The Best Homemade Pizzeria Style Hand-Tossed Pizza Dough

Pizzeria-style hand-tossed pizza dough that you can make right at home. No special pizza oven is needed, either!

40 Years of Professional Pizza Experience

Pizza sauce runs through my veins as a certified Pizzaiola with decades of professional expertise. My family has run two pizzerias for almost two decades, so I know my way around a pizza.

I make pizza every single day. For me, it’s that desert island food. I’m like the Picasso of pizza dough, as there’s not much I won’t pizzafy. Whether you make it by hand or using a stand mixer, let me show you just how easy it is to make!

TKW Family Love

I’ve tried dozens of on line pizza dough recipes. This is THE ONE. I used King Arthur 00. In my oven it needs about 12 minutes after pre heating the pizza stone at 550 for one hour. Simultaneously crunchy, chewy, and soft. Irresistible.

John Taylor

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Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients

Pizza dough has only four or five ingredients. I say “or” because authentic Neapolitan (Napoletana) dough contains no oil or fat. This version can be made with or without olive oil. I use olive oil because I like what it adds to the dough.

• 00 Pizza Flour: I am a huge pizza flour snob, and I ONLY use Le 5 Stagioni flour, which is the best in the industry!
• Olive Oil
• Water
• Yeast
• Sea Salt

Best Flour for Pizza Dough

Unless you are making a specific type of pizza dough, you do NOT use All-Purpose flour. You’re not making pizza. To go even further, in the US, very few bread flours have the protein range you need for true pizza dough.

So what’s 00 flour? It’s a finely ground Italian flour that makes some of the best pizzas and pasta. It’s white flour, typically made from durum wheat. Depending on the manufacturer, it may have a higher protein count, ranging from 10% to 15%.

00 flour is less absorbent than bread flour, so you can use less 00 flour in your recipe. I’ve been using Le 5 Stagioni Flour for close to 40 years. It’s THE BEST!

How to make pizza dough from scratch

TKW Family Love

Absolutely the best pizza dough I’ve found to date. I’ve been searching for years for a true pizzeria dough recipe and this is it! Definitely do the cold ferment for 48 hours as it makes a word of difference.

Best pizza dough recipe ever!

Chuckie

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I strongly urge you to watch the video! I created this hand-tossed NY-style dough that is easy to make—crazy easy. Plus, you’ll be able to make pizzeria-style pizza at home. 

It comes together beautifully, has a great texture, and chews well. It crisps up beautifully while leaving the crust soft and chewy on the inside. That makes, for me, the perfect pizza.

1. Using Instant Yeast, add the flour, yeast, and water to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment.
2. Mix on low just until loosely combined. Add the salt while the mixer is running, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. After 3 minutes of mixing, drizzle in the oil.

3. Mix until a soft, smooth elastic ball forms. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a very lightly floured surface. Give it a few kneads to form a smooth ball, tucking the ‘ends’ underneath.
4. Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes. Give it a few more kneads, and then divide the dough. If using the same day, divide the dough in half, shape it into balls, place them in 2 separate lightly oiled bowls (covered), and allow them to rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes. Keep in mind, this will not give you a true pizzeria flavor or texture. You REALLY need to cold ferment your dough. It’ll still taste good, but pizzeria dough takes time to develop flavors and textures.
5. Bulk Cold Ferment*– I prefer to bulk cold ferment, but if you’re limited on space, you can divide it into two equal-sized balls, and place them in two lightly oiled bowls with tight lids (just be sure they have enough room to rise), and refrigerate (covered) for 48-72 hours. The slow, cold rise will help build the flavors.

Make it your own! This dough is foolproof and makes fantastic pizza.

The trick to this dough is not to over-knead it or add more flour than necessary.

Often, I see folks stretch it out with a ton of flour. The pizza is white on the edges (due to excessive flour) or tough/dry. The dough should be tacky but not stick to your fingers.

How to Stretch Pizza Dough

Step away from the rolling pin! Rolling pins are ONLY used for tavern-style or super-thin-crust dough.

1. Use what’s called “Bench Flour” combination on your counter and pizza peel.  Bench flour is 80% 00 flour or bread flour and 20% semolina flour mixed together. If you use all-purpose flour, your dough will have a harder time sliding off the pizza peel, and you’ll get more of a burnt-flour taste on the crust.
2. Shape the dough, leaving the rim or cornicione untouched. Start from the middle of the dough and push towards the edge, pressing down and around. This will push the air to the crust while keeping it in the pizza dough.
3. *If you get a hole, don’t panic. Squeeze the hole shut. Don’t stretch your dough super thin, either. It will be thin, and light will shine through (called the windowpane effect), but the dough is still strong.
4. Once you have your 10-12″ shape, place it on a pizza peel coated with your bench flour. You can adjust the shape if need be.

Chef Lori Explains Same-Day vs. Cold-Ferment Dough

I am a massive fan of cold-ferment dough. I always do this, and I can count on one hand the times I’ve made the same-day dough. Does same-day dough work? Absolutely!

The difference – taste and texture.

• Flavor: The slow, cold rise will help build the flavors. When you chill your dough in the fridge, you’re cold-fermenting/retarding your dough to help slow down the activity of the yeast. The cooler temps help the dough develop better flavor and release carbon dioxide more slowly. This means your dough will not proof too quickly like a balloon.
• Texture: This is key for pizza dough. It allows autolysis to occur. Autolysis is when the gluten structure improves, and the enzymes in flour get their act together, binding to the gluten.

