My Top Picks

Pizza Dough (The Best)

Source: Found on Pinterest

This is truly the best, easy to work with the dough and only takes 15 minutes to make.
All you need are your favorite toppings.
Dough can be made ahead of time or frozen.

I like to make my sauces and seasonings from scratch (links included below), but store bought can be used as well.
Included with this recipe, are recipes for various types of pizzas, check them out.

Ingredients

  • 1 c. warm water (100 degrees)
  • 1 Tbls. honey (or granulated sugar)
  • 1 Tbls. olive oil
  • 1 Tbls. rapid rise (instant) yeast
  • 1 t. salt
  • 2-1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose white flour

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, mix the warm water, honey, oil, yeast and salt. Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (The dough should be soft and smooth). FYI - you can add up to another 1/2 cup of flour, but no more than that. However, you shouldn’t need to add any extra flour)

Knead the dough for 3 minutes in stand mixer.

Cover dough with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Shape and flatten dough out onto a greased pizza pan, greased baking sheet or pizza peel.

Top evenly with your favorite sauce and pizza toppings.

Pizza Stone Tips:

  1. Place stone in the oven while it pre-heats.
  2. Shape the dough out onto a large circle on parchment paper.
  3. Then carefully transfer the pizza dough onto a pizza peel that is dusted with flour and cornmeal.
  4. Top dough with pizza sauce and toppings, then carefully slide pizza onto the stone and bake.

Bake pizza at 450 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes if making a thinner crust to get a crispier texture. Bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes if making a thicker crust. Pizza is done, when until cheese is melted and bubbly, and edges of crust are a nice golden-brown.

Carefully remove from oven. Allow pizza to stand and cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

PIZZA IDEAS:

Hawaiian (Canadian Bacon or Chicken): Spread Pastorelli pizza sauce over dough. Top with 1 pkg. Canadian bacon slices (Nueske’s), diced bell peppers, slices of red onion and top with 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes for thin crust or bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes for thick crust. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Instead of using Canadian bacon you can use 2 c. precooked chopped chicken breasts mixed with 1/4 c. BBQ sauce. Spread 3/4 c. BBQ sauce over dough instead of pizza sauce. Top with 1 c. mozzarella cheese then chicken and BBQ mixture, 3 slices of pre-cooked and chopped center-cut bacon, 1 c. pineapple tidbits and thinly sliced red onion to your liking. Sprinkle with 1-1/2 c. mozzarella cheese. Season with a little black pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes for thin crust or bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes for thick crust. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Top with fresh chopped cilantro, if desired.

Taco: Spread 2 c. refried beans over dough and top with 1/2 lb. pre-cooked taco meat (beef or chicken). I use my own Taco Seasoning. Top with 2-3 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend (Colby & Monterey jack), 1/2 c. diced tomatoes, 1/4 c. chopped black olives, and 4 sliced green onions. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes for thin crust or bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes for thick crust. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Top with shredded lettuce before serving, if desired.

Margarita: Spread dough with 1/4 c. olive oil mixed with 2 t. fresh minced garlic, top with 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese and slices of fresh mozzarella (or use 2 c. grated mozzarella). Top with 4 sliced Roma tomatoes. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes for thin crust or bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes for thick crust. Remove from oven, add torn basil leaves on top and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Season with salt and pepper.

Tuscan Garlic: Spread garlic white sauce evenly over crust, top with 2 c. chopped pre-cooked chicken, 1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, 1-1/2 c. torn baby spinach leaves, spreading out evenly and sprinkle 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes for thin crust or bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes for thick crust. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Barbeque Chicken & Bacon: Spread 1 c. BBQ sauce over pizza dough. Mix 1-1/2 c. cooked shredded chicken with 3 Tbls. BBQ sauce and set aside. Sprinkle 2 c. mozzarella cheese on top of BBQ sauce. Then sprinkle the chicken, 4 slices cooked and chopped center-cut bacon and 1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion over cheese. Top with another 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes for thin crust or bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes for thick crust. Remove from oven, sprinkle evenly with 3 Tbls. fresh chopped cilantro. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Pepperoni & Cheese: 8 oz. can Pastorelli pizza sauce, uncured pepperoni slices, red pepper flakes, optional and top with 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes for thin crust or bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes for thick crust. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

NOTE: This recipe makes enough dough for: 1 large (16-inch), 2 small pizzas or 4 personal size pizzas.

You can make dough ahead of time, wrap well in saran wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to assemble. The dough will need to sit for about 30 minutes or until it gets to room temperature.

To freeze, wrap dough tightly in saran wrap (squeeze out air), then foil and place inside a freezer Ziplock bag. Freeze up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw dough in refrigerator for 10-12 hours. Let dough sit on counter to bring to room temperature. Dough should be soft and workable.