This basic, easy pizza dough recipe is a standard in our house. I’ve been using this recipe since my college years, when my friend Cindy shared it and I wrote it down on a small note card. The card’s spent some time on our kitchen counter over the years, not hiding from pizza sauce and other ingredients as it fulfilled its culinary duty. (See the scan of the card below.)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour (our standard is 1 cup whole wheat + 1/2 cup unbleached white flour)
1 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey or sugar
2/3 cup warm water
dash of salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Mix the yeast and honey/sugar in the warm water, cover and let it sit in a warm place for 5-6 minutes (the yeast will become bubbly).
- Add the olive oil and salt and mix well.
- Add the flour, mix well, and gently knead for a minute or so.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm place for 10-15 minutes.
- Put the dough on an oiled pizza stone, spreading it evenly to the edges and leaving a bit of a ridge around the edge.
- Cook in the oven for 6-8 minutes or so until the dough starts to lightly brown
- Remove and add toppings.
- Return to the oven and cook until the toppings look done and the cheese is melted with a bit of browning. This is usually another 6-8 minutes, but varies based on toppings.
- Remove, slice, and enjoy!
Notes:
- I’ve used different flour ratios and substituted some other flours (almond, garbanzo, etc) for 1/4 cup of the flour. The 2:1 whole wheat:unbleached white ratio above is our standard mix.
- We often do a pesto base (Barrie makes great pesto) rather than a tomato sauce base, and occasionally make a white pie with ricotta. All have their charms.
- Typically, I’ll do the base (pesto or tomato), then add grated mozzarella, then veggies, and then top it off with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- It takes about 20-25 minutes to prep the dough and another 15 minutes or so for the two cooking stages. I get the dough started and prep the veggies while the yeast is bubbling and dough is rising. I can plan on having dinner on the table in about 45 minutes.
- This is always better when listening to good music. Always.
- And, of course, enjoy with a beverage of choice.
For years this handmade recipe card was stored in a little metal recipe file box. We later transferred it to a notebook where we kept our favorite recipes that weren’t in actual cookbooks. A few years ago we scanned lots of our favorites to a Dropbox folder, which is where the copy I now use digitally resides. You’ll note that the directions above have more steps. Recipes evolve, as did this one.
Cindy & Gene’s Pizza Dough
