My Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

Step 1

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, stir yeast into warm water with sugar. Let it sit, undisturbed. After 5 minutes, you should see some bubbles form.

Step 2

Stir in salt & 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add both flours, a little at a time, stirring at low speed for about 4 minutes, until the dough forms a rough ball and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. You may need to add a little more flour (if it's too sticky) or water (if it looks dry.) Let the dough rest in the bowl for 15 minutes. (It should still be fairly soft at this point.)

Step 3

Remove dough from bowl and divide into 4 pieces. (If you want bigger pizzas, divide into 3; if you want smaller pizzas, divide into 5.) Gently round each piece into ball and brush or rub with olive oil. Place each into a zippered plastic storage bag and drizzle remaining olive oil over each ball and seal bags closed. Let balls sit for at least 1 hour, or (even better) refrigerate them overnight. Sitting overnight gives the dough more flavor.

Step 4

If you’ve refrigerated your dough, it's very important that you take it out of the fridge for at least 1 hour before making pizzas. You can also freeze dough for up to 3 months. Plan ahead to let dough fully thaw and come to room temperature before stretching.

Step 5

To stretch the pizza dough, dust the dough, your hands, and your work surface liberally with flour. Press your fingers into the center of a dough ball and extend outward to shape it into a small disk. Continue to press your fingers and palm down on the center of the dough while turning with your other hand, pushing out the dough from the center but maintaining an airy rim around the perimeter. Add more flour if it starts to get sticky.

Step 6

You're done stretching the dough when it's thin in the middle and has a nice crust on the edges. Then, you're ready to proceed with any pizza recipe -- baked in the oven or tossed on the grill.