That said, you can make the same-day dough and still get semi-decent results, but trust me on this: Test it out at home and taste the difference! As the saying goes, “Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should.”

IMPORTANT CAVEAT – if you’re doing a cold ferment, use COOL water, not warm.

more pizza recipes

Freezing Dough and Thawing Instructions

1. After the dough rests for 30 minutes, you form it into two separate balls, place them on a lightly floured rimmed baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap, and put them in the freezer uncovered.
2. Once firm, remove them from the freezer, double-wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap, and place them in a freezer-safe bag. This will last for up to three months.
3. When you’re ready to use it, take one (or both) out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw in the fridge. Lightly spray the dough with cooking spray and cover it with plastic wrap (ensure no air hits them).
4. Remove them from the fridge a few hours before baking, place them in one or two lightly sprayed bowls, cover them with plastic wrap, and allow them to rise again. They may not double in size, but they will puff up considerably.
5. Once they are puffed up, stretch and bake as usual.

What to make with pizza dough

Pizza is obvious, but you can also make calzones and wedgies! You can also use it to make garlic knots, rolls, and any dough ‘bomb or puff.’

Simple Hand Tossed Pizza Dough Recipe

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5 from 27 reviews

Pizzeria-style hand-tossed pizza dough that you can make right at home. No special pizza oven is needed either!

• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: ~30 minutes not including proofing
• Yield: 2 dough balls
• Category: baking
• Method: MIxer
• Cuisine: pizza

Ingredients

• 1 packet platinum instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon or 1/3 of a 2-ounce block (so .66 ounces of cake yeast)
• ~304 grams of water or 1 1/4 cups * if using same day use warm water(105-115 degrees F/40-46 degrees C). If fermenting overnight in the fridge, use cold water. This will give you 64% hydration. You can go up to 350 grams of water if you want higher hydration (if you’re using a strong 00 flour)
• 10 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons olive oil
• ~475 grams or ~3 3/4 cups 00 Pizza flour *you can use a high protein bread flour but you won’t get pizzeria style pizza
• 8 grams (1.4 teaspoons) of sea salt

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Instructions

1. If using Active Dry yeast, you need to proof it first. Proof the yeast by pouring the yeast into the water in a bowl of your stand mixer and gently stir until the yeast dissolves. *Cake yeast you make have to break up with your fingers. If using Instant Yeast, you do not need to proof it. Just add the water and yeast to the bowl and skip to step 3.
2. Let the yeast and water stand until foamy, about 5 minutes*. If using cold water, just mix and move to the next step, as the yeast won’t quite bloom with cold water.
3. Once the yeast has bloomed (if you’re using cake or active dry yeast), add in the flour and fit your mixer with a dough hook. Mix on low just until loosely combined. Add the salt while the mixer is running, stopping as needed to scrape down the sides. After 3 minutes of mixing, drizzle in the oil.
4. Mix until a soft, smooth elastic ball forms; ~8-10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl but still be wet/tacky to the touch. If need be add a tablespoon of flour or so to help combine. If it’s too dry, you may need to add a few tablespoons of water. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a very lightly floured surface. Give it a few kneads to form the dough into a smooth ball, tucking the ‘ends’ underneath.
5. Allow the dough to rest, covered, for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, using very lightly floured hands, knead the dough gently to smooth it out, then divide it into smaller portions. 
   • If using the same day, divide the dough in half, shape as balls, and put in 2 separate oiled bowls (covered) and allow to rise until doubled in size; about 60-90 minutes.
   • Cold Fermenting – if you have the space, place it in a 6 quart oiled lidded container in the fridge for 48 hours. Remove it from the fridge for 30 minutes to take the chill off, ball it in to 2 balls, place it into 2 oiled lidded containers (making sure it has room to rise) and pop it back into the fridge for 24 hours. If you’re limited in fridge space, divide into 2 equal-sized balls, and place in 2 lidded bowls (just be sure it has enough room to rise) and refrigerate (covered) between 48-72 hours. *See the post above about NOT splitting it for bulk fermentation. 
6. Place one rack on the lower third of your oven. On that place a pizza stone.  It’s recommended that you use 2 when baking pizza. Place another rack on the upper ledge and place the 2nd pizza stone there. When ready to use, preheat the oven to 550F. If you’ve had the dough in the fridge, bring out to room temperature at least an hour prior to baking. If you use a pizza stone, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on heating it up.
7. Stretch out your dough on a very lightly floured surface (trying not to work it too much as you want the ‘gas’ left it in – that’s what causes the bubbles and crispy airiness of the dough).
8. Place the dough in a pizza pan, directly on a Pizza Stone stone or on a Pizza Screen – whatever your preferred method.
9. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 8-12 minutes depending on what you’re cooking it on.

Notes

The Total Time does NOT include the proofing time since some do same day while others do 48-72 hour proofing

This makes enough dough to make :

• 3 – 265 gram dough balls

Pizza Stone
Pizza Screen
Pizza Peel

*Note: 12/7/16 The original recipe called for 2 1/2 cups of bread flour. After re-testing it I’ve found that you get better results at around 3 cups of flour plus a little extra for dusting.

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