A few years ago, I worked for a major pizza chain in their research and development department. After I saw how much oil goes in the bottom of their pizza pans, I decided to make my own from then on. This recipe is good for thick or thin pizza and even makes a great focaccia which I will post soon.
I love to make pizza dough in my bread machine using the dough cycle. If I put it on the timer function, it will be ready to make out into pizza the moment I walk in the door from work.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups bread flour (If you use all-purpose flour- you may need to add up to 1/4 cup extra)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons fast-rising or bread machine yeast
Directions:
Place ingredients in bread machine in order given. Run through dough cycle.
When dough has risen, remove from bread pan to floured surface and divide in 2 pieces. Spray a heavy pizza pan with olive oil. Push and cajole pizza to desired thinness with your hands. Using a rolling pin tends to make the dough compact. If dough is resistant to stretching, let it sit and relax for a few minutes then come back to it.
Layer sauce first (don’t overdo it), cheese and then meat or vegetables. Watch the amounts. Excess toppings will cause your pizza to take too long to bake and may result in a soggy middle. Bake in oven that has been preheated to 450 degrees. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before slicing.
I’m including this in the Skinny Secrets category because the crust portion is so much lower in calories than you would get at a restaurant but it’s difficult to calculate nutritionals since no toppings are specified.
Adapted from a recipe by Wolfgang Puck published in the Parade.
PDF 
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Paula’s pizzas are always great and she makes it sound so easy with the dough maker. Guess I need to get mine out and use it- or else get a better one. I am not a big fan of pizza but I always like the ones you make. Not sure if it is the dough, the combination of ingredients or all of the above.
As your daughter in law, this is the recipe of yours that I make the most often, at least twice a month! In fact, I now have it memorized! A delicious, very easy recipe if you have a bread maker. It’s also way cheaper & healthier than ordering from Papa Johns or Pizza Hut. So give it a try if you haven’t already!
Still searching for pizza pans like yours! They are going to be willed to me, right?
J/K, but not really.
What if you don’t have a bread machine – can you still make this????
Oh yes, you can use a large stand mixer with general directions here, http://www.ehow.com/how_2157001_make-dough-kitchenaid-mixer.html or make it by hand the old-fashioned way.
I’ve been playing with letting this do a slow rise in the fridge, and it’s been giving some fantastic results. I pull it out of the bread machine after the second kneading cycle is done, split it in half, drop each half in a lightly oiled ziplock bag, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. This lets the yeast develop slowly, and gives a much richer flavor to the final crust. Just remember to pull the dough out of the fridge at least an hour before you’re going to bake it!
Thanks so much Wyatt for sharing your experiment with this dough. I am definitely going to try it myself. Perfect for us working folks.
I want to try this using whole wheat. Would you change the measurements of flour?
I am not optimistic about using 100% whole wheat in this recipe. Maybe white whole wheat or half and half but I’ve never tried it. Let me know if you do. Meanwhile I have pledged to start working on a whole wheat pizza crust. We’ll see.
I tried you Sweet Milk Bread, your Favorite Dinner Rolls and your Pizza Crust. Each one was absolutely fabulous. Thank you so much for sharing. You are amazing. I can’t wait to try more recipes.
Thanks Lori. Glad they worked out for you. I make the dinner rolls and pizza crust more than any other bread recipe on this blog.
I’m a total bread machine and dough novice. Is the dough risen at then end of the dough cycle or does it need to rise additional time?
Good question Erin, it SHOULD be risen at the end of the dough cycle and ready to make into pizza dough. However, if it is not doubled in size (likely because ambient temperature is too cold) leave in machine and let it continue to rise until double.
If you still have a question, write back.
i have made pizza w whole wheat white & all purpose – 1/2 and 1/2 – thats excellent. when making the honey oat using all whole wheat white its grainy.
I have this dough in the bread machine for tonight’s supper. I can’t wait to try it! What is the approximate baking time? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Thanks!
