How To Make the Perfect Rustic Homemade Pizza Dough
This Rustic Homemade Pizza Dough has been our go-to pizza dough recipe for years. It’s great for everything from pizza to calzones to garlic knots!
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love pizza. In fact, pizza night has become a tradition in our house on the weekends. Over time, we’ve ordered pizza from national chains and local pizzerias. We’ve tried most of the national bake at home pizzas. And for the most part, we’re always satisfied.
But then, about a year ago, we decided to master the perfect homemade pizza dough. We tested the dough, changed a bit, tested it again, changed a bit more. But now I think we have created a foolproof homemade dough that is delicious every time we make it. This recipe is incredibly easy! It doesn’t take all that much work to make it…perhaps 20 minutes total time. But that time is spread out over a couple hours, so don’t attempt this unless you will be home for a bit. I might suggest that these cold wintery Saturday afternoons are perfect pizza dough making times!
For this pizza, we went with the classic pepperoni, but we did add some onions and dried jalapeno flakes that we found in the market recently…definitely a new favorite for us! What are your favorite toppings?
Rustic Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 4 3/8 cups bread flour divided
- 1 1/2 cups warm water divided
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- Favorite pizza toppings!
Instructions
- The night before, mix 1 cup bread flour, 1/4 cup warm water, and tiny pinch of yeast. Mix until combined, and cover bowl tightly. This can be easily mixed by hand.
- The next afternoon (~3 hours before you want to eat), combine remaining bread flour, salt, yeast, and warm water in a mixer with the dough hook attached. Mix on low-medium speed for approximately 3-4 minutes. Once ingredients begin to come together, add the dough mixture from the previous night.
- On medium speed, add olive oil and continue mixing dough for another 3-4 minutes. (Note: If dough does not seem to incorporate olive oil, you can add 1 tablespoon additional flour directly to the mixing bowl.)
- Cover tightly and let rest in warm place for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle countertop with flour and place dough onto counter. Fold dough several times. (If dough is sticky, sprinkle small amount of flour on top.)
- Cover tightly and let rest in warm place for another hour.
- Preheat oven to 460. (If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven before preheating.)
- Remove dough and lightly fold on countertop again. Let dough rest (covered) for about 10-15 minutes.
- Shape dough into round (or square) pizza and top with favorite ingredients. (We also mix some herbs with olive oil and then brush this on the crust before baking.)
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until done. (Note: The hotter the pizza stone, the better the pizza crust will taste. I place my stone directly on the lowest rack of my oven.)
Everyone thinks that making bread or pizza dough is rocket science! It’s not! Homemade dough tastes so much better than packaged or ready-made. Go for it!
You are totally right, Michelle! Plus, it’s way cheaper…great way to save money and eat tasty food, too!
I don’t have a mixer with a hook. Possible to just knead by hand?
Hey Lisa, you definitely can still knead this pizza dough by hand, but it will take a bit longer. Instead of 3-4 minutes for each phase, you may need to knead for 6-8 minutes. And for the second phase, you may need to gradually incorporate the olive oil into the dough so that you don’t end up with a huge mess on your counter. Just knead each phase until the dough is smooth and elastic. Good luck!
What seasoning did you put on it?
Hey Tracy! I typically use Italian herbs (basil, oregeno, parsley) but you could easily adjust the herbs to match your tastes. Enjoy!!
Hi,
Can you tell me what the mixture that you make the night before looks like? Is it supposed to be crumbly and dry or like a ball of dough? Just curious…..
Thanks.
Hey Lisa! The mixture the night before will definitely look crumbly and dry. It will not look like the dough that you end up with the next day for sure. I do give the mixture a stir before covering it and letting it sit at room temperature for the night, though. It will be somewhat moistened from the 1/4 cup of water, but certainly not elastic and smooth like dough typically looks. I hope this helps…let me know if you have other questions!
Thanks for sharing David
Does this have a nice yeasty taste to it ? And what kinda crust is it soft and “foldable” or thin crispy ? I love soft, foldable crust.
Hope you are all well, enjoy your Friday night Pizza/game night !!
Mar
Hey Mar! Yes, this dough has an excellent yeast-y flavor. It is hands-down our favorite pizza dough…and I use this exact recipe whenever we make Friday night pizzas. We were just talking about a pizza night either Friday or Saturday this weekend. We’ll see! As far as “foldable” I would say this crust isn’t a “NY Style” pizza where you can fold each slice in half. It holds up to a load of toppings, but it’s still tasty by itself without being crispy and hard. Does that make sense? Cheers, my friend!
Thanks David – I’ll put it on my list to try, as long as its not crispy and hard I’m good 🙂
Have a super weekend !
Mar
Awesome! It’s not too crispy and hard at all. I think you’ll like it, Mar. 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend yourself! Cheers!