Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees Celsius). Put a pizza stone in the oven while it preheats, and let it warm at 500 degrees F for at least 10 minutes.*

Make the pizza dough

1. 1

   Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

2. 2

   Let mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbles form.

3. 3

   Gently stir in olive oil.

4. 4

   Add 2 cups of flour and salt and mix with a spatula until a ball begins to form (dough will still be slightly sticky). Add more flour as needed to form a dough ball.

5. 5

   Transfer to a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough, adding up to ½ cup extra flour if needed.

6. 6

   Optional. if desired, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rise for 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Assemble the pizza

1. 1

   Roll the dough into your desired shape and put it on a piece of parchment paper.

2. 2

   Add pizza sauce, cheese and toppings of choice.

Bake the pizza

1. 1

   Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone in the oven.

2. 2

   Bake on the preheated pizza stone for 11-14 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.

3. 3

   Remove the pizza from the oven with the pizza peel and put it on a wire rack to cool for at 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.