Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (2024)

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Learn how to make my best-ever Pizza Dough recipe using the no-knead technique to make some of the best Homemade Pizza you'll ever enjoy.

By Gemma Stafford | | 1357

Last updated on January 29, 2024

Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (1)

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Any professional baker worth their salt has their own tried and tested Pizza Dough recipe that they carry with them from kitchen to kitchen. I am no different and I held my precious recipes close to my chest. You already know that I am passionate about bread baking, and now I and delighted to share my Best Ever Pizza Dough recipe with you.

So how can I call this Pizza Dough the Best Ever? It’s simple: this dough is mixed by hand without the need for a machine. It ferments overnight to give great flavor and texture and best of all the dough lasts up to 4 days in the fridge. In the end you get restaurant quality professional pizza. The results will be the BEST-EVER Pizza you make at home, I promise you that.

Now, even though I normally would be on the sweeter side of baking I do know a thing or twoabout making pizza. When I lived in San Francisco I turned the sitting room of the old Georgian townhouse I rented into an underground restaurant and fed my friends, friends of friends, and hungry strangers fresh pizzas from my rickety old gas oven! I called it “Knead to Know.” I only invited my friends so you would “knead to know” one of my friends to find out about it.(Get it?)

Those of you who follow my recipes will know that I swear by the “No Knead” technique for bread making. This method uses time to develop a dough, and time is equal to a deeply developed flavor and bubbly texture.

You can pretty much makeany type of bread or yeasted dough using this method. Ever want to make soft Pretzels but are intimidated by the method? Here is myNo-Knead Pretzel Recipe. They are incredibly easy to make and the results are some of the best soft Pretzels you will taste. I also have madeNo-Knead Brioche,No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Breadand even No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls.

My recommendation for successful No-Knead Pizza Dough is read through mymethod and all of my tips. Print off the recipe and take notes, what temperature you used, how long you bake, etc. Basically what works for you and what doesn’t. This helps you perfect your dough and your skills.

Make sure to check out a few of my other favorite pizza flavors including , and along with my 5-minute pizza sauce below.

And be sure to sign up HERE for my FREE Newsletter to get the latest Bigger Bolder Baking news including exclusive recipes!

Get All Of My Pizza Recipes

I know a thing or two about homemade pizza!

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Watch The Recipe Video!

No-Knead Pizza Dough

4.72 from 601 votes

Print Recipe

Learn how to make my best-ever Pizza Dough recipe using the no-knead technique to make some of the best Homemade Pizza you'll ever enjoy.

Author: adapted from americanfood.com

Servings: 4 pizzas

  • Dinner
  • Cheese
  • Baking Pans

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Learn how to make my best-ever Pizza Dough recipe using the no-knead technique to make some of the best Homemade Pizza you'll ever enjoy.

Author: adapted from americanfood.com

Servings: 4 pizzas

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups (18oz/497g) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried yeast (I use instant)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/3 cups (10 1/2floz/ 298g) water ( at blood temperature)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  • In a large bowl or a plastic container with a lid, add in the flour, salt and yeast. Do not add the yeast and salt directly on each other as this can deactivate the yeast.

  • Mix all of your dry ingredients together well

  • Mix the oil into the water.

  • Pour the blood temperature water/oil mixture in all at once and stir with a wooden spoon or your hand, which is what I prefer so you can tell by the feel of the dough if you need more water early on. Adjust the water to your flour, do not over-wet it.

  • Mix it until all of the flour is incorporated into the dough and is hydrated. You don’t want any lumps of flour left dry. You can see it will be a wet, saggy dough.

  • With a spatula scrape the dough off the sides of the container to join the dough. Put the lid on the container tightly or cover your bowl with plastic wrap ensuring that no air gets into your dough as it rests. Air can cause the dough to form a skin which is not good for a dough.

  • Allow the dough to sit at room temperature and ferment for about 12-18 hours at cool room temperature. Or you can proof it for about one hour to get it moving and refrigerate it until you wish to use it.

  • After18 hours in a cool place, if you are not planning on baking off the dough you can refrigerate it. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days at this stage and baked off any time. While in the fridge the flavor will deepen over that time, developing sourdough characteristics.

  • The next day the dough will have more than doubled in size with lots of the bubbles on top. Also it will smell boozy and fermented. This is exactly what you want.

  • Dust your hands and the surface of the dough with a little flour, just enough to prevent it from sticking to your hands. Gently turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Don’t knock out the air from the dough.

  • Cut the dough into 4 pieces and using extra flour to handle if needed. If you are using it from the fridge this action will wake up the dough for you.

  • Lightly knead each portion of dough just to form a ball. Allow the dough to rest on a floured board covered for 30 minutes. Your pizza dough is ready to use!

