This is the most Authentic Italian Pizza Dough Recipe from a Neapolitan pizza chef! Learn how to make pizza at home without a costly pizza oven. You can make incredible New York Pizza with a chewy pizza crust just like your favorite pizza places or restaurant! This pizza dough is best for Margherita pizza or your favorite pizza toppings and it’s all made in a home oven!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our full disclosure.
We can eat pizza anytime and that’s why we have a collection of pizza dough recipes! Whether it’s Breakfast Pizza, Dominos Pizza Dough, Homemade Pepperoni Hot pockets(pizza rolls), Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Pizza Copycat, or Healthy Cauliflower pizza crust we love it all! Pizza is the best with Wings and if you like food extra saucy make this Pizza Sauce Recipe for dipping!
History of Pizza
Pizza is an Italian dish made from basic bread dough and then topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and sometimes added meat or vegetables. It’s basically an open-faced pie topped with pizza toppings of choice. Pizza is of Italian origin and although it is uncertain who first invented the famous pizza we know the best pizzas are New York Style Pizza in the modern world of pizza pies.
What Is Brooklyn-Style Pizza?
New York Style pizza is a large hand-tossed pizza that’s crisp and chewy and is a large enough pizza slice to fold in half in order to eat. This pie is pliable with toppings although a traditional NY pizza is simply with tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella. This pizza originated in New York City in the 1900s and was derived from the Neapolitan pizza made in Napoli, Italy. That is why the two are so similar to each other.
Best Flour To Use For Pizza Dough:
Italian pizza dough is typically made with type 0 or 00 tender wheat flour. However, any Hi gluten flour or bread flour will work for making homemade pizza dough. You can still make pizza dough using all-purpose flour however, you’ll just need a little extra kneading time to work out the gluten.
Why Should I Make This Pizza Dough?
This is such an easy pizza dough recipe to make! You simply knead together the dough using your hands or a Kitchen aid mixer and it will last in the refrigerator for up to a week. This means you can pull out pizza dough any day of the week for a quick meal and the dough will only get more awesome in flavor as it ferments in the fridge. I love that the ingredients are simple and that anyone can make this pizza dough including beginners!
Ingredients For Pizza Dough:
This pizza dough recipe is made from basic ingredients. To get accurate results every time it is best to weigh the flour and use precise measurements. This can be easily done with a kitchen scale and a metric measuring cup for liquid. I have made this dough with a stand mixer and by hand with outstanding results.
- Flour- high gluten flour like All Trumps or any bread flour is best. You can also use all-purpose flour with extra kneading time.
- Salt-use good quality sea salt.
- Water- since this is going into the fridge you can use room-temperature water, it does not need to be warm. However, if you are planning to bake this pizza dough immediately then you will need to activate the yeast with warm water.
- Yeast-Italian pizzerias typically use wet or fresh yeast however this recipe has been converted to use dry active yeast. Red star active dry yeast is my favorite, but you can use any packet of dry yeast for this pizza dough, since it ferments in the fridge you don’t have to worry about the yeast activating immediately.
How To Make Pizza Dough:
To make pizza at home follow these easy steps for a hand-tossed pie. If you would prefer a thin crust make a smaller dough ball and stretch the dough thin.Here is an overview of the whole pizza process from start to finish.
- Make the pizza dough in a bowl using your hands or bring everything together in a stand mixer.
- Knead the dough for about 7 minutes by hand or 5 minutes over low speed in a stand mixer.
- Place the dough into a food container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for 18-24 hours.
- Divide the dough into four equal pieces, weighing about 14 oz each (this makes four 14-inch pizzas.)
- Let the dough balls rest at room temperature for 4-6 hours or transfer them into a 2.5-gallon size freezer bag for an additional day.
- Stretch the dough balls out to a 14-inch circle (makes medium pizzas.)
- Place pizza dough over a perforated pizza pan or pizza screen for a crispy pizza crust.
