How to Make and Freeze a Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

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Simple, homemade pizza dough is a baker’s best friend. Easy to make, and delicious to eat. With only 5 ingredients, it’s perfect for pizza night, or to make ahead and freeze.

How to Make and Freeze a Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe (1)

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It’s one of those things you just learn quickly when you have kids streaming through your house. They love pizza, all of the time. And at all hours of the day and night.

I love pizza too, just with a healthy twist to my toppings. An easy solution is to have pizza dough on hand… and ready to go. And this is my Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe.

I love to make a couple of batches of this dough, orbreak the dough into 4 balls vs. 2 for smaller pizzas and freeze it. It’s incredibly convenient.

You can always buy pizza dough in the freezer section of your market, but when you can make your own, it’s just a bit more satisfying!

RELATED: Homemade Margherita Pizza Recipe: Simple Weekend Eats

Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make your own homemade pizza dough. Exact measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

  • Instant yeast: You can also use active dry yeast. See the “notes” section in the recipe card.
  • Granulated sugar to active yeast
  • All-purpose flour
  • Salt: I prefer sea salt but use what you have
  • Olive oil

Kitchen Equipment Needed to Make Pizza Dough

No special equipment is needed to make this simple recipe. While I love making it in a stand mixer (because it’s just super simple), it can also be made using a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon. Set aside a separate clean mixing bowl for when it rises.

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How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough

Step-by-step instructions, including making it in a stand mixer, are in the recipe card below, but here is a simple overview.

  1. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Drizzle in warm water and olive oil until combined with the flour. Add water as needed until the dough comes together and is slightly tacky and elastic.
  2. Knead the dough on lightly floured surface until smooth; a couple of minutes. Then form into a ball and place in a clean, olive oil coated bowl.
  3. Let rise until doubled; about 30 minutes.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. This should only take a minute or two. Form the dough into a ball.
  5. Deflate the dough which can be used immediately, refrigerated, or frozen.

To FreezePizza Dough:

I love to make extra dough for this reason! While I can always buy it at the market, there’s something special about having your own homemade pizza dough ready to go.

When freezing, divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball and wrap in parchment, waxed paper, or plastic wrap. Place the dough into a ziplock freezer bag. This way when you want to take just one out, they’re not sticking to the others.

Using Frozen Pizza Dough:

When making pizza at home, pull the frozen dough out of the freezer the night before you make it, or even the morning of. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter. You will want the dough at room temperature before making the pizza.

Then simply roll out the dough, as usual, brush the dough with olive oil and add your favorite toppings. Bake in a 450ºF oven for 10-15 minutes!

Tips:

While the recipe in this video varies slightly, it’s a great visual on kneading and shaping pizza dough!

More Pizza Recipes You’ll Love

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  • Simple, Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza

SAVE THIS AND PIN IT FOR LATER!

Make sure you don’t lose track of this recipe by pinning it for later! If you are not already, you can follow me onPinterest, as well as keep up with me onFacebook,Instagram,andYouTube. If you make this recipe, I would also love it if you’d tag me in your photos and leave a star rating below!

How to Make and Freeze a Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe (5)

Homemade Pizza Dough: How to Make and Freeze Ahead

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Rising Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Simple, homemade pizza dough is a baker's best friend. Easy to make, and delicious to eat. With only 5 ingredients, it's perfect for pizza night, or to make ahead and freeze.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons rapid-rise or instant dry yeast (1 packet) *see note
  • 1 - 1 ¼ cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bowl

Instructions

  1. In a stand mixer, combine flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in warm water and olive oil until combined with the flour. Add water as needed for consistency. The dough should be slightly tacky.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. This should only take a minute or two. Form the dough into a ball.
  3. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl coated in olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm draft-free area until the dough doubles in volume, about 30 minutes.
  4. Punch down, and divide into 2 balls of dough that will later form two pizzas. The dough can be used immediately, stored in the refrigerator, or frozen. If refrigerated, it’s best if used within 24 hours.