This pizza dough is incredible! I’ve made it a couple times and so easy and perfect everytime. My family loves our new pizza night thanks to you! Last night we made it into BBQ Chicken Pizza and it was fabulous! http://www.tammysrecipes.com/bbq_chicken_pizza_like_california_pizza_kitchen
Thanks for sharing! Check out Tammy’s blog….she’s a bread machine girl too! I love her Wheat Bread recipe.
Stacey recently posted..Orange Julius Verdict
Glad you like the dough recipe. BBQ Chicken is our very favorite. And thanks for the tip about Tammy’s blog. Looks interesting!
Hi Paula,
Does this recipe make 2 pizza’s? Can you double the recipe to make 4 pizza’s?
Lynne, yes, this makes two pizzas, at least the way I like them–3 if you roll really thin. You can double the batch only if mixing by hand or using heavy-duty mixer. With bread machine, mix and knead one batch, then remove the dough to rise in a different bowl. Then I make another batch immediately, let it mix, knead and rise in the machine. With any luck, both batches should be ready to make into pizzas about the same time. You can always punch down the first batch and let it rise twice if necessary.
I find that one batch will feed about 4 people assuming the eaters are not teenage boys. pr
I have been on the lookout for a good, basic pizza dough recipe, and here it is! I don’t have a bread maker (or a stand mixer for that matter), but achieved fantastic results from mixing it up the old-fashioned way, by hand. Thanks for another terrific recipe.
Jocelyn, thanks for confirming this recipe turns out good even if you don’t have a bread machine. pr
Thanks, Paula. The dough recipe and doubling it worked out great; made 4 pizza’s and they were delicious! I need to get better pans! So far, I’ve made the dinner rolls and the pizza dough. So, I’m looking for my next bread recipe to try. I did wonder what is the best way to store leftover baked bread: foil? plastic wrap? ziploc? in frig or in pantry? (We haven’t had any leftover bread yet, so haven’t had this problem…but we are going to have to change that or we will be eating salad for lunch and dinner forever!)
Lynne,
You are spot on about good pizza pans. I know a lot of people like stones but I swear by my heavy, dark-colored, well-seasoned pizza pan! Browns beautifully.
Re freezing bread, I wrap in plastic wrap, then slip into a plastic ziplock bag. Works fine. Thanks for writing. pr
What size pizza pan do you use for this recipe?
I normally make 2 12-inch pizzas from one batch of dough. Hope that helps. pr
I tried making this recipe with whole wheat flour…it turns out pretty well if you substitute 1/2 of the flour as whole wheat flour, the other 1/2 keep as all-purpose. I didn’t make any other changes to the recipe. My husband and 2 yr old son gobbled it right up! So, for those of you who are interested in a whole-wheat variation of this recipe, I tried this & it worked great! The dough is a little bit tougher than the original recipe, but still works enough to shape into pizzas. Using entirely whole wheat flour would make your dough turn out too tough, in my opinion. Not sure how edible it would be. May have to give it a try at some point. Enjoy!
Thanks Susie, can’t wait to try this myself. pr
This is a great pizza dough!! I recently began using my bread machine again after a very long absence. Your bread machine tips are the most helpful and recipes very good. This is now my go to site when I want to make something in the bread machine. I don’t have pizza pans like you either so I used my 12 inch cast iron skillets to make the pizza–it turned out great!! Thank you!!!
Using an iron skillet is a great idea. I hear they work perfectly. Thanks for stopping by.
Can you make the pizza dough ahead and freeze it, if so what is the best way. I like to make my dough and bake it in oven too, but if am pulling out the breadmaker I would like to do more at once as I do shift work.
Hi Karen, yes you may freeze it. Best to let it thaw in the fridge which takes all day. Then it needs to rise some, of course. Some would say it tastes even better done this way. pr
Two tips:
1. After shaping into a crust, I let it rise again for 1/2 an hour or so before adding toppings.
2. I’ve been parbaking the crusts and freezing. This makes for pizza that is almost as convenient as store-bought frozen pizza. I freeze sauce and sausage in pizza-sized portions also. I parbake at 450 for 5 minutes. I agree with no overloading your pizza because it causes a soggy, underbaked crust. I think parbaking would probably help with that problem also.
CommonSenseMom recently posted..Bake a Pumpkin Pie on the Floor of the Oven?