This is the best pizza dough recipe because it's my pizzeria-style, overnight pizza dough. A few basic ingredients and a slow overnight rise give this dough its wonderful flavor and texture.
Table of Content
Do you like pizzeria pizzas? Of course, you do. That flavorful yeasty dough smell and crisp edges. Want to know how to make that pizza? Well, this dough will give you a similar pizza. It's similar to how you get at a pizzeria.
Yes, most pizzerias make their dough overnight, not an hour before they want to make pizzas like us home bakers. The slowly developed flavor of bread in this dough is a pizza you will not forget. And, the best part? It's also simple and easy to make.
Why make this pizza dough?
- This recipe uses standard pizza dough ingredients - flour, water, sugar, oil, salt, and of course instant yeast. Most of these you probably already have on hand.
- Overnight fermentation gives the perfect pizza with a wonderful bread flavor no matter what the pizza toppings from mushrooms to pepperoni,
- You can knead the dough by hand or using an electric mixer.
- I am using homemade pizza sauce that takes just 5 minutes to make but you can use readymade tomato sauce too.
- This dough is very forgiving and easy to work but it does need longer to ferment. If you don't have longer time then try my classic homemade pizza dough or no-knead pizza dough
- Homemade pizza sounds complicated but the process is also simple and easy.
Timeline and process
- Make the dough - 10 mins
- Let the dough rise - 6 hours up to 24 hours
- Divide into dough balls and let it rest - 30 mins
- Preheat oven - 20 mins before
- Roll the pizza dough - 15 mins
- Add the toppings and bake - 15 mins
Ingredients and substitutes
- Flour - Bread flour makes light and airy donuts with a soft and chewy texture. Of course, you can use all-purpose flour but, if possible, at least use 50% bread and 50% all-purpose.
- Yeast - I'm not a slave to any particular brand, but I use instant dry yeast or fresh yeast. We have discussed yeast here - baking with yeast a beginner guide.
- Water - The temperature of the water you use for yeast has to be warm - not hot, nor cold. Almost the temperature of the liquid you give a baby. Approximately 105 to 115 F.
- Sugar - The sugar here is not for sweetness, but to feed the yeast. This helps the yeast grow and nurture the bread. So, don't omit it, and no it will not make your dough sweet. And, if you don't fancy sugar, try honey or agave syrup.
- Oil - Like sugar, oil is also food for our yeast. It helps the yeast grow and develop flavor. We also use oil to brush the edges, which gives us a nice crisp edge.
- Salt - Use fine-grain salt, which will dissolve in the dough easily.
How to make overnight pizza dough
Pizza dough
- Yeast ingredients - In a large bowl or measuring cup combine warm water (110 F), yeast, sugar, and oil. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Dry ingredients - Measure the flour and salt in a mixing bowl or stand mixer with the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and combine well.
Pro-tip - if you do not like kneading I highly recommend using a stand mixer with the hook attachment.
- Wet to dry - Add the flour mixture to the yeast egg mixture and combine on medium-high until all the flour is incorporated. Knead on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes.
Pro tip - Avoid adding too much extra flour when kneading. We want a soft, elastic, slightly sticky dough.
- Bowl - When the dough is soft and shiny but still slightly sticky shape it into a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl seam side down. Coat the surface with oil to prevent drying. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap.
- Rise - Then, place into the refrigerator overnight - up to 24 hours.
Pro tip - If you can't attend to it at that moment punch it down, shape it into a ball and leave it to rise again. - Divide - Transfer the dough to a well-dusted surface and punch it down into a long. Divide the dough into three (for 3 x 12-inch thin-crust pizzas) or two equal pieces (for 2 x 12-inch thick-crust pizzas). Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet.
Pro tip - Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes (it will become easier to stretch).
Bake pizza
- Oven - Preheat oven with pizza stone to 425°F/220°C/Gas Mark 6 for at least 20 minutes.
Pro tip - the pizza must go into a very hot oven only then will you get a good balance of soft, chewy, and golden crust. - Shape - Roll one piece of dough to about 12 inches. The dough is soft and elastic you can stretch the dough with your hand or use a rolling pin. Transfer the pizza to the pizza peel or pizza pan (see video).
