Rustic Italian Pizza Dough Recipe Video
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
The best, easy, thin and crispy crust rustic Italian pizza dough recipe you will ever make. Step by step how to video included below.
Italian Pizza Dough Recipe – Homemade Neopolitan Style!
A quick, authentic, thin and crispy crust that is also perfect for freezing.
With a name like Florentina you would probably be willing to bet that I live La Bella Vita Under the Tuscan Sun and can toss a pizza like nobody’s business. The truth is I do live La Bella Vita but under the California sun and I can’t toss a pizza for the life of me.
Although you can make this authentic Italian pizza dough recipe by hand, it is way easier to use a mixer. Fail proof, No tossing required! Honestly this is the real reason I got a Kitchen Aid mixer and a pizza stone, so we can make the best homemade pizza ever.
After constantly trying new recipes and formulas, and after having gone to Italy in search of the perfect rustic authentic Italian pizza dough, I am even more confident that this is the best recipe out there. Beep-beep!
What makes this the best Italian pizza dough recipe ever?
- Quick and easy to make by hand, food processor or Kitchen Aid Mixer!
- Made with Instant or active dry yeast, (<–amazon), flour and COLD water (no proofing required).
- Thin and crispy crust, yet still a little chewy.
- Make ahead and refrigerate for tomorrow, freeze for later or use right away.
- Naturally vegan, perfect for garlic knots, Stromboli, calzone, focaccia, bread sticks and even for the outdoor pizza oven.
What Is the best flour for pizza dough?
In my humble opinion, an organic unbleached all purpose flour is ideal especially when making a thin Neopolitan crust. No fancy flour is required.
What is a Neopolitan Pizza Crust?
An authentic Italian thin crisp crust pizza with charred edges and only a few toppings.
Simple Topping from Casa Florentina
- A thick homemade pomodoro sauce, arrabiata, puttanesca or marinara sauce.
- ricotta meatballs
- roasted cherry tomatoes
- fresh vegan mozzarella cheese (<–sooo good)
- spinach & artichoke
- caramelized onions
- heirloom tomatoes & fresh basil
- marinated roasted peppers.
The Secret to Italian Pizza Dough Perfection
- You must bake your rustic pizza on a Pizza Stone! Lightly brush it with some olive oil and as soon as the pie comes out of the oven top it with wedges of fresh heirloom tomatoes, basil, oregano and slices of fresh mozzarella di buffala.
- There’s no food on Earth like a homemade pizza, but even the best recipe will be lacking something without the magic of a pizza stone. Even the most basic one gives you a close result to a wood burning pizza oven. Just remember to heat it up with your oven so it won’t crack. Give it plenty of time to warm up, eve an hour or more if you aren’t in a rush or it’s cold outside.
Note Worthy
If you are looking for those authentic charred little fire kisses on the edges of your Italian pizza crust but your oven doesn’t go higher than 500″F, I strongly suggest finished it under the broiler, just for the last minute or so. It will give you a similar effect as a wood burning pizza oven with a subtle smokiness. Magical!
watch how to make the best Italian pizza dough
Rustic Italian Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups all purpose (or 00 flour ) + some for dusting
- 1.5 tsp instant dry yeast (or active dry yeast)
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 2.25 cups COLD water
- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Favorite Toppings
- Caramelized onions
- Arrabiata Sauce
- Heirloom Tomatoes
- Fresh Basil
- Green Onions
- Smoked Mozzarella Cheese
- Sauteed Mushrooms
- Ricotta Meatballs
- Roasted Peppers
Instructions
- Preheat your oven as high as it will go for at least 45 minutes to one hour with the pizza stone already inside. (I baked at 525"F but check your pizza stone for max temperature).
- In the bowl of your kitchen aid and using the paddle attachment mix the flour, sea salt and yeast on low speed until all is incorporated then add the COLD water.5 cups all purpose (or 00 flour ), 1.5 tsp instant dry yeast, 1.5 tsp sea salt, 2.25 cups COLD water
- Switch to the dough hook and mix together on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and sticky but should not stick to the sides of the bowl, only a little to the bottom.
