Best Thin-Crust Pizza Dough Recipe (Using Bread Flour)

This easy bread flour pizza dough recipe uses just 6 simple ingredients (5 if you omit the sugar -- read on to find out what difference it makes). This thin homemade pizza crust is one of the best reasons to keep bread flour on hand and skip delivery!

Adapted from my 00 flour Italian pizza dough recipe, this ultra-crispy, chewy, and tender pizza recipe is one of our all-time favorites.

Plus, it can be prepped 1-3 days in advance and is so versatile you can even use it to make delicious soft and chewy thick-crust pizza! Watch the how to make pizza dough video below! 

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

This easy bread flour pizza dough recipe is perfect for beginner bakers (even kids)! And if you use all of my best pizza tips outlined below, you really will have great results on the first try!

With just a few pantry staples, your favorite pizza sauce, a little cheese, and a few of your favorite pizza toppings, you'll be skipping delivery a lot more often.

Is Bread Flour Better For Pizza Dough?

You may be wondering if bread flour is good for making pizza and you'll be happy to know that it makes some of the very best!

In fact, making homemade pizza dough using bread flour or even 00 Italian flour is easy, and both of these flours give you an edge over using all-purpose.

As they both produce a crispier, lighter thin-crust pizza and a chewier, softer, and more tender thick-crust pizza dough than using all-purpose.

American bread flour is not to be confused with 00 Flour -- they are not the same thing. Below is a basic 00 flour vs bread flour for pizza comparison, so you can see what makes them different or click here to learn everything you need to know about 00 flour:

00 Flour vs Bread Flour For Making Pizza (A Comparison)

The 4 main differences between 00 flour and bread flour are grind size, protein content, wheat type, and water absorption potential.

ITALIAN 00 FLOUR: (makes delicious pizza)

• 00 flour is a highly refined white Italian soft wheat flour that contains no bran or germ and has a protein content somewhere between 11% and 12.5% (and up to 13%).00 flour is made from durum wheat which means the gluten behaves differently than in red wheat which most American bread flour is made from.
• The "00" refers to the flour 'Type" (or "tipo" in Italian) which indicates how finely the flour was milled. 00 is the most finely milled flour out of the 4 main types (Tipo 00, Tipo 0, Tipo 1, and Tipo 2). Because of this, 00 flour requires less water to form a well-hydrated dough than typical American flour like bread flour, all-purpose, or whole grain.
• The type of gluten and its structure in 00 flour makes this an easy pizza dough to hand stretch.
• Produces a chewy on the inside, and crispy on the outside thick traditional pizza crust, an airy, light, and crispy Neapolitan pizza crust, and a crispy feather-light thin-crust pizza.

BREAD FLOUR: (also makes delicious pizza)

• American bread flour is typically made from hard (spring) red wheat which creates a strong gluten structure that gives pizza an elastic and chewy crust.
• It most often has a similar or slightly higher protein percentage than 00 flour (and always more protein than all-purpose flour) ranging from 12% up to 15%. This gives bread flour an advantage over all-purpose flour because the higher gluten content means a better texture. Whereas bread flour and 00 flour are more similar in this aspect with 00 flour producing a strong but slightly less elastic crust.
• Bread flour is not as finely ground as 00 flour so you typically need slightly more water to get a well-hydrated pizza dough.
• Produces an elastic chewy bread, bread crumb for thick crust pizza, and a super crispy thin-crust pizza.

Why You'll Love This Thin-Crust Pizza Recipe

While we love 00 pizza dough and this super delicious whole wheat pizza dough, bread flour is perfect for making pizza, and you probably already have it in your pantry! 

• Bread flour adds chew and strength to pizza dough
• Is a great substitute flour to use when you can't find 00 flour
• It can be baked in a regular oven or toaster oven
• It bakes up in just 8 minutes (in the photo above, I left this one in for 10 minutes and the edges are burnt in a couple of spots!)
• It's a quick pizza dough to make with only about 25 minutes of total actual hands-on time (and that includes rolling it and topping it)

How Long Does It Take To Make Homemade Pizza?

From start to finish this pizza takes about 2 ½ hours to make. But don't worry, only about 25 minutes is actually hands-on (and that includes measuring, kneading, rolling, and topping the pizza). It's a piece of cake!

Giving pizza ample time to proof and rise is necessary to get the best flavor and texture. You can read all about why over here in this 00 Pizza Dough post.

In fact, I like to make this dough 1 to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it because the taste just gets better. 

Making Homemade Pizza (a Timeline):

• 5 minutes to measure and mix the ingredients
• 10 to 12 minutes of kneading the pizza dough (by hand or in a stand mixer)
• 1 ½ hours for the first rise
• ½ hour for the second rise
• 5 minutes to roll, sauce, and top each pizza
• 8 minutes to bake

Overview: Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients Using Bread Flour

Below is a snapshot of the 5 basic ingredients needed to make pizza dough with bread flour (6 if you add sugar as I often do). Get the full (printable recipe and watch the 'how to make pizza using bread flour' video tutorial below).  