Pro tip - Place parchment paper on a pizza peel or use a pizza tray (parchment is less messy than cornmeal or flour).
- Rest - Let the pizza base rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Brush the edges of the pizza with olive oil.
Pro tip - resting will proof the dough and make those edges puff when baked. Brushing with oil will give a nice golden crisp crust. - Sauce/topping - Spread the pizza sauce and add your toppings. Generously sprinkle with cheese – I like to use a mix of mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar.
- Bake - Transfer the pizza to the preheated oven from the pizza peel to the pizza stone (or baking tray). Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are crisp and golden and the cheese is melted beautifully.
Make your perfect pizza pie
- 5 minutes Pizza sauce or Fresh Tomato sauce
- Mushrooms Pizza - assorted mushrooms
- Easy White Pizza Recipe - bechamel sauce and cheese.
- Olive Pizza with Red Onions - chopped olives and Spanish onions.
- Classic Margherita Pizza - classic tomato and cheese.
- 3 Cheese pizza - three kinds of cheese.
- Hawaiian pizza - pineapple and ham
- Red pesto pizza - roasted red pepper sauce
How long does homemade pizza keep?
Pizza is always at its best fresh out of the oven, but it does have a long shelf-life and can be reheated and served again.
Can I freeze pizza dough?
You can freeze homemade pizza dough. Punch down the dough and remove as much of the air. then place in a freezer-approved zip lock bag and place in the freezer for a month or more.
To thaw, just place the bag in the fridge for a couple of hours before you need to use it. Let it come to room temperature for an hour before you use it.
What is the difference between overnight and regular pizza dough?
The big difference between this overnight pizza dough and our classic pizza dough is that this one has less yeast. So, it relies on a slow rise that takes between 6 hours to overnight to double in volume.
However, the disadvantage of overnight dough is that you have to wait for hours. And yet, the benefit of a slow rise is that the dough develops extra flavor. So, if you can plan ahead of time, I highly recommend trying this dough. It's very flavorful and delicious.
In addition, it makes a soft chewy base with crusty edges. Since it is a lean dough, with basic ingredients of water, flour, and salt, it gives us a crispy crust. And, a little bit of olive oil helps keep the inside soft and supple.
Printable Recipe
Overnight Pizza Dough Recipe
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save Grow Coooking Temperature: 425°F/220°C/Gas Mark 6
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 190kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 16 slices
Description
This is the best pizza dough recipe because it's my Pizzeria-style overnight pizza dough. A few basic ingredients and a slow overnight rise are what give this dough its wonderful flavor and texture.
Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Makes 3 x 12-inch pizza
Pizza dough
- 360 ml (1½ cups) Warm water (110F / 38 F)
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) Sugar
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) Olive oil
- 5 g (1 teaspoon) instant dry yeast
- 8 g (1 teaspoon) Salt
- 500 g (4 cups) Bread flour (or 50% bread and 50% all-purpose flour)
Toppings for 2 pizzas
- 1 cup Pizza sauce
- 1 cup Toppings (mushrooms, peppers, onions, olives, basil,)
- 90 g (1 cups) Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 200 g (2 cups) Mozzarella cheese (grated)
- 200 g (2 cups) White cheese (Emmantel or cheddar grated, (optional))
Optional
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano ((optional for garnish) )
Instructions
Pizza dough
- Yeast ingredients - In a large bowl or measuring cup combine warm water (110 F), yeast, sugar, and oil. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Dry ingredients - Measure the flour and salt in a mixing bowl or stand mixer with the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and combine well.Pro-tip - if you do not like kneading I highly recommend using a stand mixer with the hook attachment.
- Wet to dry - Add the flour mixture to the yeast egg mixture and combine on medium-high until all the flour is incorporated. Knead on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes. Pro tip - Avoid adding too much extra flour when kneading. We want a soft, elastic, slightly sticky dough.
- Bowl - When the dough is soft and shiny but still slightly sticky shape it into a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl seam side down. Coat the surface with oil to prevent drying. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap.
