This artisan pizza dough delivers a soft, billowy crust with blistered bubbles and a perfectly crispy bottom. Thanks to a high hydration level and slow, long fermentation, you’ll get maximum flavor and the ideal chewy, crackly texture—right from your home oven.
Why This Is the Best Pizza Dough
Pizza dough is the foundation of any great pie. For me, the best artisan pizza crust has:
- Complex flavor from slow fermentation
- Big, beautiful bubbles in the crust
- Creamy, airy crumb inside
- Crispy, blistered edges
And yes, you can achieve all this with simple techniques and common ingredients!
The 3 Keys to Perfect Artisan Pizza Dough:
- High Hydration (about 75%)
This means lots of water relative to flour. The result? A wet, slack dough that creates gas bubbles and chewy texture without being impossible to handle. - Long Bulk Fermentation
Use a small amount of yeast and let the dough ferment slowly—6 hours at room temp or up to 2 days in the fridge—to develop flavor and dough strength. - Super Hot Baking Surface
A baking steel, pizza stone, cast iron pan, or even an inverted baking sheet preheated in your oven to absorb and radiate heat produces that perfect crispy bottom and slight char.
Flour Type
While 00 flour is ideal for delicate flavor and texture, good-quality all-purpose flour works just fine here. The technique matters more than the flour brand.
How to Make the Dough
- Mix flour and most of the water until just combined; rest 20 minutes (autolyse).
- Dissolve yeast in remaining warm water. Sprinkle salt over the dough, pour in yeast water, then fold and pinch until combined into a shaggy dough. Cover and rest 1 hour.
- Perform one fold to develop gluten, then invert dough into a lightly oiled bowl and ferment until doubled (5-6 hours).
- Shape into balls by stretching and folding edges to create surface tension. Let rest at room temp 1 hour or refrigerate up to 2 days.
Baking Your Pizza
- Preheat oven to 500°F+ with your baking surface inside for at least 45 minutes.
- Shape dough into a 12-inch circle, place on a floured peel or in an oiled cast iron pan.
- Add sauce and toppings, leaving a 1-inch crust edge.
- Bake 5 minutes on the steel, then broil 2-4 minutes for charred bubbles. Cast iron pans bake 15-20 minutes, finishing under broiler for color.
Tips for Success
- Wet your hands lightly when mixing and folding to prevent sticking.
- Lightly grease dough balls and containers to avoid tough skin.
- Watch dough rise more than the clock; fermentation speed varies with temperature.
- Chill dough balls for easier handling and enhanced flavor.
Make Ahead & Storage
- Refrigerate shaped dough balls up to 2 days, covered tightly.
- Freeze dough balls for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before use.
Scaling for a Crowd
This recipe can be doubled, tripled, or more. Typically, one batch yields 2 pizzas (serves 2-4 depending on appetite).
Recommended Tools
- Digital scale for accuracy
- Large, clear container for bulk fermentation
- Thin, wide pizza peel for easy transfer
- Baking steel or stone for maximum heat
More Pizza Inspiration
Try pairing this dough with homemade sauces and toppings like:
- Buttery garlic pizza
- Burrata pizza
- Wild mushroom pizza
- Hawaiian with caramelized pineapple
- Pesto pizza
Artisan Chewy Pizza Dough Recipe
Yields: 2 (12-inch) pizzas
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: About 8 hours (including fermentation)
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, mix flour with all but 1 tablespoon of the warm water until just combined. Cover and rest for 20 minutes. - Activate Yeast:
Sprinkle yeast over the remaining 1 tablespoon warm water. Let it dissolve. - Add Salt & Yeast:
Sprinkle salt over the dough surface. Stir the yeast mixture and pour over the dough. - Mix Dough:
Lightly wet your hand, reach under the dough, stretch a section over the top, and fold. Pinch off 5-6 chunks of dough and fold the dough over itself several times until fully mixed and shaggy. Cover and rest for 1 hour. - Fold for Gluten:
Wet your hand, stretch a section of dough from underneath, fold over the center. Repeat 4-5 times, rotating the bowl until dough tightens into a ball. Transfer dough (seam side down) to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled (5-6 hours). - Shape Dough Balls:
Turn dough onto floured surface. Divide in half. For each piece: stretch dough edges toward center, fold to form a loose ball. Flip so seam is down. Cup hands, drag dough to create surface tension, rotate and repeat until smooth ball forms. - Proof:
Place dough balls on lightly oiled plate, lightly oil tops, cover, and rest 1 hour at room temperature (or refrigerate up to 2 days).
To Bake:
Repeat with second dough ball.
Preheat oven with baking steel, stone, or inverted baking sheet on middle rack at 500°F for at least 45 minutes.
Flour a pizza peel. Flatten dough ball into a disk with a thick 1-inch edge. Shape into a 12-inch circle.
Transfer dough to peel. Add sauce and toppings, leaving the edge bare.
Slide pizza onto hot steel. Bake 5 minutes.
Turn on broiler and broil 2-4 minutes until cheese melts and crust is blistered and golden.