No Knead Pizza Dough

The Easiest, Most Delicious Pizza Dough Recipe (No Kneading Required!)

If you’re a pizza lover like me, sometimes those homemade pizza cravings hit hard. There’s nothing quite like biting into a perfectly cooked slice of pizza with a bubbly crust, gooey cheese, and your favorite toppings. Of course, the foundation of any great pizza is the dough and making your own homemade dough can be super intimidating.

In this post, I’ll introduce you to the easiest, most delicious no-knead pizza dough recipe I’ve found. This famous recipe is by Jim Lahey and is our go-to for every pizza we make in our backyard pizza oven. It’s so simple to make, you’ll never want to order takeout pizza again.

Many recipes involve lots of kneading, time-consuming rising, and special equipment – who has time for that? Well, I’m here to tell you that those days are behind us!

Why no-knead pizza dough?

Before we dive into the recipe, let’s cover some compelling reasons why no-knead pizza dough is the way to go, especially for beginners:

• Effortless: No kneading means very little work. Simply let time do the work for you.
• Delicious: Long, slow fermentation allows complex flavors to develop.
• Fool-proof: Even novice bakers can achieve fantastic results without special skills.
• Versatile: This dough works beautifully for pizza, flatbreads, and more.

No-Knead Pizza Dough Ingredients

The beauty of this recipe is the simplicity! Here’s all you need:

• All-purpose flour: The base for your dough.
• Active dry yeast: The magic ingredient that creates the rise and air bubbles in your crust.
• Fine sea salt: Enhances the flavor of your dough.
• Water: Provides the moisture to bind the ingredients and activates the yeast.

Equipment

• Large bowl
• Sturdy spoon or spatula
• Plastic wrap (or a reusable cover like beeswax wrap for an eco-friendly option!)
• Baking sheet or pizza peel
• Pizza stone or baking steel (highly recommended for that crispy pizzeria-style crust)

Instructions

1. Mix: In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir everything until a shaggy, sticky dough forms. There’s no kneading needed – just mix until the ingredients come together.
2. Rise: Grease the bowl lightly if desired. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a reusable cover and let it rise in a warm spot for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size and become bubbly.
3. Shape: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape it into a ball if making a single pizza, or divide it into smaller portions for individual pizzas.
4. Rest: Let the shaped dough rest, covered, for at least 15 minutes, or up to a few hours at room temperature, before stretching. This helps relax the gluten for easier shaping.
5. Stretch and top: Preheat your oven and pizza stone or baking steel to at least 500°F and up to 550°F for the crispiest results. Stretch your dough into the desired shape, top it with your favorite sauce, cheese, and toppings.
6. Bake: Slide the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or baking steel and bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly, about 8-15 minutes depending on your oven’s temperature.

Tips for Success:

• Quality Ingredients: Use fresh yeast and room temperature water for best results.
• Adjust Water: The hydration (water to flour ratio) in this recipe is slightly wetter than traditional bread dough. Adjust slightly if needed – too wet and it’ll be overly sticky, too dry and the crust will be tough.
• Plan Ahead: Although this easy pizza dough calls for just four ingredients, you do need to proof the dough overnight (roughly 18 hours) for the best results.
• Have Fun! Experiment with different toppings and sauces.

Serving

Bake on pizza stone or grill at 500-600 F until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly and slightly blistered. I like to top my pizza with a simple mixture of San Marzano Italian tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt. Add slices of mozzarella, basil, pecorino-romano cheese and any other toppings you enjoy! If you like this recipe, check out some of my other pizza recipes!

Watch how to make this recipe!

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