- Rise - Then, place into the refrigerator overnight - up to 24 hours.Pro tip - If you can't attend to it at that moment punch it down, shape it into a ball and leave it to rise again.
- Divide - Transfer the dough to a well-dusted surface and punch it down into a long. Divide the dough into three (for 3 x 12-inch thin-crust pizzas) or two equal pieces (for 2 x 12-inch thick-crust pizzas). Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet.Pro tip - Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes (it will become easier to stretch).
Bake pizza
- Oven - Preheat oven with pizza stone to 425°F/220°C/Gas Mark 6 for at least 20 minutes. Pro tip - the pizza must go into a very hot oven only then will you get a good balance of soft, chewy, and golden crust.
- Shape - Roll one piece of dough to about 12 inches. The dough is soft and elastic you can stretch the dough with your hand or use a rolling pin. Transfer the pizza to the pizza peel or pizza pan (see video).Pro tip - Place parchment paper on a pizza peel or use a pizza tray (parchment is less messy than cornmeal or flour).
- Rest - Let the pizza base rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Brush the edges of the pizza with olive oil.Pro tip - resting will proof the dough and make those edges puff when baked. Brushing with oil will give a nice golden crisp crust.
- Sauce/topping - Spread the pizza sauce and add your toppings. Generously sprinkle with cheese – I like to use a mix of mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar.
- Bake - Transfer the pizza to the preheated oven from the pizza peel to the pizza stone (or baking tray). Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are crisp and golden and the cheese is melted beautifully.
Recipe Notes & Tips
Read my tips for making better homemade pizzas here,
- A pizza stone produced better crusts that have crisp edges
- Pizza peel or pizza tray works better to move the pizza in and out of the oven.
- Use parchment paper instead of cornmeal or flour on the pizza peel for a less messy affair.
- Work with soft, room temperature dough as it will stretch easily without tearing too much.
- A well-preheated oven is best for pizza as it gives crisp golden crust.
- Don't overdo the sauce and toppings - the crust is delicious.
- Choose the right toppings - do not use veggies that have excess liquid or that do not cook at the same time as the pizza. Do not use food that can burn easily on the top of a pizza.
- Brush the edges with oil - this makes it nice and crisp with a beautiful golden color.
- Let the rolled pizza base rest this puffs the base making it softer and chewier.
- If you want a crisper crust - hold on to the cheese. Bake for 7 minutes without cheese then top the cheese and bake further.
- Bread machine - this dough can be easily made in a bread machine. Pour all ingredients in the pan set to dough or manual. Start and let the dough run its cycle for about 9 to 10 minutes - continue with the recipe as shown above.
- Freezing pizza dough - excess dough can be frozen for up to a month. Prepare the dough, let rise for an hour. Then punch the dough down and place it in a freezer-safe storage bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge for best results.
- Freezing baked pizza - leftover pizzas freeze beautifully. I like to slice them into wedges and freeze them on the tray. Once frozen I place them in freezer-safe storage bags. These will keep for up to a month. Geat snack for kids.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 190- kcalCarbohydrates: 29- gProtein: 8- gFat: 4- gSaturated Fat: 2- gCholesterol: 13- mgSodium: 373- mgPotassium: 102- mgFiber: 1- gSugar: 2- gVitamin A: 185- IUVitamin C: 1- mgCalcium: 115- mgIron: 2- mg
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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Kaci
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have made the best pizza I have ever had with that crust. I had an awesome breakfast pizza this morning. I cut it into four pieces. To make personal size pizza. I whipped up a small sausage gravy to act as the base, crumbled cooked sausage on top American cheese mixed with Gouda scrambled egg and a sunny side up egg in the middle. Thank you so very much. My search is now over. This will be my go-to always.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you for the lovely feedback Kaci.
Corinne Murphy
We've started a new tradition in our family -- Friday Night Homemade Pizza. If this is going to be homemade we must have handmade pizza dough. Right? Ha!
Lo and behold! There you were!!
Thank you so very much, Veena, for this easy-peasy delicious recipe. Our Friday nights will never be the same again.
Cheers!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you for the lovely feedback, Corinne. So happy to hear your family enjoyed this very much