My perfect pizza dough recipe. Guaranteed to disappear from my family’s plates every time.
One of the meals that is guaranteed to always disappear from my boys’ plates is pizza (unless of course it’s experimental pizza with a cauliflower crust – that didn’t go down well at all!).
They also enjoy joining in with making the pizza – “helping” to knead the dough, spreading the tomato, sprinkling the cheese and choosing their own toppings. It’s a great way to start getting them interested in cooking their own food, something that’s important to me as they grow up.
If you have children, do you cook with them? What do you like to make?
This pizza dough recipe is really simple to make and the dough can be frozen (uncooked), so you can make a big batch and then keep it in the freezer in one or two person portions for a quick meal on another day (as long as you’ve remembered to defrost it!). Why not try the dough making my favourite pizza recipe.
Basic Pizza Dough
INGREDIENTS
- 175 g '00' flour - you can use plain flour or strong bread flour if '00' is not available, but I find '00' gives a lighter, crisper base
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp fast-action dried yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 120 ml water - lukewarm
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put the flour (175g), yeast (½ tsp) and salt (½ tsp) into a large bowl - Put the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl to prevent the salt killing the yeast before it's had a chance to work.
- Make a well in the centre and add half the water (60ml), mix well with your hands.
- Keep adding water a little bit at a time until all of the flour has been incorporated into the dough. The dough should be slightly sticky but not sloppy - If you accidentally add too much water add a sprinkle of flour and combine until you have the right consistency.
- Spread a little of the olive oil onto a clear work surface and knead the dough in the oil, keep adding a little oil until the full 1 tbsp has been incorporated - The olive oil helps to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface and adds flavour to the loaf. The dough can sometimes get sticky while kneading, keep persevering, it will improve, and don't be tempted to add more flour or you'll end up with a dry, heavy pizza base.
- Keep kneading the dough until it is smooth, springy and if you stretch it in front of a light source you'll be able to see the light coming through without the dough breaking.
- Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove for 1-1½ hours (or overnight in the fridge) until the dough has doubled in size - The important thing here is the dough doubling in size, not the time. The amount of time the dough needs to prove can vary according to the temperature of the room, so if it's not doubled in size, leave it a bit longer.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and knead a couple of times to knock out all of the air.
- Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan. TIP - For a really well cooked base, place an empty baking sheet into an oven until hot. Make up the pizza on a sheet of greaseproof paper or other oven-proof mat and then before cooking transfer the pizza on the greaseproof onto the hot baking sheet.
- Shape the dough into a circle about ½ cm thick - I say circle, mine tend to be slightly random shapes but they still taste great.
- Top with your chosen toppings
- Bake in the oven for roughly 12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans
- Egg-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Fish-Free
- Crustacean-Free
- Mollusc-Free
- Celery-Free
- Mustard-Free
- Lupin-Free
Natalie Hall says
Is there a way you can convert your c to F? Then grams and ml are equivalent to….what? Sorry about this.
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Natalie,
220C = 425F
200C = 400F (if you have a fan oven)
You mentioned that you don’t use g and ml but didn’t say what measurements you prefer. Assuming you like cups then you need 1.4 cups of flour and half a cup of water.
I hope that helps.
Nidhi Agrawal says
Great! It was awesome n easy
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Nidhi. I’m so glad you liked it.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I can’t say that I make pizza from scratch often.. but after seeing this recipe it is definitely something I am inspired to do. Thanks for the basic dough – I will be making it.
Charlotte Oates says
You should definitely give it a go sometime. It’s really straightforward and tastes delicious.
Mel says
It sounds really easy to make! I have to admit I have never made pizza dough before (am I a bad person?). I like the idea you can make a big batch of it and freeze some. I might have a go.
Charlotte Oates says
Not at all. There’s so many things I haven’t made that I want to, There’s just not enought time to try everything.
I’d recommend giving it a go sometime though as it’s simple and fun to involve the children.
Tinuke says
I was thinking of pizza on the way home but knew it would be a super late dinner by the time the dough had risen! We normally leave this as a weekend task, plus that way I have more time to clear up the inevitable mess we make with multiple toppings and tonnes of flour!
Charlotte Oates says
I always seem to end up in a big mess too!! But it always tastes good which makes the cleaning up worthwhile.
Sometimes I’m just too impatient for bread I’ve had several disasters with underproved loaves. Going to try soda bread later to see how that turns out.