What are the basics of the perfect homemade pizza? Most would say the pizza dough and sauce and I would totally agree. We want to share our easy homemade pizza dough recipe and delicious pizza sauce recipe. These two items are essential to any good pizza. Just add your favorite toppings and you’ll have a meal the entire family will love.
Our entire family loves homemade pizza too. On “pizza night” we each get to choose our own toppings and help put the pizza together. This is a great way to get the children involved, learn their way around the kitchen, and have some fun in the process. The pizza is great too! We hope you enjoy it.
Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
Table of Contents
Mixing Pizza Dough 
Pizza Dough Rolled Out
- 1 ½ t dry active yeast
- 1 ¼ C water lukewarm
- 1/2 T salt
- 1 T sugar
- 1 T olive oil
- 3-3 ¼ C flour unbleached
- Add dry yeast to water and allow to rest 10 minutes.
- Slowly incorporate flour, sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture in Kitchenaid mixer with a dough hook.
- Drizzle olive oil into the flour mixture and mix on medium until ball forms. Keep mixing until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (slowly add more flour or liquid as needed to get this result). Continue to knead the dough for 10 minutes. I occasionally pull the dough off the dough hook.
- With dough attached around the dough hook, drizzle a little more olive oil into the mixer bowl and remove dough from hook. Place dough in mixing bowl and turn over to coat dough, cover and let rise 2 hours (should double in size).
Divide dough ball in half and work with rolling pin or hands and shape into two 12-14” round pies on pizza stones. You can also roll the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheets.
Cover dough with pizza sauce (see “Our Recipes for Success” pizza sauce recipe), cheese and toppings.
- Bake in preheated 450-degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
Dough Preparation Helper
For anyone who has ever mixed dough for bread, cookies, or pizzas by hand, you know it can be a bit messy and/or time-consuming. That’s where a KitchenAid stand mixer can be a baker’s best friend. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and it will handle the toughest dough mixing jobs. Be sure to check out our article on the “KitchenAid Stand Mixer”, to see what else the KitchenAid can do for you. No kitchen should be without one.
Best Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
Here is a homemade pizza sauce to make your pizza even more special. My wife attended a cooking class a few years ago and one of the recipes they created was this delicious sauce. And it’s so easy to make! Give it a try. It will make your homemade pizzas truly special.
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 T sugar
- 2 cloves garlic – minced
- ⅓-½ C red wine
- 2 T tomato paste
- ½ t basil
- 1 t oregano
- ¼ t red pepper
- Salt & pepper
- Mix all the ingredients together and reduce by ½. Cook on low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally. This will give you a nice thick sauce.
Homemade Pizza Toppings
Now that you’ve got your pizza crusts rolled out and covered with a nice layer of sauce, it’s time for the toppings. You can stick with traditional toppings (pepperoni, ham, bacon, onions, mushrooms, olives, etc…) or you can get creative.
Many enjoy their pizza with chicken and an alfrado sauce and others like their pizzas with taco seasonings and ingredients. The toppings is where it gets fun and creative. Don’t be afraid to try something new.
We like mozzarella and fontina cheeses. Some of the toppings we love are ham, bacon, sausage, chicken sausage, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms, cranberries, artichokes, basil. My favorite is bacon, sausage, onion, cranberries, basil, and artichokes. But here is where you make the pizza your own. You are only limited by your imagination!
Now that the pizzas are topped just pop them into a 450 degree, pre-heated oven and bake them for 10-12 minutes (see above pizza dough recipe card instructions).
Enjoying Homemade Pizza
This is the best part of making a homemade pizza, eating it. The whole family sitting down and enjoying the fruits of their labor is fun and rewarding. Making a variety of pizzas and sampling them all is a great way to expand your horizons.
If you prefer thick crust pizza, you need to try our deep dish pizza recipe. This pizza crust is thick, flaky and delicious. So whether you like your pizza with a regular crust or a thick crust, we’ve got you covered. Try making your own homemade pizza soon. It’s delicious and easy to do.
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