Chef John's Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

This pizza dough produces a very nice pizza crust — flavorful, and tender, with just the right amount of chewiness.

• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 20 mins
• Calories: 485 Calories

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• all-purpose flour, for dusting
• 0.25 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 0.25 teaspoon white sugar
• 1.25 teaspoons salt
• 0.25 cup whole wheat flour
• 1.5 cups warm water (100 degrees F or 38 degrees C)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Stir whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, and warm water with a spatula until formed into a sticky ball of dough that pulls away from sides of a large bowl, about 3-4 minutes.

Step 2

Cover the bowl with a light cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) for 18 hours, until doubled in size.

Step 3

Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F (280 degrees C). Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal.

Step 4

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with more flour. Form the dough into a rectangle, and cut it into four equal parts. Shape each piece into a ball, stretching and tucking the dough to create a smooth surface, adding more flour if needed. Cover the dough balls with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

Step 5

To shape the dough, sprinkle the surface with flour and lightly pat flat. Use a rolling pin to form a thin disk about 9 inches in diameter.

Step 6

Transfer the formed crust to the prepared baking sheet and top as desired. Bake on the bottom rack for 4 minutes, move to the middle rack and bake for 5-6 minutes more minutes, until the bottom is crispy and the top is lightly browned. Move to cooling rack to cool slightly before serving.