1. Yeast: 2 teaspoons (9g) instant yeast (I use SAF Instant Yeast or Red Star Instant Yeast). (Substitute active dry yeast but you'll need to bloom it first -- see recipe notes for instructions).
2. Bread Flour: I've used bread flour with 14% protein (Substitute King Arthur's Bread Flour with 12.7% protein). High-quality flour always equals a better pizza crust.
3. Water: Warm water between 110°F-115°F (43°C-46°C). Yeast dies at temperatures of 130ºF (54°C) or higher. If you don't have a thermometer, think of the temperature as needing to be just slightly warmer than milk you would feed a baby.
4. Salt: Every good pizza dough contains salt because, without it, it won't taste great. That said, if you need to make a low-sodium pizza you can simply use less salt than this recipe calls for (see recipe notes for amounts). In fact, I did this for my Mom so I know it's still delicious! FYI, I've used Diamond Crystal Kosher salt in this recipe.
5. Sugar (sub honey or maple syrup): I've added 2 teaspoons of sugar to this pizza dough to help with color without affecting the flavor of the dough at all. As mentioned above, sugar is not an ingredient found in typical pizza restaurant dough. It improves the color of the pizza, but you don't have to use it. You may also substitute it with honey or maple syrup.
6. Extra Virgin Olive Oil: For baking pizza in the home oven, I add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to help with the dough's texture. Oil isn't added to pizza dough for extra flavor (you won't taste it), but rather to provide the necessary fat for a well-textured dough when cooked in a standard oven (which takes longer than a brick oven or commercial oven). And you can substitute EVOO with just about any vegetable oil if you don't have it. However, if you drizzle your assembled pizza with oil before baking (as I do), don't use anything except extra virgin olive oil because this addition of oil is purely for adding extra flavor.

Overview: How to Make Pizza Dough (Using Bread Flour)

Here's an overview of how to make homemade pizza dough, but you can find the full recipe instructions in the recipe card and watch the video!

• Make the dough: Mix the dough ingredients together by hand or using a stand mixer. Do this in the order described in the recipe card.
• Knead the dough: Knead by hand or with your mixer using the dough hook attachment. I knead the dough by hand for 12 minutes.
• Let the dough rise (1st rise): Place dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover tightly, and set aside to rise for about 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough and form the dough balls: Punch down the dough to remove air bubbles and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a uniform ball, and place them onto a lightly oiled baking pan, then brush them lightly with a little oil, and cover the dough with sustainable cling film, OR place them onto a lightly floured baking pan, dust them with a little more flour and cover them with a clean lint-free kitchen towel.
• Let the dough rise (2nd rise): Allow the covered dough balls to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm environment (like the oven with the light turned on).
• Roll out the pizza dough: Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured work surface or non-stick baking mat to ⅛ inch thick. Use the rolling pin to transfer it to a piece of parchment paper and place a cutting board or flimsy placemats underneath it for support while you top it.
• Add toppings and bake the pizza: Top the pizza with your favorite store-bought or homemade pizza sauce, add grated Parmesan, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Grana Padano, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, add your favorite pizza toppings, and drizzle the pizza with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Bake pizza in a preheated oven for at least 30 minutes at 475°F/250°C or at the highest temperature your oven goes for about 8-10 minutes. Bake a few minutes longer if you're baking pizza at a lower temperature like 450°F/232°C and bake pizza for around 6 to 7 minutes or so if the temperature is higher than 475°F/250°C.

Bread Flour Thin-Crust Pizza Step-by-Step Photos

What's The Dough Point Of Pizza Dough?

As discussed in the traditional 00 pizza dough post, the dough point is the time (or stage) when your dough reaches its maximum potential of structure and form as it relates to elasticity, softness, and hydration.  Learn how to find the dough point here and also why it's important for homemade pizza (or any yeasted dough).

Can You Substitute All-Purpose Flour for Bread Flour?

Although all-purpose flour is not ideal for making pizza, you may substitute it for the bread flour in this pizza recipe (or use half and half). If you do substitute all-purpose flour, I recommend using high-quality brands like King Arthur's All-Purpose Flour (which has 11.7% protein), or Hecker's All-Purpose Flour (with 11.4-11.7% protein). Higher-quality flour equals better pizza dough.

What Temperature Should I Bake Pizza?

I've baked this pizza at 482°F/250°C and as you can see from the photos and video, it's super crispy and delicious!

However, if your oven doesn't reach this temperature or perhaps reaches even higher temperatures, just be sure to adjust the baking times accordingly (up or down by 2 to 4 minutes) to account for the varying temps.

One of the most important things when baking pizza in a home oven is to allow your pizza stone or baking pan to preheat in the oven at the highest temperature it will go, for at least 30 minutes.

Place it in the hottest part of your oven (which for me is the oven floor). If you skip this step, your pizza will not look or feel quite like the pizza in this post.

It'll still be really good, but it'll be much softer and definitely not crisp like this pizza. (*see DIY pizza stone substitutes down below)

You can even make this pizza in a toaster oven and it's just as good (I've done it many times while living in Chengdu when my 2-burner Chinese wok kitchen didn't have an oven). 

