Easy No-Knead Pizza Dough

Spicy Hawaiian pizza with rocket on top sliced, sitting on a wooden board.

5 from 1 vote

If you're looking for a super easy pizza dough recipe that's incredibly hands-off, you've found it. It’s soft and airy with an incredibly puffy crust and delicious flavor.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Rising time1

Total Time1 25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

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

Servings: pizzas

Calories: 915kcal

Author: Kate Phillips

Ingredients

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

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!) Wet 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 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 plastic wrap and leave it 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 photos above the recipe.

PRO TIP: You can now either use the dough, or pop the balls in the fridge to use them later (they'll be fine for up to 2 days). If you store them in the fridge, place them in a large, lightly oiled airtight container.

Heat your oven.
About 45 minutes before you want to cook your pizza, turn your oven to its highest setting (that’s 250 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).
Shape your pizzas.
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.
Lightly flour your work surface, then gently press the middle of the ball out into a small circle, leaving about an inch 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 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.

Once you've shaped the dough in your hands, I like to place it on a piece of parchment paper. You can then top your pizza on the parchment paper, and easily transfer it into the oven when you're ready.

Top and cook your pizzas.
Top your pizzas with your favorite toppings, then transfer them, on the parchment paper, to your pizza stone/cast iron pan/oven tray.
Cook at the top of your oven for about 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and puffy and the toppings are bubbling.
Add any fresh toppings and serve.
Remove your pizzas 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.

You might like to read through my ultimate cheat sheet for making the best pizza at home for even more tips and tricks.

Need topping ideas? Check out my three favorite pizza recipes - peach, blue cheese and sweet chili pizza, spicy Hawaiian pizza and ricotta, spinach and sausage pizza.

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