Artisan Pizza Dough – Crispy, Chewy, and Bubbly Crust

This artisan pizza dough recipe delivers a perfectly chewy, crisp crust with delightful blistered bubbles. The high hydration and long fermentation time create maximum flavor and texture, making your homemade pizza just like what you’d find in a pizzeria.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours
Yield: 2 (12-inch) pizzas

Ingredients

500g (3 ¾ cups + 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
375g (1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp) warm water, divided
1g (¼ tsp) active dry yeast
10g (1 ½ tsp) fine salt

Instructions

Mix & Rest: In a large bowl, combine the flour and all but 1 tablespoon of warm water. Mix until just combined. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
Activate Yeast: Sprinkle yeast over the remaining warm water and set aside to dissolve.
Fold & Knead: Add salt over the dough. Stir in the yeast mixture and gently fold the dough. Pinch and fold the dough repeatedly until it forms a shaggy texture. Cover and let it rest for 1 hour.
Develop Gluten: After resting, fold the dough again to develop gluten. Wet your hand and stretch the dough, folding it over itself until the dough becomes tighter. Cover and let rise for 5-6 hours, or until doubled in size.
Shape Dough: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, divide into two portions, and shape each portion into a ball. Let the dough balls rest for an hour or refrigerate them for up to 2 days.
Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 500°F (or as high as it goes) for at least 45 minutes with a pizza stone or steel inside.
Shape Pizza: Flatten one dough ball into a disk, leaving a thick lip around the edge. Stretch into a 12-inch circle. Place it on a floured pizza peel or lightly oiled cast iron pan.
Add Toppings: Add sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings to the dough, leaving a 1-inch perimeter.
Bake: Slide the pizza onto the preheated stone or steel, bake for 5 minutes, then broil for 2-4 minutes until the cheese melts and the crust is golden and bubbly. If using a cast iron pan, bake for 15-20 minutes and broil the last few minutes.
Serve: Slice and enjoy!

Notes

This dough benefits from a longer fermentation process, which develops deeper flavors and texture.
For a slightly more tangy flavor, refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days before baking.
If you prefer to bake without a pizza stone, you can use a cast iron pan or inverted baking sheet.

Nutrition (per serving, ¼ pizza)