Simple Pizza Toppings (With Photos)

Here's a little topping inspiration for your next pizza night.

• Fior di latte (fresh cow's milk mozzarella), Mozzarella di Bufula (buffalo mozzarella), burrata cheese
• Ricotta cheese
• Sun-dried tomatoes or roasted tomatoes in Olive Oil & Herbs
• Black Olives and Green Olives
• Romesco or purple, orange, green, or white cauliflower
  
• Pioppini mushrooms
• Shaved button or cremini mushrooms
• Sliced onions or shallots
• Artichoke hearts in oil
• Zucchini (julienned or shaved ribbons)
• Roasted Red, yellow, or green bell peppers
• Fresh Red, yellow, or green bell peppers
• Fresh basil (add a little before you bake the pizza and just after it comes out)
• Pesto (basil, spinach, or kale varieties)
• Sweet fresh pineapple tidbits
• Abruzzese Ventricina 
• Spicy Italian Salami Piccante 
• Pepperoni slices 
• Sopressa or Sopressata
• Speck di Asiago (it may be added "in cottura" meaning before you bake the pizza, or just after the pizza comes out of the oven)
• Prosciutto di Parma (add it to the pizza just after the pizza comes out of the oven)
• Prosciutto cotto (or Canadian bacon)
• Italian salsiccia (or sweet or hot Italian sausage just cooked through)
• Bacon
• Chashu Pork

Best Substitutes for a Pizza Stone or Pizza Peel

If you don't have a pizza stone or pizza peel or are looking for the most useful tools for making homemade pizza, learn more about what you need and get the best DIY pizza tool substitutes here.

FAQ: Can You Refrigerate Pizza Dough?

Make pizza dough 1 to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it in a lightly oiled bag. To learn each of the 3 different stages at which you can refrigerate the dough, check out the full details in the 00 Thin-Crust pizza post over here.

When you're ready to bake the pizzas remove the dough rounds from the refrigerator (keeping them in the sealed and lightly oiled bag), and allow them to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling out the dough and proceeding with the remaining steps.

If the dough is pulling back on itself, cover it and allow it to rest a little longer so it can relax making it easier to roll.

FAQ: Can You Freeze Pizza Dough?

Yes, you can freeze bread flour pizza, and in fact, I make extra just so I can freeze it. Lightly oil the inside of a large freezer bag, covering the entire inside surface area.

Place the dough balls an equal distance apart, leaving room in between them. Squeeze out all the air, seal them, and place the dough into the freezer for up to 3 months. There are no negative effects of freezing pizza dough (FYI, the featured image for this post was made using a previously frozen dough ball).

FAQ: What's the Easiest Way to Thaw Frozen Pizza Dough?

Here are 3 easy ways to thaw frozen pizza dough:

• The fastest way to thaw pizza dough (as seen in photos above): Place the bag with frozen pizza dough in it, into a bowl with hot tap water. This is my favorite method for thawing frozen dough rounds. The dough doesn't need to be fully immersed in the water. After 20 minutes on one side, flip the bag over to let the other side have direct contact with the water and leave for another 20 minutes. After a total of 40 minutes, the pizza dough will be thawed out, but still cold or cool. You'll still need to allow 30 to 45 minutes for the dough to come to room temperature before using. As you can see from the photos, the dough is perfect!
• Remove the pizza dough from the freezer and place it into the refrigerator overnight to thaw. About 45 minutes to 1 hour before you want to make the pizza, remove it from the refrigerator (leaving it in its sealed oiled bag) and allow it to come to room temperature before proceeding with the remaining instructions.
• Place frozen pizza in the bag on the counter at room temperature for about 8 hours, or until it's no longer frozen.

FAQ: What are The Best Ways to Reheat Leftover Pizza?

4 simple ways to reheat leftover pizza:

• Emergency: Place it on a paper towel-lined plate and microwave (not recommended, but sometimes you need pizza fast).
• Oven Broiler: Place the pizza under a preheated broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Regular Oven: Place pizza in a preheated 375°F/190°C oven for 6 to 8 minutes covered loosely with foil.
• Skillet: Place pizza in a dry skillet, cover with a lid (or foil), and heat over medium-high heat for about 4 to 6 minutes.

Looking For More Easy Pizza Recipes?

Below are a few of our favorite pizza recipes we think you may also want to try!

• Easy 4-Ingredient Homemade Pizza Sauce
• Ultimate Thin-Crust 00 Flour Pizza Dough Recipe
• Authentic Italian Pizza Fritte (Pizzonte Frittelle Abruzzese)
• Best 20-Minute Thin and Crispy St. Louis-Style Pizza (No-Yeast )
• 20-Minute Quick and Easy Valentine’s Day Heart-Shaped Pizza
• Easy Pumpkin Focaccia Bread (Focaccia alla Zucca)
• Easy 20-Minute Thin & Crispy St. Louis-Style Whole Wheat Pizza
• Fluffy Whole Wheat Naan Bread Pizza
• Best Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe (For Thin Crust Pizza)

Let's get started!

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