- NOTE - If the dough sticks to the sides sprinkle in a little more flour, if it is too dry then add a bit more water. This will vary every time you make it so keep extra flour handy.
- After the 8 minutes have passed remove the dough from the mixer and cut it into 6 pieces and form them into rounds. Place them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and drizzle with 1 tbs or so of extra virgin olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature and rise for 2 hours in a draft free area, I prefer the cold oven. ( At this stage you can also freeze the dough individually or place in the fridge overnight or a couple of days).1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- Sprinkle the counter with a little bit of flour, take one piece of dough and press down on it with your fingers until you have 1/2" thick circle or oval. Using your fists and knuckles start stretching the dough until 10" in diameter making sure not to tear it ( this should be easy since it is a small pie).
- Dust your pizza peel (or a piece of cardboard) very well with semolina flour or corn meal and set your pizza dough on it making sure it slides easily when moved. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the pizza sauce in the center and spread it around with the back of a spoon leaving 1 inch of space at the edges and making sure not to get any on the peel. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and add your favorite toppings. ( Don't add too many toppings, keep in mind this is a thin crust and a couple of toppings will suffice ).Arrabiata Sauce
- Gently slide the pie on the preheated pizza stone in a hot 525"F degree or more oven, and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. When making the breakfast pizza I find that the egg cooks perfectly in 6 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the basil and freshly grated parmigiano reggianno. Allow to rest for a few minute for the cheese to set.
By Hand Method
- Pour the flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast, salt and cold water and using a wooden spoon mix to combine well.
- Sprinkle some flour on a work surface/kitchen counter and dump the pizza dough. Sprinkle some more flour on top and using your hand knead the dough for about 10 to 15 minutes until a smooth ball forms but still a little bit sticky on the bottom. Follow the steps above afterwards.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to preheat your oven with the pizza stone in it for at least 45 minutes, and finish cooking the pizza under the broiler for a nice charred touch.
- If topping with heirloom tomato slices, make sure to use the firm ones, otherwise the pizza would be watery. Thin firm slices is what you want.
Nutrition
You’ll Also Love…
Dough didn’t rise. Went and proofed my dry active yeast afterward to make sure my yeast worked, it does…. I think this author owes me 6 cups of OO Flower. Annoyed.
Hi Arose, this is a slow rise method and you are the first person who didn’t have success with the Best Italian Pizza Dough.
Hi Florentina!
I just wanted to tell you that I’ve been using your recipe for I think about 2 years now and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
It’s awesome!! Thank you!!!
I’m so happy you love it Sylvina!
As there are many, many positive comments on this recipe, I feel it redundant to add my own. But I will, anyway. I was super skeptical about using COLD water with the yeast. But this worked like a charm. In fact, the recipe exceeded my expectations. I unfortunately don’t have an oven that goes above 450°F but I just baked a few mins longer and the pizzas came out delicious. Thank you, for sharing what has become my go-to recipe for pizza.
So happy you loved the pizza dough and thank you for taking the time to report back ~ Florentina Xo’s
Amazing pizza dough! I make this one all the time and I always get compliments on how delicious it is!
Yummy! Cooked it In a Smokey Mountain pizza oven and it was probably the best pizza I have ever had. The dough was absolutely amazing. Going to use the left overs for dough balls!
Tried 4 recipes before i found yours, simple and perfect!
Nice rise, crusty and chewy…thank you, got alot of compliments.
Hello! Thanks for the recipe, it looks delicious!! I don’t have a pizza store and can’t get one where I live. At what temperature should i bake the pizza in a normal oven?? Thank you!!
Bake it on a cookie sheet as high as your oven will go and keep an eye on it, just bake it a little longer if your oven doesn’t go that high, you’ll find the perfect timing for your oven after the first batch.
Hi, i dont have a pizza stone. How long should i bake it if using a regular baking tray? Thanks!
Same amount of time but keep an eye on it you might like to give it a few extra minutes if not crisp enough to your liking.
