Is pizza your ‘BAE’? You don’t mind having it day-in and day-out. You probably want to cuddle with it to sleep and wake up to it. What will you do if you get an uncontrollable craving at midnight and you’re not having luck with any pizza place? Cry bloody murder? Nope! We don’t think that is going to work, unfortunately.

learn three ways to make pizza dough with and without using active dry yeast
Learn three ways to make pizza dough with and without using active dry yeast

Guess what? You can make your own, including the crust. You don’t even have to run to the grocery store to buy canned pizza crust or to your local pizza joint for a fresh crust.

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We share your love for pizza and bring you the very basics of how to make a pizza crust – with or without yeast.

So, tap into your inner Italian pizza-making self and whip up your own when you get the craving for that paprika and chili seasoned pepperoni with stretchy mozzarella on a thick cheese-loaded crust.

Method 1: Pizza Dough with Yeast

Pizza proofing – allowing the dough to rise – is a key step in preparing a pizza crust. After kneading the dough, let it rise at room temperature for a minimum of 1 hour to a maximum of 3 hours. This step is very important because it gives the crust a thicker dimension, with an airy internal structure, which is lighter to eat. This way you don’t need a lot of dough to make a thick crust.

Adding yeast to pizza dough is one method of pizza proofing. It is the primary leavening agent that causes the dough to rise.

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Yeast is actually a part of a fungus family, and when added to pizza dough, it creates carbon dioxide by feeding on the sugar in the dough. There’s sugar in this recipe for this purpose alone. Carbon dioxide creates air pockets in the dough, giving the crust an airy and fluffy texture. No worries about a fungus in your dough – when you bake your pizza, the heat will kill the yeast.

Apart from boosting the flavor of your crust, salt plays a very important role in maintaining and tightening the shape of the dough. It helps the dough hold on to the carbon dioxide gas released during fermentation. Salt slows the enzyme activity and fermentation in the dough.

Olive oil improves the handling of the dough and eases its expansion process.

Things you’ll need:

things you'll need to make pizza dough with yeast
Things you'll need to make pizza dough with yeast
  • All-purpose flour – 1½ cups
  • Active dry yeast – 1 tablespoon
  • Sugar – 1 teaspoon
  • Salt – 2 teaspoons
  • Warm water (105° to 115° F) –  ½ cup
  • Olive oil – 1 tablespoon

Step 1. Mix the all-purpose flour, active dry yeast, sugar, and salt

combine all the main ingredients and mix them well
Combine all the main ingredients and mix them well
  • Put 5 cups of all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast.
  • Mix all the ingredients well.
Caution: Ensure that you are using an active dry yeast and not the water soluble one. The dry yeast is directly mixed with the all-pupose flour whereas the water-soluble one requires it to be mixed with water and then used.

Step 2. Grease the food processor bowl & put the flour mixture and water in it

layer the food processor with olive oil and put the flour mixture into it
Layer the food processor with olive oil and put the flour mixture into it
  • Use a silicon oil brush to grease the insides of the food processor work bowl with olive oil. This ensures that the flour gets easily kneaded in the processor.
  • Put the flour mixture into the processor and put the lid on.
  • Gradually add ½ cups of warm water to the mixture through the nozzle of the processor.

Step 3. Run the processor until the flour balls up

Run the food processor to ball it up and cover it with a plastic wrap
Run the food processor to ball it up and cover the dough with a plastic wrap in a bowl
  • Run the processor at medium speed until the flour gets balled up.
  • Grease a glass bowl with olive oil using a silicon oil brush.
  • Transfer the kneaded dough into the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic food wrap.

Step 4. Let the dough rise & use it immediately or refrigerate it for up to 48 hours

allow the dough to rise
Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes in a draft-free area
  • Let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a warm and less airy area to prevent the dough from drying out.
  • Use the dough immediately or place it in an airtight bag and refrigerate it (for less than 48 hours).