- Top with your favorite pizza toppings.
- Bake in a pre-heated 500°F for 6-8 minutes. I like to bake my pizzas on the lower rack of the oven for even browning.
Pro Tip: bake pizza at the highest domestic oven temperature for a superior chewy and crisp crust. Open-bottom pizza pans do a fantastic job of browning the dough without an expensive pizza stone or outdoor brick oven.
Pizza Topping Ideas:
There are so many ways to top a pizza, fresh ingredients make all the difference! One of the most popular Neapolitan Pizza is the Margherita pizza, which is simply this pizza dough with basil and salt-infused tomato sauce (using San Marzano Italian tomatoes), Mozzarella di Bufala, fresh basil, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Here are other topping ideas for this pizza dough recipe;
- Supreme Pizza- tomato pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, sausage, purple onions, green bell peppers, and mushrooms.
- Traditional White Pizza- garlic sauce (alfredo sauce),Grated Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes just like Bocce Pizza.
- Sicilian Pizza-shape into a small rectangular pan to make a thick deep-dish pizza similar to a Detroit-style pizza, then top with oregano, tomato, garlic-infused marinara sauce, ground beef, parmesan cheese, and Mozzarella (this was a Pizza hut special before.) You can also use Cup’N Crisp pepperoni from Hormel with zesty marinara sauce and cheese.
- Cheese Pizza-use semi-soft low-moisture mozzarella cheese.
- BBQ Chicken Pizza-drizzle your favorite bbq sauce over the pizza crust and top with mozzarella, sliced onions, grilled chicken breast strips, cheddar cheese, and more mozzarella (Domino’s pizza variation.)
- Meat Lovers Pizza- use ham, pepperoni, bacon bits, crumbled pork sausage, cheese, and sweet marinara sauce.
- Hawaiian Pizza-red pizza sauce, mozzarella, pineapple chunks, roasted red bell peppers (optional), bacon, or ham slices.
Equipment For Making Pizza:
Italian Pizza can be made right in your home oven without a pizza peel or fancy pizza oven! Although fast-food pizza is made in a commercial conveyor oven you can replicate the same effect by turning your oven to the highest baking temperature (home ovens usually go to 500°F.) A true Neapolitan pizza is made in a brick oven reaching a temperature of 842°F! This cooks a pizza in 90 seconds! I compiled my kitchen essentials for baking pizza at home like a pro:
- Pizza Screen-is what Domino’s pizza uses for making pizzas and it creates a super crisp and chewy pizza crust that is ideal for making a Neapolitan pizza at home! Use any pizza pan with holes to achieve a crispy crust.
- Pizza Cutter-perfect for slicing into pizza wedges!
- Large Wooden Cutting Board-makes a great serving platter!
- Rolling Pin- if you are not comfortable stretching pizza dough with your hands, you can use a rolling pin to stretch out the dough to the desired size and then indent the edges for a crust perimeter.
- Mixing Bowl- use the bowl of your stand mixer or use any large stainless steel mixing bowl to make the pizza dough.
- Measuring Tools- use a measuring spoon set for salt and yeast, a measuring cup set for the flour, and a metric measuring cup for the water.
Creative Ways To Serve Up Pizza Dough:
Pizza recipes shouldn’t be the only way to use up that pizza dough! You can make flatbread, Costco Chicken Bakes, Calzones, Stromboli, and so much more!This refrigerated dough is handy for a quick and easy Naan bread, Focaccia bread, pull-apart pizza ring and so much more!
- Garlic Knots- knot small strips of dough and brush with a melted butter and herb mixture.
- Cheesy Breadsticks- roll out dough and place into a baking sheet, brush with melted butter and herbs then top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Pizza Rolls-make pinwheels filled with your favorite pizza sauce and toppings!
- Thin Crackers-roll out pizza dough paper-thin and season with your favorite herbs. Bake until crisp.
