It’s a rare day that you wouldn’t find pizza dough in my fridge. Sometimes I need a last minute meal and pizza is my go-to. You can put almost anything on a pizza and make it good. This dough is great because I can make a batch (or double batch), toss it in the fridge, and then I know that I’m covered for dinner emergencies for the next two weeks. I can pull it out of my fridge and have dinner ready within 15 minutes. I showed this trick once for a group cooking lesson and everyone was amazed. Yes my friends, there is no reason to order out. Just keep shredded mozzarella and pepperoni in your freezer, and a jar of sauce in your pantry, and of course some dough in your fridge. It’s easy and it only takes 5 minutes of hands on work to put the dough together. Forget about it for an hour or two while it rises, and then toss it in the fridge.
Makes 4 medium pizzas
Ingredients
2 3/4 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
6 1/2 cups flour
Instructions
1. Combine ingredients in an extra large tupperware.
2. Stir until it forms a dough ball. No kneading required!
3. Let rise 90 minutes.
4. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5. When ready, pull off a chunk (about 1/4 of the dough). Roll it out and top with your favorite toppings.
6. Bake on a pizza stone preheated to 500 degrees for 7-10 minutes (until cheese is bubbly).
Note: While this uses the same methodical concept as “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day” (which book I own and love) this recipe is not from that book. I’ve adapted their method to my usual pizza dough mixture.
Anonymous says
This looks like a great recipe! One that I will definitely be trying. Have to be honest though…kind of scares me that you say it can be kept in your fridge for up to 2 weeks. I never eat any food that has been in my fridge for longer than 6 days. I grew up with a mother who worked in the food service department of our local hospital and I learned alot about food and bacteria from her. I would caution anyone who plans to keep the dough raw in their fridge for that long.
Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef says
Thanks for stopping by!
If you look at the ingredient list you'll see that there really isn't anything in it that will produce the kind of bacteria or mold growth that would happen with others foods over 2 weeks. It works on the same principle as sourdough bread. In fact, after two weeks the yeast will begin to ferment and there might be a slight sourdough taste which I absolutely love.
Lou says
I kept it for 2 weeks and was good to eat, tasted a bit like sourdough which was greatx.
tlc says
I made the dough yesterday and pizza today. WOW! This is amazing!! So easy! Thank you for sharing!
Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef says
Thanks for stopping by and I'm so glad you liked it! I actually had one tonight myself. I really shouldn't admit how often we have it because it is embarrassingly frequent. I can't help it! I'm a pizza-holic!
Anonymous says
I am so excited to try this, but I don't have a pizza stone.. if you were to make this on a regular pizza pan, how long and at what temp would you recommend baking this? Thanks!
Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef says
Thanks for stopping by! Without a pizza stone you won't that wonderful crispy crust. If you are just using a regular baking pan I'd still recommend backing it at 500 degrees (or the hottest your oven will go. Keep the crust thin and it will bake better. Because you don't have the additional heat source from the pizza stone, you'll be more towards the 10-12 minute area.
OmaCindy says
I cook my pizzas in a cast iron pan. Deep dish, Chicago style (except I do add cheese to the top) and they always turn out wonderfully.
OmaCindy says
I cook my pizzas in a cast iron pan. Deep dish, Chicago style (except I do add cheese to the top) and they always turn out wonderfully.
Anonymous says
Do you think that this dough could be frozen for later use? Thank you for the easy recipe!
Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef says
No problem! Yes, the dough can be frozen. I recommend checking out my perfect frozen pizza post for some great tips for freezing pizza dough.
https://www.thestayathomechef.com/2012/02/perfect-frozen-pizzas.html
Anonymous says
Does the water have to be hot or cold for the yeast,
Anonymous says
My new favorite recipe. My family demanded pizza night. We like ours thin so we cook crust 10 minutes then put toppings on and cook another 8. Perfect crust!
sarus says
Can you put the ingredients list in metric units? I don't have a cup to measure with. Thanks!
Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef says
Your question is actually really hard because there is no true conversion calculation for items measured by weight. You may find a website like this helpful:
http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml
For this particular recipe the conversions appear to be as such:
2 3/4 cup water = 660 mL
1/3 cup olive oil = 80 mL
1/4 cup brown sugar = 60g
1 1/2 tablespoons salt = 30g
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast = 22.5 mL
6 1/2 cups flour = 780 g
sarus says
OK, thanks, i didn't knew how to convert the flour from cups (volume) to grams.
