Quick Pizza Dough

Who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly baked pizza wafting through the house? Making pizza dough from scratch might seem daunting, but what if I told you that you can create a perfect, restaurant-quality quick pizza dough in just three hours? Yes, you read that right! This post is here to guide you through a foolproof recipe that’s not only quick but also delivers a crispy, chewy, and flavorful crust that will have your family and friends coming back for more. Plus, this recipe works outstandingly well in an outdoor pizza oven, bringing an authentic pizzeria experience right to your backyard. Let’s dive into the world of homemade pizza and transform your kitchen into an Italian pizzeria!

Ready in 4 hours Serves 6 people
Yield    6x 290g pizzasMetrics US, EU

Ingredients 

Dough 

Directions

Prepare the Dough:

  • Pour water into a large bowl.
  • Sprinkle yeast over the water.
  • Add flour and then salt.
  • Lightly mix with a dough whisk until the  dough is lumpy and not fully combined.
  • Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes at 24°C (75°F).

First Rest and Fold:

  • Perform a stretch and fold: Gently stretch one side of the dough up and fold it over the rest of the dough. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat this process until you’ve stretched and folded all sides.
  • Round the dough into a ball.
  • Cover the bowl again and let it rest for 1 hour.

Divide and Rest:

  • Divide the dough into 6 equal balls, approximately 290 grams each.
  • Place each ball into a well-oiled container. This will help during shaping.
  • Let the dough ferment at 24°C (75°F) for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Preheat the Oven:

  • For an outdoor pizza oven: Preheat until the temperature of the stone reaches at least 600°F.
  • For a home oven: Preheat to 550°F with a pizza stone inside for about 45 minutes.

Shape the Pizza:

  • Lightly flour your work surface and your hands.
  • Take one dough ball and gently press it into a flat disc with your fingers.
  • Pick up the dough and use the backs of your hands and knuckles to stretch it, allowing gravity to help, until it reaches your desired size. Avoid pressing out all the air to maintain a nice, airy crust.

Add Toppings:

  • Place the shaped dough on a pizza peel dusted with flour or semolina to prevent sticking.
  • Add your favorite toppings.

Bake the Pizza:

  • For an outdoor pizza oven: Bake for about 1 to 1 minute and 30 seconds, rotating for even crust coloring.
  • For a home oven: Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the toppings are cooked.

One of the best things about this quick pizza dough is how versatile and approachable it is. You don’t need special equipment, advanced baking skills, or a long overnight fermentation to achieve incredible results. In just a few hours, the dough develops enough strength and flavor to create a beautifully airy crust with crisp edges and a soft, chewy center. Whether you prefer a classic Margherita, a loaded meat lovers pizza, or creative seasonal toppings, this dough provides the perfect foundation for all your favorite combinations. It stretches easily, bakes beautifully at high temperatures, and delivers that irresistible balance of crunch and tenderness every great pizza should have. Once you see how simple homemade pizza can be, you may never want to order takeout again. Gather your ingredients, preheat your oven, and get ready to enjoy pizza night like never before.

Enjoy your pizza!

Quick Pizza Dough

Quick Pizza Dough

3692kcal
5 from 1 vote
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Prep 30 minutes
Cook 12 minutes
Rise Time 3 hours
Total 3 hours 45 minutes
Perfect, restaurant-quality pizza dough in just three hours. This foolproof recipe delivers a crispy, chewy, and flavorful crust with an airy rim. It is specifically designed to perform outstandingly well in high-heat outdoor pizza ovens or a standard home oven with a pizza stone.
Servings 1 pizza

Ingredients

Dough

Method

Mixing & First Rest
  1. Mix: Combine water and yeast in a large bowl. Add flours and salt. Use a dough whisk to mix until lumpy and just combined.
  2. Rest: Cover and let rest for 30 minutes at 24°C (75°F).
  3. Fold: Perform one set of stretch and folds around the bowl. Round the dough into a ball, cover, and rest for 1 hour.
Dividing & Fermenting
  1. Divide: Portion the dough into 6 equal balls (approx. 290g each).
  2. Portion: Place each ball into a well-oiled individual container.
  3. Final Proof: Let ferment at 24°C (75°F) for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Shaping & Baking
  1. Preheat: * Outdoor Oven: Heat until the stone reaches 600°F+. * Home Oven: Preheat to 550°F with a pizza stone inside for 45 minutes.
  2. Shape: Press dough into a disc on a floured surface. Use your knuckles to stretch the edges, keeping the center thin but the rim airy.
  3. Bake: * Outdoor: 1 to 1.5 minutes, rotating frequently. * Home Oven: 10–12 minutes on the hot stone.

