What’s the best flour to use?

Pizza is traditionally made with 00 flour - that’s flour that’s been super finely milled. I’ve used 00 flour, plain flour and bread flour in this recipe and have found them pretty interchangeable. Just choose any of those 3 and you’ll be absolutely fine.

What kind of yeast is best to use?

I’m using instant yeast in this recipe - that’s yeast that can be added straight into the dry ingredients without having to be ‘bloomed’ in water first. If you don’t have instant yeast and you’re using active, dried yeast, you’ll need to sprinkle it on top of 100ml of the water in the recipe and let it sit for 10 minutes to activate. You’re looking for it to look foamy and cloudy. If you try to use active yeast like instant, you’ll end up with little granules of yeast throughout your pizza dough and it won’t rise properly.

Can I freeze the dough?

You sure can. You can do this once you've shaped your dough into balls - freeze them in small, lightly oiled containers with a lid, or use a ziplock bag. They'll last for 3 months this way and you'll just need to thaw them in the fridge overnight before using them.

Easy Pizza Dough (Sourdough Style + No Knead)

Name: Easy Pizza Dough Recipe (Sourdough Style + No Knead)
Prep time: PT-952000H41M24S
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 500g flour + extra for shaping (if you can find 00 flour use that, otherwise, plain white flour or bread flour is absolutely fine); 1 teaspoon instant yeast; 2 teaspoons salt; 375g lukewarm water

Description

If you’re looking for a super easy, sourdough-style pizza dough recipe, you’ve found it. It’s soft and airy with an incredibly puffy crust and delicious flavour. If you’ve tried sourdough bases before, you’ll know that they’re like this. But a sourdough base, while delicious, takes a long time to make and requires a lot of pre-planning.

This recipe mimics the sourdough quality in a fraction of the time. In short, it’s amazing. It also doesn’t require kneading which definitely makes it a winner in my book.

Remember, if you’re looking for US measurements, use the ‘Units’ section below and click on ‘US’.

Ingredients

Units Scale

500g flour + extra for shaping (if you can find 00 flour use that, otherwise, plain white flour or bread flour is absolutely fine)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons salt
375g lukewarm water

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Mix the dough. Add 500g flour, 1 teaspoon of instant yeast, 2 teaspoons of salt and 375g lukewarm water to a large mixing bowl. Give it a good mix with a large wooden spoon or spatula, until it combines into a rough, shaggy, floury dough.
Stretch and fold the dough. Here comes the one piece of work you’ll give to the dough (I love no knead bread so much!) Start by wetting your hands, then with one hand in a ‘C’ shape, scoop your hand down the edge of your bowl, to reach underneath the dough. Pull the dough up with your hand, then fold it down back onto itself. Give the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat this process. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it rest for 10 minutes. After this time, repeat the stretch and fold process one more time, then cover the bowl again with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size. PRO TIP: Take a photo of your dough as you cover it so you can easily see how much it’s risen. The time is just a guide – rising time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. At this point, you can put the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days, then continue with the recipe when you’re ready to cook.
Shape your dough into balls. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (about 2 tablespoons of flour). Divide the dough based on the size of the pizza you’re after – cut it in half for 2 large pizzas, or in 3 for smaller pizzas. Using as much flour as you need, shape each piece into a ball. The easiest way to do this is to gently pull up one side of the dough a little, then fold it back on itself. Repeat with the other 3 sides, then flip the dough over. With floured hands, cup your hands around the dough and rotate the dough in a circle so that it forms into a ball, gently pulling the dough against the surface of the bench to create a little resistance so that it tightens up. You can see how I do this in the post above the recipe. PRO TIP: You can now either use the dough, or pop the balls in the fridge to use them later (keep them in there for 2 days).
Stretch your pizzas. About 45 minutes before you want to cook your pizza, turn your oven to its highest setting (that’s 250C for me) and put whatever you’re cooking your pizza on in the oven too (whether that’s a pizza stone, cast iron pan or an oven tray). To make sure you get a super puffy and bubbly crust, you want to handle the dough gently when you’re shaping it into a circle. DON’T use a rolling pin for this – if you do, you’re just deflating all the lovely, airiness you’ve worked so hard to create. Start by adding a couple of tablespoons of flour to your surface, then gently press the middle of the ball out into a small circle, leaving about 1.5cm for the crust (don’t touch it!) At this point, with floured hands, pick up the dough and let it hang off your hands. You’re using gravity here to help the dough naturally stretch. Carefully rotate the dough through your hands, moving all the way around the dough. As you do so, the dough will stretch further. I like to then place the dough on a piece of baking paper to top it, for a super easy transfer to the oven.
Top and cook your pizzas. Top your pizzas with your favourite toppings, then transfer, on the baking paper, to your pizza stone/cast iron pan/oven tray. Cook at the top of your oven for 10 – 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and puffy and the toppings are bubbling. Remove from the oven, add any fresh garnishes, then cut and serve while the pizzas are hot and the cheese is lovely and oozy.

Notes

If you’re using active yeast, you’ll need to ‘bloom’ or activate the yeast before adding it to the bowl with the other ingredients. Add the 1 teaspoon of active yeast to 100ml of the lukewarm water and leave for 10 minutes. You want it to look foamy and cloudy. After this time, continue with adding this to the bowl along with the other ingredients.

Have a look at my post sharing my 5 tips for making the best pizza at home – it’s stuffed full of loads of great tips and tricks that will help you get started.

Need topping ideas? Check out my three favourite pizza recipes – peach, blue cheese and sweet chilli pizza, spicy Hawaiian pizza and ricotta, spinach and sausage pizza.

Prep Time: 15
Rising time: 60
Cook Time: 10
Category: fakeaways
Method: oven
Cuisine: italian

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 pizza

Keywords: pizza base, pizza crust, homemade pizza bases, best pizza base recipe, easy pizza base recipe