This thin crust pizza dough recipe is chewy, delicious, and super thin! Even better: it’s easy to make at home. Here’s a tutorial and a step-by-step video!
What’s better than an artisan style Italian pizza? As you may know, we’re a bit pizza obsessed around here. Alex and I have spent years researching the best way to make artisan pizza at home, including several trips to Italy. We’ve created our best pizza dough recipe, our seriously good easy pizza sauce, and our very best Margherita pizza. But over the 10 years of research, we haven’t made a true thin crust pizza recipe…until now. We’re thrilled to unveil this easy pizza dough recipe!
Watch how to make thin crust pizza! (1:30 min)
Dough can be tricky. It’s easiest to learn how to make and stretch dough by watching. Though we can’t come to your kitchen, we can virtually! Here’s a step by step video of Alex making the dough, from kneading to shaping. It’s so helpful, and takes only 1 ½ minutes to watch. We highly recommend watching this before you start!
What makes this easy pizza dough?
Let’s be honest: making homemade pizza dough takes a little effort. What makes this thin crust pizza dough recipe easy? In a sentence: You don’t need to stretch the dough. Stretching pizza dough isn’t hard, but does take a little practice! You can tear the dough, or it can become uneven. This thin crust dough recipe requires no stretching at all. Just roll it out with a rolling pin!
A side benefit: it’s healthier!
Here’s a side benefit of this easy dough. Thin crust pizza is a tiny bit healthier than the standard pie. Why is it healthier? Well, there’s less dough and therefore less calories overall! One piece of thin crust has less calories than a piece of “standard” pizza. So if you’re watching your waistline, thin crust is a good way to go.
Thin crust pizza dough ingredients
This thin crust pizza dough recipe requires very few ingredients, so it’s important that you use exactly what we’ve listed in the recipe card below. Here’s a breakdown:
- Tipo 00 or all purpose flour: Tipo 00 flour is a type of Italian flour that makes for fluffy, supple dough. These days most grocery stores sell it, or you can find it online. All-purpose works just as well if you can’t find it.
- Yeast: Use instant or active dry yeast (both are different from bread machine yeast).
- Kosher salt: Use kosher salt, not table salt! If all you have is table salt, use ¾ teaspoon since it is saltier than kosher salt.
- Water & olive oil: These round out the ingredients to get just the right texture.
- Semolina flour or cornmeal: You’ll use cornmeal or semolina flour to dust the pizza stone before baking — any type will work!
How to make thin crust pizza
Making thin crust pizza dough is a fairly easy process: the only “hard” part about it is the timing. Here are some things to consider about how to make pizza dough:
- Hand knead the dough, or use a stand mixer. You can use your hands for this easy thin crust pizza dough recipe! You don’t need any special equipment at all. A KitchenAid or stand mixer works well too and makes it totally hands off. The kneading time in both cases is 8 minutes.
- It takes 45 minutes to rise before baking! While it’s easy, thin crust pizza dough is not necessarily quick. Most of the time required for making the dough is letting it rise. Start making your pizza dough about 1 hour before you’d like to eat your pizza to account for the rise time.
- For best results, cook on a pizza stone and pizza peel. The two pizza making tools you need: a pizza stone to cook the dough at very high heat, and a pizza peel to remove the dough from the stone (we recommend this Aluminum Peel or Super Peel).
For even better flavor, make it in advance!
Want the very best flavor in a thin crust pizza? Refrigerate the pizza dough 2 to 3 days prior to baking. This step is totally optional! But for the very best dough, make it in advance and store the dough in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. This makes it naturally ferment and brings a nutty, complex flavor. It’s not required, but it makes for a great flavor!
Best thin crust pizzas recipes!
The best part of making thin crust pizza dough? Topping it! Here are a few of our very favorite pizza topping ideas to eat with this dough (or browse our favorite pizza recipes):
- Best Margherita Pizza The classic! It features basil, mozzarella, and bold tomato pizza sauce.
- Everything Basil Pizza An epic pizza all about BASIL, with pesto and loads of fresh basil!
- Cheese Pizza Like your favorite delivery cheese pizza, but infinitely tastier.
- Best Homemade Pizza or Italian Pizza The best way to make pizza at home
- Best Healthy Pizza Loaded with veggies and sprinkled with Parmesan, with a tangy bold red sauce and a thin crust.
- Taco Pizza Topped with refried beans, cheese, romaine, tortilla chips, and of course — ranch. In a word: WOW.
- Vegan Pizza The veggie pizza toppings are so full of flavor no one notices it’s cheeseless.
This thin crust pizza recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.
Thin Crust Pizza Dough (with Video!)
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
- Yield: 4 medium pizzas (32 pieces) 1x
Description
This thin crust pizza dough recipe is chewy, delicious, and super thin! Even better: it’s easy to make at home. Here’s a tutorial, with step-by-step video!
Ingredients
- 500 grams* Tipo 00 or all-purpose flour (3 ⅓ cups)
- 8 grams instant or active dry yeast (2 teaspoons)
- 7 grams kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
- 338 grams warm water (1 ¼ cups + 3 tablespoons)
- 13 grams olive oil (1 tablespoon)
- Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting
- For the toppings, refer to our Homemade Pizza Recipes
Instructions
- Combine the flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir to combine. Add the water and olive oil and stir until a raggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Knead the dough by pushing with the base of your palm, then reforming it into a ball. Continue kneading for 8 minutes until the dough feels pillowy and has a smooth, stretchy exterior. If the dough is very sticky, add a small amount of flour while kneading. Alternatively: attach the dough hook to a stand mixer and start the mixer on medium-low speed, then allow the mixer to knead for 8 minutes.