- Churros-dip pizza dough strips into melted butter and dredge into a cinnamon-sugar coating then twist and bake!
Q&A
Can you Freeze Pizza Dough?
Frozen pizza dough is convenient to have on hand, however not all pizza doughs are created for the freezer. Since New York Pizza relies more on a slow fermentation process in the fridge there is no need to use excessive yeast or dough enhancers. Neapolitan pizza dough has very little yeast and develops most of its flavors during refrigeration. Typically doughs that keep in the freezer are enriched with leavening and dough enhancers to improve the shelf life of the pizza, however, this pizza dough is not recommended to go through the freezer as that can kill some of the yeast.
How Many Calories In A Slice Of Pizza?
Here is an idea of how many slices are in a large pizza and medium pizza, aMedium pizza dough is usually 12″ round and weighing at 12-14 oz. Whereas alarge pizza dough ball is 14 inches round and weighing at about 14-16 oz.How many pizza slices will depend on the size of the pizza. There are typically 8 slices in a medium pizza and around 10 slices in a large pizza. A slice of this large pizza dough is 80 calories.
Best Way To Reheat Pizza?
Wondering how to reheat pizza and retain its crispy crust? Reheat the pizza in the oven! Simply preheat the oven or toaster oven to 350°F and bake as many slices as you need for up to 7-8 minutes! You can also reheat pizza in an air fryer or skillet!
We also microwave our leftover pizza slices when in a rush however, they won’t be as chewy and crisp if you were to use an oven or skillet.
How Long Can Pizza Dough Keep in The Fridge?
Pizza dough can keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. Once the pizza dough has been baked with the toppings it can sit out for several hours before being refrigerated. Store leftovers in a freezer bag or covered, tightly with plastic wrap.
How To Cook Pizza in The Oven?
An authentic NY pizza dough recipe is typically baked in a commercial pizza oven or brick oven that reaches a very high cooking temperature. To replicate the brick oven pizza at home using a standard oven, preheat your oven to the highest baking temperature. Use a pizza screen or pizza pan with holes so the heat circulates and browns the dough evenly.
You’ll want to bake the pizza dough on the bottom rack of the oven so the toppings don’t burn. A pizza stone is also a great way to bake pizza at home however, that can be a costly and heavy piece of bakeware for the everyday home cook.
Best Pizza Tips:
- Make mozzarella cheese your first topping over the pizza sauce, that way it doesn’t dry out. Ideally, you’ll want to add an extra layer of cheese for a cheese pizza or use a blend of different cheeses.
- Because New York Pizza is chewy and crisp, the dough will be tougher to knead. Resting time is essential to make easy work with dough. NY Pizza shouldn’t be sticky.
- Use a rectangular or square pan to make a deep-dish pizza.
- Medium pizza dough is usually 12″ round and weighing at 12-14 oz.
- A large pizza dough ball is 14 inches round and weighing at 14-16 oz.
- How many pizza slices will depend on the size of the pizza. There are typically 8 slices in a medium pizza and around 10 slices in a large pizza.
- Invest in a pizza-proofing box if you eat pizza weekly, this can keep multiple balls of dough at once without drying out the dough. Another option is to use 2.5-gallon-sized freezer bags for storing pizza balls in the fridge. Unfortunately, plastic wrap can dry out the dough if it’s not clinging tightly over the tray.
- This Pizza dough should be kept an in airtight food container before dividing into balls.
- Make homemade pizza sauce using our Canned Marinara Sauce or Dominos Pizza Sauce Recipe.
- Turn this pizza dough into party pizza! Mold the whole ball of dough into a 21×15-inch mega sheet pan!
- For a no-yeast pizza dough use 1/4 cup of sourdough instead!
- Tasty pizza is best fresh out of the oven, see our reheating instructions for leftovers!
More Pizza Recipes:
- Easy Fruit Pizza
- Veggie Pizza
- Fluffy and Crusty Pizza Dough Recipe
- Alfredo Pizza
- Twisted Pizza
- Grilled Pizza– is a white pizza with tomatoes.