Lisa Brown says
Do you use regular all purpose flour? Have you tried with whole wheat?
Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef says
I usually use all purpose flour because I like it that way. I've tried half all purpose, half wheat which is good, though it does change the texture. I have done all whole wheat and I can tell you it kind of ends up like cardboard. So, I'd say that if you were going to add whole wheat, make it half and half.
Margy says
When "yeast" is called for in a recipe, I never know what kind to use. Fresh, active dry, instant, rapid rise, quick rise??? Please specify.
Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef says
Modern recipes call for simply yeast because pretty much all of the varieties of yeast you can buy nowadays produces about the same result. Technically active dry yeast should be added to warm water first, and instant can just be mixed in with the flour, but in the end the way yeast is produced and sold today the result will be the same. Rapid rise or quick rise will just cut your rising time. In the end, almost any kind of modern yeast you use will be fine.
Anonymous says
My experience was the opposite. Made the dough first time with breadmaker yeast and it turned out great. Second time was with active yeast and it was a disaster.
Lisa says
I just made your pizza dough recipe tonight with a bunch of teenage girls in the youth group I lead. It was an absolute hit! Everyone raved about it. I would love to share this recipe on my blog, Sweet as Sugar Cookies. Is it alright if I do so?
Rachel Farnsworth says
I once shared this recipe with a youth group as well! If you share the recipe, please do so with proper attribution and your own photo. Thanks!
Danielle says
Just mixed this together using 1/2 AP flour and 1/2 bread flour (which I usually do since I like how it rolls out). Hope it works!! Middle daughter is having a sleepover tomorrow night and requested pizza but I won't have time to make dough after getting home from work. Crossing my fingers!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Rachel Farnsworth says
Sounds like it'll work out just fine! SO convenient! Happy sleepover! 🙂
Anonymous says
after the dough has been in the fridge for two weeks, can it be frozen at that time, and if so how long could it be frozen for.
Thanks for the help.
Rachel Farnsworth says
I wouldn't recommend freezing it after 2 weeks. Either freeze it right away, or keep it in the fridge for 2 weeks. It can stay frozen for a good 3 months.
Top Seattle Divorce Lawyer service says
This looks goooood 🙂 i definitely need to give making my own pizza a go soon for sure, so much fun too!
Jenny Park says
Yummy! Made with your pizza sauce some fresh basil and drizzle of olive oil…delicious!
jessica duvall says
Is there a specific temp the water needs to be for the yeast? Other recipes I have tried say 110 or so.
Rachel Farnsworth says
Today's instant yeast is pretty resilient. Just slightly warm water is fine. No need to hit an exact temperature with today's modern yeast.
shahh says
Excellent recipe
Rachel Farnsworth says
Thank you!
Lou Brown says
I made this pizza dough. It lasted really well in the fridge for over 2 weeks. the last couple pizzas I made had a slight hint of sourdough which just improved the flavor. I now have some in the making that has a cup of sourdough and some Italian seasoning herbs incorporated. Hope it works as well.
marianne says
hello just made this dough last night let it rise 90 min as recipe says then put it in fridge. Overnight the dough kept growing in fridge burst out of a very large zip lock bag I had placed it in. Is this normal? will it still rise when I cook it?
Rachel Farnsworth says
Yes, dough keeps rising slightly in the fridge. The cold only slows it down. Because it lets off gas, it can’t be stored in an airtight container, there has to be slight ventilation.
Miss Maple says
I was an Army wife in 1967 when I found Julia Child on black and white TV. How refreshing she was! She taught me to bake bread. I especially remember two pieces of advice for bread making. 1) If you can’t coax the mass in front of you to form an acceptable dough, throw it in the wastebasket (not the garbage!) It’s cheap. Then start over.
2) In your kneading, It is important to develop strands or striations of dough. This shows you that the gluten has been sufficiently developed to give a good, masterful structure to the mass. In this great recipe I exercised the gluten by forming a boule of the finished dough. Hold the ball in your hand and stretch the top with determination. As you do this, tuck the excess you develop into the bottom of the ball with your fingers. Thumbs on top, fingers underneath, turning the ball a quarter turn as you go. You will quickly see you are forming strands (cords) across the top and your dough is getting firmer. This is how you form a ball (boule) if you want a round, free-form loaf. The crust will be excellent. But in this case, you set it in your bowl to rise. The drama continues in Act two. This is a great tasting, well behaved dough for pizza! Thanks!