Think you have to spend a lot of money – or time – to have regular family pizza nights? Think again – this dough recipe is the answer to a pizza meal that won’t break the bank.
This pizza dough has been the basis for our standard Saturday pizza nights ever since our kids were little. Individual pizzas were one of the first recipes I posted back when I started this blog, and the dough is the basis for my favorite type of pizza – Chicken Pesto Greek Style Pizza. But I’ve never posted the pizza crust recipe alone, and since it’s such a big part of our regular menus, I thought it would make it easier for you to find and use just the dough recipe (which, by the way, I also use as the basis for this pesto bread recipe and this calzone recipe).
After discovering and adapting this recipe (originally in a Betty Crocker cookbook we got for a wedding gift a long time ago…), it was like I won the menu lottery or something – I would make individual mini pizzas and everyone could choose what to put on them. And when kids are little and picky, this was a wonderful thing! Brian and I would load up on the vegetables and they kids would have…cheese.
But as the kids grew older they started adding more vegetables until by high school we were all pretty much eating the same thing. And so I started making just one big pizza at that point, because it’s a little quicker than making the individual sizes.
But the individual pizzas? Those are still one of my go-to menus for company because everyone can choose what they want on it, which is so nice when you’ve got a mix of picky kids, vegetarian, or other special diets. Especially if you’re hosting new friends that you haven’t learned their tastes yet. They’ve been very popular for kid’s parties and sleepovers, too.
The best thing about this crust, of course, is that it can be ready for toppings in 15-20 minutes – or 30 minutes when pre-baking – which is quicker than going to buy a pizza for most of us (unless you live around the corner to a pizza place…). Not to mention it’s SO much cheaper to make your own pizza than buying one, even one of those ready-to-bake pizzas. In fact, the crust costs just pennies:*
- flour – .35-.40
- bulk yeast – .12
- honey – .05
- olive oil – .20-.40
- salt – .01
Isn’t that crazy? .73 to .98 for enough pizza crust to serve a family of 4 to 6! Puts those $20 to $30 pizzas in a whole new light – and even the $10 pre-baked varieties! Just for fun, let’s total the toppings for a basic cheese pizza to see how much that would add:
- 8 oz. cheese is around $2-2.50
- 8 oz. can of tomato sauce is usually around .40 (you can add garlic and your own seasonings to make it pizza sauce for a few more pennies).
So you can make a cheese pizza for less than $4. Of course you can add a lot more toppings to this basic pizza and the price will go up, but if you make a simple pepperoni pizza, it would only add about $2.00 for half of a typical package, which usually covers this size pizza, bringing the total well under $6.00.
*prices are generalized from a brief web search, but these are pretty close to the norm and give you an idea of how cheap pizza crust is to make.
How to Make Pizza Dough
You’re going to love how easy this is, too!
Mix up your ingredients – no kneading required, but do let the mixer run until the dough clears the sides of the bowl (or turn it over a couple times if making by hand). Let it sit for 15-20 minutes. It will rise a only a bit, but look puffier. You can let it sit for longer and it will rise more, but I’m always in a hurry, and we don’t really notice a difference in the finished crust when it’s risen longer.
I used to think you had to try to toss your dough and only use your hands to form the crust, or it was somehow ‘cheating.’ Duh. I now just shape it into a general rectangle (if I’m using a baking sheet like pictured – shape into a general circle if using a round sheet or stone) and let a rolling pin do the rest of the work to get the dough evenly flattened. Then just finish the edges by hand once the dough is rolled as much as it will go.
We’ve learned that pre-baking the crust is a key for us to be able to load it with toppings and still get it cooked all the way to the middle. Pre-baking is optional, but try it if you often have gummy centers!
Five dollars for a pizza with ingredients you control and feeds 4+ with a couple pieces leftover (sometimes…)? That’s pretty much the reason we’ve been able to have pizza nights for years and not go broke. Plus I’ve always felt good about serving our pizza with ingredients I can choose. Pizza is never a ‘junk food’ when you control the ingredients!
Click the arrow for the printable recipe!
Looking forward to trying this. Had to laugh at the 10, yes 10 ads for Papa Johns pizza on the page! Thanks for the recipe!
Wow, don’t know what happened, I don’t even have space for 10 ads! Once I figure out a better income source they are going to be lessened – that’s the goal, since I don’t like them either. 🙂 Hope you like the recipe.
This dough looks very simple. I’m curious to see what it tastes like and my husband and I will have to give it a try! Maybe I’ll give it a review on my blog. Happy Cooking!
Hope you like it, Kristen – it’s our family’s staple!
Can’t read the article because your “Recommend Instagram Account takes up the right side of the page and I can’t get rid of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So sorry, Donna! If you refresh the page, it should go away. I just loaded the site 3 times on desktop and 2x on mobile and the popup never came up (I wanted to see – I’m thinking you’re on mobile since it’s just in the right corner on desktop?).