- After the kneading is finished, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Using floured hands, gently shape each half into a boule (ball shape) by folding the dough under itself. Set each boule on a floured surface and dab the dough with a bit of olive oil to keep it moist. Cover all boules with a damp towel and allow them to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- The dough can be used immediately. However for the best flavor, transfer the dough to separate sealed containers, large enough for the dough to double in size again, and store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. (Alex and I don’t always do this, but we try when possible because it makes for a noticeably nutty, unique flavor that truly is the best homemade pizza dough you’ve ever had.) You can also freeze pizza dough you don’t plan to use the day of.
- **If you’re using the dough after refrigerating: The day of serving, remove the dough from the containers, place it on a lightly floured surface covered with a towel, and allow it to come to room temperature before stretching, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Prepare the pizza toppings: refer the pizza recipe of your choosing.
- When the oven is preheated, roll out the dough. Place it on a lightly floured surface and gently press it into a circle, adding a pinch of flour if it is too sticky. Then roll out the dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter, using just enough flour on each side to keep it from sticking. If the dough starts to resist rolling, wait for a minute or two, at which point it will roll out more easily.
- Spread your pizza peel with semolina flour or cornmeal. Use your hands to carefully place the dough on a pizza peel spread. Top the pizza (refer to the pizza recipe instructions), then use the pizza peel to transfer the dough to the pizza stone. Bake about 5 to 7 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Thin Crust Pizza, Thin crust pizza dough recipe, How to make thin crust pizza, Best thin crust pizza
My dough was too sticky. What could the problem be?
The dough should be pretty wet and sticky — this makes for a nice crust. If it’s too sticky while needing you can add a little flour to make it managable.
I had the same issue, added a lot of add’l flour!
Next time, add the water a little at a time vs dumping the entire measurement.
The dough did raise nicely, making the pizza tonight, hopefully all will go well.
Where are the videos mentioned in many recipes / articles? There are no links.
Hi! The video for the recipe is right after the paragraph starting: Watch how to make thin crust pizza! (1:30 min)
It also appears after the advertisement in the small video popup.
Thanks for reading!
Hello I am unable to find the video link where you said it was. Can you help please? Thanks much.
Hi! Do you have an adblocker installed? If so, the videos don’t appear.
I made the dough exactly as stated but it didn’t rise at all. I was always told you had to feed the yeast with sugar or honey for it to work. What could I have done wrong?
Hi! What type of yeast did you use?
Fleischmans active dry yeast.
That shouldn’t be an issue at all! You must have had a dud packet.
Turned out perfect, I had the warm water temperature at 100 degrees and then Used my Kitchenaid dough hook for 8 minutes, pillowy soft dough and proofed perfectly in 45 minutes in my Kitchenaid oven on the bread proof setting. Two questions, how do you store in the refrigerator, I wrapped in plastic. Secondly, can this dough be frozen?
Glad you it worked out! We store the dough in a glass container about twice the size of the dough (it will expand in the fridge). Yes, it can be frozen as well (just remove from the freezer and place in fridge at least 24 hours before eating).
I’m so excited about trying your recipes after reading the blog entry about your 10+ year quest for the perfect pizza. Me too! More than that, actually. I now want the pizza oven that you have. I also researched building one, but, with it taking 3 hours to get up to temperature, forget about it! Back to pizza. This is the best thin crust i’ve made! Thank you!
But questions, please. No sugar in the dough? What does that do for the dough? And I docked mine before putting the sauce on, don’t you usually do that? I put my baking tiles up at the second highest setting in the oven, and preheated for about an hour. i also used parchment paper on my peel for ease in getting the pizzas in and out of the oven.
I’m so jealous of your trips to Italy, BTW. Sounds so far out! Anyway, thanks. Good pizza!
Have you ever tried the malted barley syrup in place of sugar on deep dish pizzas? I usually do that, from Alton Brown.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Yes, the Ooni oven is amazing and you should put it on your list!
We don’t usually dock the dough because we’re looking for as much spring as possible for a chewy crust. Also, since we bake at a high heat, adding sugar doesn’t do much for our dough. Thanks for making!
Ok, so I’ll leave the docking for my pan pizza. I’ll do the slow rise in the fridge next time. We really wanted pizza the other night, so I was going to put two of the dough balls in the fridge and let two the immediate rise, but I forgot and let them all rise and so baked all four. Lots of pizza is not a bad thing…
I almost always put some of the King Arthur artisanal pizza seasoning in the dough for some extra flavor, as one of my recipe tweaks over the years trying to perfect the pizza. I used to put in some oregano before I found the King Arthur stuff. I was wondering if you two have every tried that?
Thanks again for you site! I found you when searching for a better sweet potato chili recipe a few years ago and your is now my regular recipe.
Lots of pizza is never a bad thing! We do occasionally put garlic powder and oregano into the dough, but we usually just keep it pure! So glad you are loving the recipes!
do i have to use a pizza stone oven? or what can end an alternative
You can just bake on a baking sheet, but you want get as crispy of a crust!
We have been trying out a bunch of dough recipes for our grill top BakerStone pizza oven for the last year. This was the best recipe we have used, BY FAR. Perfection. Weighed all ingredients and followed recipe exactly. This will be our go to from now on!
So glad to hear this! Thanks for making :)
I’m confused. Video shows the dough being cut into 3 parts but the recipe itself says four. Which is it?
Sorry for the confusion! 4 parts for thin crust.