Notes

Yeast

If you’re using active dry yeast, add the yeast to 1/2 cup of warm water. Add the sugar and let stand until the yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. After proofing, add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and blend just until the dough forms.

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How to Make and Freeze a Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to freeze homemade pizza dough? ›

If you're freezing the entire batch, divide it into at least two balls. Add a light coat of nonstick cooking spray or olive oil to the dough, then wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Place your dough ball in a zip-top bag and squeeze all the extra air out before sealing tightly.

What is the secret to good pizza dough? ›

The secret to great dough isn't kneading or throwing . . .

It's good old-fashioned H20. “Water, water, water,” says Falco. “Pizza dough made at home should be 50 percent water. Pizza needs to cook longer in a home oven, which means the dough needs to be more hydrated.”

Should I let pizza dough rise before freezing? ›

Absolutely! In fact, it's actually recommended to let your dough rise before freezing it.

How to get frozen pizza dough to rise? ›

Rub the top of the dough lightly with oil or spray with cooking oil spray. Cover the bowl with waxed paper and a clean cloth or tea towel. Place the bowl in a warm but not hot location such as an oven with the oven light on or on top of a radiator. Let the dough thaw and rise for 2 to 4 hours until doubled in volume.

What stage is best to freeze pizza dough? ›

The best time to freeze your dough is straight after balling it.

How to freeze homemade dough? ›

Place flattened dough on baking sheets and freeze for 1 hour. Once dough is frozen, remove from the freezer and wrap tightly with either plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Then place in resealable plastic bags and return to the freezer. Store the dough in an airtight freezer container for up to four weeks.

What not to do when making pizza dough? ›

The Most Common Mistakes When Making Pizza
  1. Not Letting the Dough Rest. ...
  2. Not Kneading the Dough for Long Enough. ...
  3. Using a Rolling Pin to Form the Dough. ...
  4. Overloading Pizza Toppings. ...
  5. Not Letting the Pizza Cook for Long Enough.

Which flour is best for pizza dough? ›

The best flour for making Deep-Dish Pizza Dough is all-purpose flour. In bakeries and pizzerias, Pizza Flour is often used because it is a high-protein flour that produces a light and airy crust. However, all-purpose flour will also work well for Deep-Dish Pizza Dough.

Does frozen pizza dough need to rise after thawing? ›

Defrosting dough in the fridge (12 hours+)

Once your dough balls have risen to room temperature and doubled in size, you're ready to make pizza.

Will pizza dough rise after being frozen? ›

Wrap the dough securely

For this reason, it's best to store pizza dough in a freezer that's not self-defrosting. (Your best bet: a basic chest freezer.) The dough for this pizza was frozen for just a week, and thawed and baked up just fine. The longer your dough is frozen, however, the more it'll struggle to rise.

Where is the best place to let pizza dough rise? ›

An airing cupboard is usually a good place to leave dough to rise but dough can rise in most places (you can even leave it to rise in the refrigerator overnight) it will just take slightly longer at a lower temperature. A warm kitchen worktop, sunny windowsill or somewhere close to a radiator often works.

How do you make frozen pizza dough taste better? ›

The downfall of most frozen pizzas are their cardboard tasting crusts. You can fix this problem by adding a few seasonings of your own. Coat the crust with melted butter and then sprinkle seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder or even parmesan cheese.

What is the best way to make pizza dough rise? ›

Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise.

Should I freeze pizza dough before or after cooking? ›

The most important thing is to freeze the dough after the cold fermentation is in the fridge is complete and the dough is ready for use. Be sure to cold thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using it.

Can you freeze uncooked homemade pizza? ›

Homemade pizza

If you're baking pizza to be eaten at a later date, there's no need to fully cook it before freezing. Instead, try part-baking the crust so it holds its shape, then cooking the pizza fresh when you take it out of the freezer.

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