The Best Pizza Dough

Name: The Best Pizza Dough
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 crusts (8 servings each).
Cuisine: Asian Dinners, Asian Recipes, Indian Recipes, Italian Dinners, Italian Pizza Recipes, Italian Recipes
Ingredients: 1-1/4 cups warm water (110° to 115°); 2 teaspoons sugar, divided; 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast; 3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose or 00 flour; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and marjoram, optional; 1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil

This easy pizza dough recipe is the key to making an extraordinary homemade pizza. We use all-purpose flour because double zero is hard to find. But if you're lucky enough to live near an Italian market or willing to purchase double zero flour online, using this flour will take your crust to the next level. You won't be disappointed with the results! —Josh Rink, Taste of Home Food Stylist

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
2 teaspoons sugar, divided
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose or 00 flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and marjoram, optional
1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil

Directions

In a small bowl, mix warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar; add yeast and whisk until dissolved. Let stand until bubbles form on surface. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and if desired, dried herbs. Make a well in center; add yeast mixture and oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead, adding more flour to surface as needed until no longer sticky and dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes; transfer bowl to refrigerator and chill overnight. Allow dough to come to room temperature before rolling, about 30 minutes.

Test Kitchen tip

All-purpose flour is an easy choice for this recipe; but if you're willing to go the extra mile and use 00 flour (usually imported from Italy), the dough will have a noticeably silkier texture. Customize the crust and increase the flavor by adding dried herbs such as basil or oregano, and substituting garlic or onion salt for the sea salt.