More Bread Recipes:
- Sourdough Bagels
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough French Bread– make French bread pizza!
- Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
How To Make Pizza Dough:
PrintRatePin
Pizza Dough Recipe (New York Pizza)
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Refrigeration: 18 hours hours
Total Time: 18 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 pizza doughs
Author: Alyona Demyanchuk
This is the most Authentic ItalianPizza Dough Recipefrom a Neapolitan pizza chef! Learn how to make pizza at home without a costly pizza oven. You can make incredible New York Pizza with a chewy pizza crust just like your favorite pizza places or restaurant! This pizza dough is best for Margherita pizza or your favorite pizza toppings and it's all made in a home oven!
US Customary - Metric
Ingredients
Ingredients:
1 Kilogram bread flour or High Gluten flour (about 7 cups)
600 ml room temperature water (around 72°F)
1 tsp dry active yeast (or 1 gram of fresh yeast)
2 tbsp sea salt
Instructions
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl dissolve the salt in the water.
Add 1 cup of flour to make a milky mixture. Stir in the yeast.
Mix in the remaining flour and knead into a smooth ball (will take about 8 minutes by hand.)
Place the pizza dough into an airtight food container with a lid. Refrigerate for 18-24 hours.
Remove dough from the refrigerator and divide into 4 equal pieces (weighing about 14 oz each.)
Rest dough balls for 4-6 hours before making them into pizzas or refrigerate for an additional day.
Stretch dough balls into 14-inch circles and top with your favorite pizza toppings. Transfer to a pizza screen or pizza pan that is 14-16 inches large.
Bake pizzas at 500°F for 6-8 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven.
Slice into wedges and serve.
Notes
- Serving Size: This pizza dough recipe makes 4 large pizza balls.
- For a sweeter pizza dough add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. This enhances the pizza dough.
Nutrition per serving
Serving: 1pizza dough slice (without toppings)Calories: 80kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 350mgPotassium: 25mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
New Be featured here!
Hashtag #yesalyonascooking on both Instagram and Pinterest to be seen here!
Categories
- Breads
- Main Dish
- Pizza
Leave a comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
35 comments
- Hannah Hampton
Hi! I’m hoping to make this soon, but my store was out of bread flour and high gluten flour. Is there any chance all purpose flour will work? Thank you!
- Reply
- Alyona Demyanchuk
I think all-purpose flour will work.
- Reply
- Virginia
Hi, can I freeze this pizza dough?
- Reply
- Josh Baker
Can you give further instruction on what to do next? After 3 days in the fridge do I just pull it out and form the dough or does it need to sit out for any length of time?
- Reply
- Alyona Demyanchuk
You’d use it like any other pizza dough.
- Reply
- Peggy
The dough was just like the Costco chicken bakes!!! Thanks so much. So chewy, mmmm!
Can’t wait to try it for pizzas- Reply
- Alyona Demyanchuk
So glad to hear, Peggy!
- Reply
- Alice
Would have liked to have the scaled down recipe by weight as well. Some of us prefer to bake that way since it’s more accurate.
- Reply
- Alyona Demyanchuk
Hi Alice, I have the full video linked of the Pizzeria owner sharing the recipe, feel free to watch it and scale it down in Baker’s Percentages, which he does mention in the pizza video.
- Reply
- Pepper
Where is the link to the video?!
- Reply
- Alyona Demyanchuk
Hi,
The link to the New-York Style Pizza dough video is under that subheading below the second image. Or simply click on the highlighted link in my comment.
- Reply
- Vinny
What’s the measurements for the actual 50 lb batch that he gave you?
- Reply
- Alyona Demyanchuk
Hi Vinny, I actually have the full video linked of the Pizzeria man sharing the recipe and discussing the bakers percentage in my post.
- Reply
Show more
