Print

The best easy pizza dough

Recipe for the best easy pizza dough made with sunflower oil which gives it incredible flavor! Make and eat that pizza in 1 hour!
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Makes one 32 x 35 cm (about 12.5 x 14 inch) pizza or two smaller round ones.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 200 ml (1/2 + 1/3 cup) warm water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
  • 280 gr (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour + about 40 gr (1/4 cup) for kneading
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 30 ml (2 tablespoons) sunflower oil + more for greasing

Instructions

  1. Put the water into a small bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Wait for it to dissolve – it becomes creamy and melts into the water.
  2. Place flour in a large bowl. Gently stir in the yeast. Scatter oil and salt on top.
  3. Start mixing the dough with a spatula, scraping the sides of the bowl inwards, and mixing the dough from the bottom up. Mix until a rough, sticky mass forms. Add some of the extra flour and mix some more, until the dough is a bit less sticky.
  4. Scrape onto a floured surface and knead with your hands. Whenever it gets really sticky, sprinkle it with more flour, knead, but don’t dry it up. You want an elastic dough, soft to the touch, but not sticky and wet, so adding the flour slowly is crucial.
  5. You know the dough has been kneaded enough when you poke it with your finger and it springs halfway back up. Place it back into the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest in a warm spot for at least 25 minutes or until it doubles in size.
  6. When you are ready to make your pizza, first set your oven to the temperature listed in the recipe (I always bake mine at 200°C / 392°F) and grease your baking tray with some sunflower oil (about 1 TBSP, remove the excess with a paper towel).
  7. Transfer dough onto a floured surface and push it down with your hands first. Stretch it out in all directions with your fingers to get a desired shape. Once you have that, you can finish it by rolling it out with a rolling pin.
  8. Transfer to the prepared baking tray and proceed with the desired toppings. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is crispy and golden around the edges, the cheese completely melted and bubbly.

Notes

You can use bread flour instead of all-purpose, or a combination of both.

Instead of the silicone spatula, I just use the head of a silicone spatula. I once accidentally broke one of my spatulas and then realized the so-called head is actually great for making dough.

About sunflower oil:
 If I had to use sunflower oil for only one thing, I would always, always choose pizza. They are the perfect match and I cannot imagine making pizza without it. I’ve only done that once or twice before, when I accidentally run out of it and I was grumpy the whole time. I think it’s essential for a good crust, and better than olive oil for this because it’s not as thick.
I also lightly grease my baking tray with it, so the pizza doesn’t stick to it and I’m sure it also makes the crust that more crunchier and tastier. If you don’t have sunflower oil, use other oil, but do give sunflower oil a chance when you can.
I am also the one that will tell you not to skip on it. Pizza is an indulgent meal in itself, but can be made lighter if you use less cheese and make a thinner crust, but to me sunflower oil is just as important as the flour and so it’s one of the few things I always keep the same when making pizza.

Optional: When dissolving the yeast, you can help it get bubbly by adding 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar. I sometimes do this, but don’t find it to be a crucial step.

Find it online: https://www.sugarsalted.com/the-best-easy-pizza-dough/