  • On a flat baking tray or pizza peel, dust it with flour or semolina. With floured hands gently stretch your pizza dough to 10 inches. You can also use a rolling pin to stretch it out. If you find the dough is springing back and is hard to stretch then let it rest for 10 minutes on the board.

  • Once you have gotten your desired thickness spread on your sauce and add your topping.

  • Important note: Less is more. You don’t want to add too many heavy topping on your pizza otherwise you won’t be able to slide it off the baking tray onto the cast iron tray.

  • Bake at 450oF (225oC) for roughly 10 minutes or until the base is crisp and golden brown

  • Any dough that does not get used can be refrigerated or even frozen

  • NOTE: As with all dough recipes, the amount of flour will vary depending on weather, brand of flour, etc. Use as much flour as you need to handle the dough, but keep in mind that the stickier the dough, the better the texture of your pizza crust will be.

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (11)

Anjalee

4 years ago

I prepared this today for Christmas lunch and it was awesome! Thank you so much for the recipe. I brushed olive oil in the edges of the crust and used a parchment paper to transfer the pizza into the heated pan. It was really very easy to transfer with that! Turned out amazing!

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Anna Lee

4 years ago

Posted a photo of the first pizza my husband ever made. You challenged him to make a pizza and he accepted the challenge. He made the dough late last night. Made your 5 minute pizza sauce and two pizza’s for dinner. Dough for two more in our frig. Great crust and sauce. Thanks for challenging him! Now he is challenging our six married children. Fun family thing to do together even living in different states.

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (13)

Erin Malone-Ferguson

3 years ago

Hi Gemma,

The no knead pizza crust is fantastic. 4 out of 5 Ferguson’s agree (the 5th Ferguson didn’t get to have any). It was gobbled up to quick. Just curious if this recipe could be doubled in the same bowl or would it be more preferable to just make two batches?

Many Thanks for sharing,
Erin Malone-Ferguson

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (14)

david

4 years ago

Using Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking pizza dough recipe which is the gold standard, I tried a new flour that has taken my pizza to new heights. The flour is Central Milling 00 pizza flour. It’s hard to find in stores but available on their website. I followed their recommendation to let the dough ferment in the fridge for about 3 days. The result was restaurant quality in texture (great crunch), flavor and appearance. My next adventure is to experiment with sour dough. Thank you again Gemma for a great go to pizza dough recipe.

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (15)

Jo Good

3 years ago

Thank you for this recipe Genmma. We are a family of only two, can these doughs be frozen?

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (16)

Rosie

3 years ago

Hi Gemma! I just love your recipes. They’re always amazing. I have tried this pizza recipe once and they’re gorgeous. However, on my second try, I the dough was too wet and saggy. I don’t know what went wrong. Despite adding flour one too many times, it still wouldn’t improve. Can I still salvage them? Thanks for the help.

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Kim Armstrong Sina

4 years ago

Hi Gemma,
We love this recipe! Our pizza turned out great.
One question we have is whether this can be prepared in a bread maker as is or if we would have to change the quantities of the ingredients.
Thanks,
Kim

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (18)

Kriszta Cs

3 years ago

Hi Gemma,

thank you for this pizza dough recipe. I’ve made it for launch today and it was awsome. My family loved it. Best dough recipe so far.
Greetings from Hungary

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (19)

Stephanie

2 years ago

Can you tell what blood temperature water means ? Lukewarm ? Thanks

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Meina Teo

3 years ago

Thanks for the great receipt! Today I have done 4 pizza for my families 😍

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Best-Ever Pizza Dough Recipe (No Knead) - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (27)

About Us

Meet Gemma

Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, a cookbook author, and the creator of Bigger Bolder Baking. I want to help you bake with confidence anytime, anywhere with my trusted and tested recipes and baking tips. You may have seen one of my 500+ videos on YouTube & TikTok or as a guest judge on Nailed It! on Netflix or the Best Baker in America on Food Network. No matter your skills, my Bold Baking Team & I want to be your #1 go-to baking authority.

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FAQs

Is no knead pizza dough better? ›

No knead pizza dough is a high hydration dough that can be made without having to knead the dough by hand or in a stand mixer. Generally, no knead dough has a slower fermentation than other pizza doughs. The gradual fermentation process helps develop more flavor as the dough sits.

What makes pizza dough more fluffy? ›

  1. AP flour - pizza requires a high protein (gluten) content to allow for a good stretch and oven spring. ...
  2. No oil, no sugar - both oil and sugar encourage browning and should be used, just sparingly, especially in a home oven.
Jan 21, 2020

What is the secret of pizza dough? ›

There are many tricks to achieving a tasty, homemade pizza dough that rises into a beautiful pizza crust, such as making sure your ingredients are at right temperature, using half bread flour for a stronger dough and half all-purpose flour for a nice rise, substituting honey for sugar to help caramelize the crust and ...

