pizza is a regular visitor to our house — only it doesn’t usually come from a delivery person. Making homemade pizza from prepared dough is a quick and easy dinner any night of the week. Even making your own dough only really adds a few minutes to the prep time! Pile on your favorite toppings and get ready to chow down.
Steps for Awesome Pizza at Home
Here’s an easy step-by-step guide to making a homemade pizza with any flavor:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- Toppings of your choice (cheese, meats, vegetables, etc.)
Instructions:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, active dry yeast, and sugar. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast is frothy.
- Add 3 cups of flour, salt, and olive oil to the bowl. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form.
- Dust a clean surface with some flour and turn the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour, until it doubles in size.
- Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out onto a floured surface to your desired size and shape.
- Transfer the rolled-out dough to a pizza stone or baking sheet.
- Spread pizza sauce evenly over the dough, leaving about 1 inch of space around the edges.
- Add your desired toppings, such as shredded cheese, sliced meats, and vegetables.
- Bake the pizza in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove the pizza from the oven, slice it up, and enjoy!
Note:
Our recipe here makes about one pound of dough (the same as most store-bought dough), and this will make you one large pizza or two smaller 10-inch pizzas. If you’re feeding a larger crowd or just want extra dough for future pizza dinners, you can double or triple the basic ingredients — the recipe scales up just fine.
You can experiment with different toppings to create any flavor of pizza you want. Some popular options include Margarita (mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil), pepperoni, Hawaiian (ham and pineapple), veggie, and more.