How to make simple pizza dough

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This is a very simple pizza recipe that I have used hundreds of times and it never fails. If you only have an hour to let the dough rest it still tastes great but if you have the time to leave it in the fridge for 24 hours it will taste amazing.

Mixing The Dough

You can always mix the dough by hand but as this is a simple dough recipe I always use a mixer.

I actually use a bread maker to mix the dough and it does such a good job that I use it more for pizza dough than I ever use for bread. If you want to have a look at the bread makers I recommend please click here.

Stretching The Dough

For those who are new to making pizza, stretching pizza dough might seem like a daunting task at first. However, it really needn’t be intimidating! These four steps are perfect for beginners who are new to the craft.

Step 1

When you start stretching your pizza dough, you’ll use a technique called “The Finger Press.” Place the ball of dough on your work surface and gently press into it using your fingers. Keep pressing into the dough ball to flatten it, then push your hands away from each other to help stretch the base outwards. Be sure to try to keep the shape as circular as possible, as this will influence the overall shape of your pizza once it’s fully stretched.

Step 2

Put both hands flat onto the disc of dough and rotate the dough as you’re pulling your hands away from each other. Feel free to turn the pizza whichever way feels more comfortable for you. The main thing is that your hands are pulling in opposite directions as you spin the base around. This helps to make the base bigger and to flatten out any lumps so you get a smoother, more even base.

Step 3

To make your pizza base bigger and thinner, pick it up by the edge and let it hang down like a curtain. Gently pinch along the edge of the dough as you rotate the base around. Don’t be scared of picking up the dough—it has a surprisingly strong structure, so as long as it’s not paper thin when you start this step then it’s unlikely to rip. Depending on how big you’d like to make the base, you can either pinch right from the edge or handle a wider part of the base from closer to the centre of the dough. This will also give you more control over how high your crust will be in the oven.

Step 4

Finally, let’s shape the dough into “The Parachute”. With your hands curved, as if you were holding a mug, place one over the other so they fit together. Then at the same time lift both your hands up and out. Place the stretched dough over the top of your hands, and make this movement slowly and gently to keep opening out the dough. It’s good to do this as the final step so that you can focus on any parts of the dough that need extra stretching and aren’t yet thin enough. If at any point you overstretch the dough and find any small holes or tears, simply pinch these back together.

Finish Your Pizza

Add your pizza source and cheese and cover it with you favourite toppings and you’re ready to go.

I hope you try and like this simple pizza dough, if you are looking for more information on pizza’s including reviews and guides on the best pizza ovens please see our full pizza section.