What liquid do you use?? Did I miss that in the recipe?
Click on the arrow for the full printable recipe, Amber. 🙂
I’m a little confused. Do you use a total of 2.5 cups flour or 3.5 cups. Thanks 🙂
Sorry, Angie! It’s 2-1/2 cups of flour and sometimes I make 1 cup of that whole wheat.
This is the Best pizza dough ever! I find it quicker and much tastier than premade supermarket dough. It rolls out so easily and incredibly delicious! Friday night ritual!
Thank you Jami!
Wa-hoo, I love reading this, Franny!! AND you’re saving on top of it. 🙂
Hello. I love the concept here and followed it exactly…but mine is sticky and didn’t rise well. :/ what might have happened? Anyone have this issue?
There are always things when working with yeast that can make the dough different: age of yeast, humidity, temperature of kitchen, etc. But for the most part, I don’t usually have a problem with this recipe, Annie. The dough is supposed to be slightly wet – if it’s too sticky to shape, I use a bit more oil on my hands when shaping. If it’s even stickier than that, you can add more flour, a TB at a time when mixing. I’d try again – I’ve found when working with yeast that practice results me knowing the dough better and then success. 🙂
Does it make a difference if I use bleached flour? I plan on making these for dinner tomorrow. I have several bags of all purpose flour. Do you use all purpose or self rising? I can cook just about anything but just now trying this bread thing lol. I’ve never used yeast until the other day.
Welcome to yeast baking, Dawn! 🙂 All-purpose unbleached and bleached flour are pretty interchangeable – unbleached has a slightly higher protein content which is better for yeast breads, but it’s not that big of a difference. Self-rising flour has a leaven included (like baking powder), so I wouldn’t use that with yeast recipes. I usually add a cup of whole wheat flour just to add more healthy grains, but we actually like the texture better with only all-purpose unbleached. 🙂 I think you’ll love this recipe!
This pizza crust is awesome! Thank you so much! I made it tonight for the first time and everyone loved it. Definitely going to be our go to pizza crust recipe.
Thank you! Used this for a butterscotch and sage pizza! Yum!
This has become my go to crust for our pizza dinners. I increased the honey to 1 tablespoon. This actually happened by accident because one time I didn’t have my glasses on when reading the directions….but it makes the crust so tasty so I have stuck with it! I also am letting it rest longer just to give it a good rise. I love how simple and delicious it is. Thanks so much for this great recipe.
Leah
So happy to read this, Leah! I’ve never tried more honey – I’ll have to do that and see if we like it better, too. 🙂
Could you please tell me what size pan you used to make the rectangular pizza? Thanks.
It’s a 12″x17″ pan, Joren – enjoy!
I have a packet of active dry yeast, is that what you use?
Yes, that will work Shannon. I actually buy yeast in bulk (at a market where they sell in bins) and it’s labeled instant, but it works the same in recipes like active dry. You might want to check into buying in bulk, it’s a LOT less expensive. 🙂
The last time I made pizza dough, it completely stuck to my non stick pans?! Will cornmeal prevent this or do I need to use spray?
This pizza dough recipe will be perfect with roasted vegetables from our garden! It is something my husband and daughter will eat – Thank you!
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We make pizza at home. It’s so much less expensive than bake at home or take out. We eat pizza out rarely because my family is allergic to milk. When we order pizza out we have to get it cheese free. It kills me to have to pay for cheese and not get it. 🙂 we also love to have grilled pizza in the summer, so good.
That would kill me, too, Shelly!
Love this post! My family does a pizza night every Saturday night so we can have leftovers after church on Sunday. I make different doughs. I make a thin crust wheat pizza with gourmet toppings like Asian chicken or bbq chicken. Our favorite dough comes from an adaption of an America’s Test Kitchen recipe. It is a “shaggy” dough with a high mosture content. The crust is crispy on the bottom and chewy in the middle. It is made in a rectangle baking pan. Yum!
Sounds wonderful, Betsy! I find making pizza in a rectangle pan easier for some reason. 🙂
Guess what we had for dinner tonight??? I didn’t have time to get something on the go for dinner before I left for my classes this morning, so all afternoon I was thinking about what was the quickest dinner to make with what I had in the fridge, and what the slightly-picky 15 year old who is staying the night with us would eat…and the answer was pizza 🙂 So, you can imagine how it made me smile to open my email after dinner and find today’s post!
I’ve been using your pizza dough recipe since you first posted it – I have 2009 written on the recipe card, so it seems like we’ve been eating Jami’s pizza for about 5 years 🙂 It’s definitely a keeper! Thanks!
Oh, how wonderful to hear from you, Primrose – and to know that you’ve been using the dough all this time! Way to make me smile, too. 🙂
Hope you enjoyed your meal tonight!! xoxo
Looks Delicious! Can you freeze the raw dough
Sure, Kathy – I usually don’t since it is so quick to make and remembering to thaw is always a big problem with freezer stuff and me. 😉