very easy to prepare at home? You probably already have most (if not all) of the ingredients already available in your pantry. Homemade pizza is always a great meal, and this is a simple recipe that actually has several ways you can use it. In addition to pizzas, you could use this dough for flatbread and calzones! Let's get started.

Gather your ingredients. Whisk the yeast into the water and let sit for about 5 minutes to dissolve. If you're substituting instant yeast, skip this step.

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor (add the instant yeast here if substituting). Pulse to combine.

With the machine running, add the water and olive oil.

Once the dough comes together, remove from the food processor. It will be sticky, but should still easily form a ball. If the dough feels wet, you can kneed in an extra 1/2 to 1 tablespoon flour on a lightly floured surface or bowl.

Lightly grease a large bowl (at least double the size of the dough) with olive oil or an olive oil cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap. Optionally, you can grease the top of the plastic wrap as well, but this shouldn't be necessary if the bowl is very large.

Let the dough double in size. This should take approximately one hour.

"Punch the dough" is a baking expression; you can be gentle. Press down the dough to deflate it.

Roll out the dough according to recipe instructions, or seal in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If making a thin crust pizza, the dough can be divided in half to prepare two pizzas.

Be sure to check out some of these other pizza recipes:

• Homemade Pizza Sauce
• Cast Iron Skillet Pizza
• Homemade Frozen Pizza