What are the three ingredients in Jamie Oliver's pizza base? ›

Homemade deep-pan pizza: Jamie Oliver

We're talking crispy on the outside, spongy in the middle, with just three ingredients for the base – flour, salt, water. For your toppings, be creative, and embrace what's in your fridge and store cupboard – the possibilities are endless.

Why is Italian pizza dough so good? ›

Because of the extreme fineness of the Italian 00 flour, it doesn't require as much water to begin kneading. And because of the decent amount of protein it doesn't take long to create the gluten structure required for that characteristic Italian crust.

Why is NYC pizza dough so good? ›

New York–style pizza gets its distinguishing crust from the high-gluten bread flour with which it is made. Minerals present in New York City's tap water supply are also credited with giving the dough in metro area pies its characteristic texture and flavor.

How to get light and airy pizza dough? ›

The secret to a crispy pizza with a light and fluffy interior? Start with the right dough: one that has both yeast and baking powder for rise and puff. Then, bake the whole thing on a pre-heated baking stone or steel to create an unbelievably light, crunchy crust.

What is the best flour for fluffy pizza dough? ›

00 flour is finely ground Italian flour that contains about 12% protein, or 12% gluten. It's the traditional flour used to make Neapolitan-style pizza. Since its gluten content is similar to bread flour, it also produces a pizza crust with chew.

What is the best flour for fluffy pizza? ›

The best flour for making Deep-Dish Pizza Dough is all-purpose flour. In bakeries and pizzerias, Pizza Flour is often used because it is a high-protein flour that produces a light and airy crust. However, all-purpose flour will also work well for Deep-Dish Pizza Dough.

What not to do to pizza dough? ›

The Most Common Mistakes When Making Pizza
  1. Not Letting the Dough Rest. ...
  2. Not Kneading the Dough for Long Enough. ...
  3. Using a Rolling Pin to Form the Dough. ...
  4. Overloading Pizza Toppings. ...
  5. Not Letting the Pizza Cook for Long Enough.

What is the key to great pizza dough? ›

The five key ingredients for making the best pizza dough are flour, yeast, salt, water, and olive oil. These ingredients work together to create a dough that is perfectly textured, flavorful, and easy to work with. When making pizza dough, it's important to use high-quality ingredients and not overwork the dough.

What is the most important ingredient in pizza dough? ›

Flour is the main ingredient in pizza dough, and the type you use can have a big effect on the end result. All-purpose flour will work fine, but if you want a chewier crumb and a better hole structure, you should consider buying yourself some high protein bread flour.

What is Grandma's pizza made of? ›

Grandma pizza contains sliced mozzarella cheese and randomly scattered thick plum tomatoes on top. Kind of like an upside-down pie. It's almost always drizzled with a heavy dose of garlic-infused olive oil and finished with some Sicilian oregano and Pecorino Romano cheese.

What herb is put on the base of pizza? ›

Several homemade pizza recipes call for 'Italian herbs' or 'Italian seasoning', a combination of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, thyme, chilli flakes and garlic powder, which work perfectly well if you're making pizzas with the family.

What is the difference between pizza dough and pizza base? ›

They aren't exactly the same, but very similar. Pizza base is made from the same sort of dough as bread, but with slightly different ratios of flour, yeast and water to ensure it doesn't rise quite so much plus olive oil. Pizza base usually uses the same high protein flour as bread dough.

What happens if you don't knead pizza dough? ›

Kneading your pizza dough helps build up gluten. If your pizza dough has not been kneaded for long enough, it may not have had the chance to build up a strong gluten network. When mixing your pizza dough, the flour and water create a chemical reaction that results in a build-up of gluten.

Does kneading dough make it better? ›

Kneading bread dough allows the protein molecules in the flour to form, creating healthy gluten strands. Gluten is what helps the mixture create gas, which helps it rise and build texture. When the dough has been adequately kneaded and the gluten has formed properly, it will take on several different characteristics.

Does kneading pizza dough make it tough? ›

Yes, but the amount of time and effort it would take to do it by hand would require a lot of strength and endurance - maybe 20 - 30 minutes of constant kneading. Over kneaded dough will be tight and tough and won't stretch properly and the resulting bread will be flat, hard, chewy and unappealing to eat.

Why is it important to knead pizza dough? ›

Gluten forms when proteins in the flour mix with water, and kneading helps align these proteins to create a strong, stretchy network. Properly kneaded dough will be smooth, elastic, and easy to shape, ensuring a perfect crust for your pizza.

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