This dough will make two 9-inch thin crusts or two 8-inch thick crusts.

Method 2: Pizza Dough without Yeast

# With Baking Soda

If you don’t want to use yeast in your pizza crust, you can use baking soda. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is also a common leavening agent used for baking.

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Due to the alkaline nature of baking soda, it produces carbon dioxide gases when it comes in contact with an acid. Milk has slightly acidic compounds, which can help the dough ferment when it reacts with the baking soda. Unlike yeast, dough made with baking soda doesn’t have to let sit for it to start producing carbon dioxide gases.

Apart from being a leavening agent, baking soda also increases the pH of the dough, making the end product soft and fluffy.

Things you’ll need:

things you'll need to make pizza dough with baking soda
Things you'll need to make pizza dough with baking soda
  • All-purpose flour – 1⅓ cups
  • Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
  • Salt – ½ teaspoon
  • Fat-free milk – ½ cup
  • Olive oil – 2 tablespoons

Step 1. Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda

combine the all-purpose flour, salt and baking soda
Combine the all-purpose flour, salt and baking soda
  • Put 1⅓ cups of all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
  • Mix the ingredients well.

Step 2. Mix in olive oil and milk & knead the mixture into a ball

pour Olive oil, fat-free milk and ball the flour up
Pour Olive oil, fat-free milk and ball the flour up
  • Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ½ cup of fat-free milk to the mixture.
  • Knead the mixture to make a dough ball.

Step 3. Let the dough sit, roll it out, add toppings & bake your pizza

allow the dough to rise
Allow the dough to rise in the bowl for 10 minutes by covering it with a plastic wrap
  • Cover the bowl with the dough with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 10 minutes in a draft-free area.
  • Use this dough immediately.
  • Bake the crust in the over under 400° F(200° C) for 8 minutes.
  • Layer your favorite toppings on it and bake your pizza for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

You can make three 10-inch pizza crusts with this quantity of dough.

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# With Yogurt

You can also make pizza crust with just two ingredients: yogurt and self-rising flour. This is actually the healthiest and quickest option. It will also give you the fluffiest interior with perfectly crusted exterior.

Things you’ll need:

things you'll need to make pizza dough with yogurt
Things you'll need to make pizza dough with yogurt
  • Greek yogurt – 1 cup
  • Self-rising flour – 1½ cups

Step 1. Mix the yogurt and self-rising flour

combine yogurt with self-rising flour and ball it up into dough
Combine yogurt with self-rising flour and ball it up into dough
  • Put 1½ cups of self-rising flour in a mixing bowl and add 1 cup of Greek yogurt to it.
  • Mix and knead the ingredients to prepare the dough.
  • Add more flour to the mixture if it is too sticky (it should not leave the dough on your hand), or add more yogurt if the dough is too dry.

Step 2. Let the dough rise, roll it out, add toppings & bake your pizza

cover the dough with a plastic wrap and let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes
Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes
  • Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap, and let the dough sit for 10 to 20 minutes.
  • Once the dough rises, roll it out using a rolling pin into the desired thickness.
  • Spread pizza sauce on it, add your favorite toppings and bake it in a preheated oven at 450° F (230° C) for 10 to 12 minutes.

Tips

  • If you do not have self-rising flour, you can make use of all-purpose flour. Just sift 1½ cups of all-purpose flour and mix in 1½ teaspoons of baking soda and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Knead the mixture with yogurt as directed in the recipe.
  • If you're a first timer and do not know what vegetables go as toppings on a pizza then try a combination of either one of these - mushroom & basil, fresh tomatoes & buffalo mozarella,  aubergines & parmesan, or pesto & stracchino.
  • If you do not have a food processor, you can mix the ingredients in a mixing bowl until they bind to each other. Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it for 5 to 10 minutes to make a smooth dough ball.
  • For better proofing of the pizza dough, place the covered bowl near a source of heat.
  • Make sure the room temperature and humidity around the dough is good enough for it to ferment.
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