This pizza dough works great for those days when you suddenly decide pizza for dinner sounds good, but you don’t have a lot of time to pull together a homemade dough. It is made using instant yeast. If you don’t have that on hand, you can use regular yeast, but it will take additional time to rise.
This recipe will make 1.5 pounds of dough. This will be 2 thin and crispy pizza crusts (3/4 pound each), or 1 thick and bread like crust of about 12-14″. Thin crust will cook faster and the thicker crust will need more time so adjust according to your favorite recipe.
I recommend a 450 degree oven, but you can adjust higher or lower based on your favorite pizza recipe.
This dough freezes well. When I make thin crust pizza, if I am not using the second crust, I freeze the other dough ball after the rise. To use it, I thaw it in a bowl that has been greased with olive oil and covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap. When dough is fully thawed and stretchy, shape and prepare.
I prefer to use extra-virgin olive oil, but you can use any high quality vegetable oil if you do not like olive. Avocado oil has a lighter flavor profile and holds up to heat well and I suggest either.
I strongly recommend using an instant read thermometer to ensure your water is the right temperature before adding the yeast and sugar.
Bubbly Yeast 
Ready to Rise 
Weeknight Pizza Dough
Equipment
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring Cups
- Dough Scraper
- Rolling Pin
- Instant read thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups warm water 105 – 115 degrees
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1/8 cup Olive Oil or Avocado Oil plus extra for greasing bowl
- 3 cups bread flour can substitute all-purpose
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine warm water, sugar and yeast in a glass measuring cup. Allow it to rest undisturbed for a few minutes until the yeast becomes bubbly. If you do not see the yeast frothing or bubbling after 2-3 minutes, you may have to start over as your yeast is not active.
- Add olive oil or avocado oil into yeast mixture.
- Pour yeast mixture in to the bowl of a stand mixer or mixing bowl if you are using a hand-mixer.
- Sift together flour and salt in a separate bowl. Make sure the salt is evenly distributed in the flour.
- Add the flour and salt mixture to the yeast mixture 1/2 half a cup at at time mixing well between additions. Continue adding the flour until the mixture can be pulled away from the bowl with a dough scraper. The dough will be very sticky, this is the correct consistency. You may need to add a bit more flour if it feels wet, but you do want it to stick to your fingers. Stop mixing at this point and scrap the dough into a loose ball.
- Use olive oil to grease a bowl that is at least twice the size of the dough ball. Using a dough scraper, transfer the dough ball into the greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Leave it at room temperature to rise for about 1 hour. If your room is warm it may rise faster, or cool a bit slower so check your dough around the 45 minute mark and adjust time from there.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. I use a silicone mat that is for bread and pie dough making. Pull the dough from the bottom up over the top, working in a circle until you have it pulled into a rough ball shape. Flip it over so it is a smooth ball.
- For 2 thin crust pizzas (12 – 14")cut the dough in 1/2 (each half will be roughly 3/4 of a pound) or for a thick more bread like crust use the entire dough ball for one 14" thick crust pizza. Roll the dough into a round or rectangle shape to fit your pizza pan.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place rolled dough on prepared pizza pan, and top with favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for 15 minutes if thin crust, or longer for thicker crust pizza.