Nutrition

Calories3692kcalCarbohydrates727gProtein137gFat17gSaturated Fat3gPolyunsaturated Fat7gMonounsaturated Fat2gCholesterol36mgSodium1746mgPotassium1432mgFiber26gSugar3gVitamin A53IUVitamin C1mgCalcium213mgIron11mg

Notes

  • Freezing: You can freeze these dough balls for up to 1 week. Thaw in the fridge before use.
  • Flour Substitutes: If you don’t have semolina, you can replace it with more bread flour or whole wheat, though semolina adds a superior crunch and structure.
  • Wet Dough: If the dough feels too wet to handle, ensure you are using a “strong” bread flour with high protein content!

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

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48 Comments

  1. I love making pizza, but it’s just for my husband and myself. It looks so light and airy! Can this be made into two pizza crusts? Freezing one for another day?

      1. I used this recipe today. Did 50% bread flour and 50% 00 flour. The resulting dough was pretty wet but manageable. For The last rest I only let it rest for 30 minutes because my husband, my baby boy and my brother were too hungry already 😅 the crust was delicious anyways!!

      2. Thank you for your feedback, I’m happy to hear that it worked out well. Happy Baking!

  2. Hi! Thank you for this smart way of maling pizza!
    What is the size of the plastic containers?
    Kind regards:)

  3. What does the semolina do? I’m not sure I want to buy a bag just for it, but if it’s necessary I will

    1. Semolina flour ads structure to the pizza crust, but you can replace it with whole wheat flour, or just bread flour.

    2. Its the best for when you are rolling/stretching the dough balls into a pizza crust.. instead of flour, use semolina..
      Its important you buy very thin/fine grains semolina. Where I live, different sizes of semolina are available- only the very fine ones work for pizza

  4. 700 “grams” or ml? Just tried 750ml it’s come out pretty wet for first fold. Will add some flour and let it rest again

      1. Thanks for this recipe.🙏🏻.
        But my dough was pretty wet at all. I used bread flour. I couldn’t get it on my hands.
        What’s the problem?

      2. FYI… 1 ml of water (1/1000th of a liter) weighs 1 gram! Metric system is based on 10s, 100s, 1000s!
        Not on 8, 12, 16, 64!

    1. To measure water in grams, you can use a kitchen scale. Simply place a container on the scale, tare it to zero, then pour the water into the container until you reach the desired weight in grams. Water has a density of 1 gram per milliliter, so 1 milliliter of water is equal to 1 gram. This method allows for accurate measurement of water in grams for cooking or other purposes.

    2. FYI… 1 ml of water (1/1000th of a liter) weighs 1 gram! Metric system is based on 10s, 100s, 1000s!
      Not on 8, 12, 16, 64!

      Grams are for weight, milliliters are for volume.

  5. Hi Natash,thank you for this no-kneading pizza dough recipe.I made it today.the dough was a little sticky it didn’t has a good shape during making a disc and after baking there wasn’t any hole in the sides of pizza ferthermore it was very easy and had a beautiful crust.

    1. Hi there! I’m glad you tried the no-knead pizza dough recipe and enjoyed the beautiful crust it produced. If the dough was a little sticky, you can try adding a bit more flour next time to help with shaping. As for the lack of holes in the sides of the pizza, this could be due to not letting the dough rest and rise enough before shaping it. Next time, you can try letting the dough rest for a bit longer before shaping to see if that helps. Thank

  6. OK. I will give this a go this weekend. I’m trying out different recipes so I have one to do today and this one on Saturday. Fingers crossed. I will follow up and leave a comment.

    1. That sounds great! Trying out different recipes is always fun. We look forward to hearing about how your cooking adventures go. Feel free to leave a comment with your feedback after trying out the recipe. Good luck and happy baking!

  7. Hello, first of all thank you for your awesome recipes 🤗
    I wonder if one would like to freeze the dough in which stage is better to do so and how to proceed once you want to thaw and bake it.
    Thank you very much!
    P.s. my dough ist resting as we speak and my son can t wait for the wonderful pizza 🥰

    1. I would, it’s just my husband and me. I have to cut a lot of recipes in half. That is what is great about using grams for measuring!

  8. Bonjour, pour la farine à pain peut-on la remplacer par du type 55 ? Et pour la levure sèche peut-on mettre de la fraîche ? Si oui quelle quantité vous plaît ?
    Merciii

  9. I have 2 people that are Diabetics, a T1 and a T2. I need to make a very low carb crust using flour, not a chicken or cauliflower based crust.
    Have you made anything like that?
    If you have done it or can do it, what is the recipe and method?
    How did it compare in taste, texture, etc.?

  10. Hi dear . Thanks for your beautiful recipes 😘
    1- I would like to use my sourdough starter instead. How much levain I have to put ?
    2- also the pide ?

    Best regards

  11. Can i rest the dough at room temperature for the whole day as I am going to work. I come back in evening and take out of plastic containers and shape pizza or rest in fridge instead

  12. Ciao Natasha! I 5o g di semola servono per stendere la pizza o vanno aggiunti nell’impasto insieme ai 950g di farina? Grazie.

5 from 1 vote

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