Description
This Pizza Hut-inspired homemade dough recipe yields a soft, chewy pizza crust with the perfect balance of flavor and texture. Made from simple ingredients like all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, salt, warm water, and olive oil, this dough is easy to prepare and rises beautifully for a classic pizzeria-quality pizza at home. Ideal for customizing with your favorite toppings, it bakes to a golden perfection in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 packet dry yeast (about 2¼ teaspoons)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water (110°F or 45°C)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, and sugar thoroughly to ensure even flavor distribution throughout the dough.
- Activate the yeast: Sprinkle the dry yeast over the warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes frothy, signaling the yeast is active and ready.
- Mix dough: Pour the frothy yeast mixture and olive oil into the dry ingredients, mixing until the dough just starts coming together.
- Knead dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, which helps develop gluten for a chewy texture.
- Rise dough: Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until it doubles in size, allowing fermentation and expansion.
- Prepare dough: Punch down the risen dough to release trapped air, then roll it out to your preferred thickness on a pizza pan or stone.
- Bake pizza: Add your favorite toppings, then bake the assembled pizza in a preheated oven at 425°F (220°C) for 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden and the toppings are cooked through.
Notes
- The water temperature is important; too hot can kill the yeast, and too cold can slow activation.
- Kneading properly is key to developing the gluten structure that gives dough its chewy texture.
- Allowing the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free spot helps it double in size more efficiently.
- Adjust the thickness of the rolled dough depending on whether you prefer thin and crispy or thick and chewy pizza crust.
- Preheat your oven fully before baking to ensure even cooking and a crisp crust.
- You can refrigerate the dough after the first rise for up to 24 hours to develop more flavor.