Absolutely the best pizza dough recipe ever!
Over the years I have tried so many different recipes for pizza dough, striving to find the perfect one. Now I need look no more: your recipe is utterly delicious! I must admit that I was very worried about using cold water instead of warm as it goes against everything we’ve been told but so glad that I did as it works amazingly. My family love this dough sooo much! Thank you 🙂
If making the dough in the morning, to be used for pizzas that night, Can the dough be refrigerated after rising for a couple hours? And then taken out of fridge and used later that same day?
Refrigerate or freeze before rising. 2-4 hours before you wanna cook it just set the dough on the kitchen counter to rise. Workd every time.
We haven’t made actual pizza from this. But I did use the dough to make garlic knots and bread sticks. They turned out sooooo good! We can’t wait to try it with pizza next! Thank you!!!
It was perfect! Thank you.
This looks great and I will use it in my homemade wood-fired brick oven this evening. Question for you, i see a lot of recipes using bread flour instead of AP for brick oven pizzas. Will this AP recipe work well with wood fired oven, cooking about 700*F?
Yes works perfect in a wood fired on and it will be done fast depending on how thin you want your crust.
Do I need to dissolve the yeast in water first before adding the flour?
no you do not, it’s a slow rise it will be fine.
Made it
This recipe has been my go-to recipe since I found it! I can’t even start to explain the pizza crust failures I have had and there is no turning back from pizza success after this recipe 🙂 Everyone loves it at home and that is the best feeling ever!!! Thank you so much for this <3
Thank you for the recipe, my family’s love it, now we have tradition for pizza night once in forthrightly.
This is probably the best pizza dough recipe on the internet. I know there are probably many that are similar but I found it here so that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. I replaced the dry yeast with fresh yeast (about 13 grams) as it was more readily available at my corner bakery during these quarantine times. Dissolve it in 1/4 cup of warm water with a pinch of sugar for 10 minutes and add in with the cold water when mixing. I baked it in my gas oven at 550° on my pizza stone and it was cooked in 4 minutes. My favorite toppings are what you would typically find on a Calabrese pizza at a pizza place; tomato sauce, infornata black olives, hot soppressata, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and gorgonzola cheese. It came out as good as any wood oven pizza I’ve ever had, including Italy (minus that little bit of smoke flavor from the real wood-burning oven). The dough is crispy yet still had that little bit of “chew” that is typical of wood oven pizza. My kids absolutely love it and I don’t think I’ll use another recipe ever (save for when I make Chicago deep dish pizza). Thank you very much for this Florentina.
Love this recipe! Using the cold water made it a lot easier to work with yeast. Becomes fluffy and really good! I baked my pizza on 525 for about 10 mins then broiled for about 2 mins.
Tried with whole wheat flour and it definitely isn’t the same! Didn’t rise as much but still so good.
I have tried many pizza dough recipes and this one was by far the best one ever! My boys loved it!❤ Thank you for sharing!
BEST PIZZA EVER! And I’m a beginner!!!!! If I can do it, so can you! Great recipe.
This was a fun cooking adventure, and the results were well worth it. I don’t have a stand mixer, so I used the hand method.
It was impossible for me to decide whether the goat cheese, anchovy stuffed olive, caramelized onion, and basil or the bacon, corn, and caramelized onion pizza was the best. Both pizzas had a homemade ranch base with a mixture of Gouda and Oaxaca cheese.
We ate 3 pizzas and froze 3 dough balls. I will definitely be making this again very soon.
This is now our go to for pizza. My family does not ask for any other kind of pizza anymore. The last time I made this I added some diced up Rosemary to the dough which gave it a beautiful aroma and taste. I also found that using a cast iron skillet is another way to cook this it acts just like a pizza stone.
Really great recipe and I’ve been looking for a long time!! Thank you so much 🙂
I’ve been using this recipe for months. I have a wood fire pizza oven and and after months of trying to find a great pizza dough recipe, I came across this one. It’s perfect! I love all of your recipes and look forward to trying many more. Thank you!