Quick and Easy Same-Day Pizza Dough Recipe (Ready in 3-4 Hours)

Sep 13, 2024

By Robert Brown

Quick and Easy Same-Day Pizza Dough Recipe (Ready in 3-4 Hours)

Make delicious pizza at home with this easy same-day dough recipe, ready in just 3-4 hours. Perfect for home pizza chefs who want fresh, homemade dough without the overnight wait. Simple ingredients, quick results, and fantastic flavor!

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Drop of a Hat Pizza Dough

Friday nights don’t have to be the only night of the week dedicated for pizza. With this recipe you’ll be able to have pizza at a moment’s notice, for whenever the mood strikes. Here is a recipe that goes from mixing and into the oven in 4 hours or less!

Now is this pizza going to have the complexity of flavor that a 24 hour cold fermented dough would have? Of course not, but you want pizza and you want it now (…in 3 to 4 hours) and because of that you’re going to have to settle for a little less flavor than a longer fermented dough. The trade off here is the simplicity and speed with which you’re going to be enjoying pizza.

So keep an eye on the dough as it proofs (it goes fast!), preheat your steel, and get ready for pizza nights whenever you like!

Ingredient List

Makes 4 dough balls approximately 320g in weight for 13”-14” diameter pizzas

Ingredient	How much
Water	487g
Flour	750g
Instant Dry Yeast	7g
Sugar	11g
Oil	15g
Salt	19g
Item	Value

Notes:

*Adjusted +0.75% to account for loss while stand mixing.Hand mixing may result in a slightly lesser yield

In-Depth Explainers

Why Grams and not Cups/Spoons?

The weight of one cup of flour can vary up to 20 percent and this variance can completely change the intended final product.

Weighing your ingredients ensures that your dough comes out consistently each and every time and is the first step to making incredible pizza at home.

Stand Mix:

- Add cool water (65F) to bowl of stand mixer

- Add flour, IDY, sugar, and mix on low until fully combined, about 90 seconds

- Add oil and mix on medium speed until absorbed, about 1 minute

- Add salt and continue mixing for 5-6 more minutes

- Cover and bulk ferment for 1 hour

Hand Mix:

- Add warm water (80F) to bowl

- Add IDY and stir to dissolve

- Add flour and sugar and mix until no dry flour remains

- Add oil and mix until absorbed

- Add salt and mix until uniformly combined

- Take dough out of bowl and knead on your countertop for 2 minutes

- Cover and let rest for 20 minutes

- Knead for 2 more minutes

- Cover and bulk ferment for 1 hour

Ball:

- Take out a container(s) large enough to hold the dough balls

- Divide the dough into 4 equal dough balls by weight and shape into tight balls, being sure to pinch the bottom seam shut before placing in your container, seam side down, and cover.

- Proof for 2**-3 hours** at room temperature (68F-70F)

Preheat Oven:

- If able, adjust your oven +35 degrees

- Place steel in the middle of your oven

- Preheat oven to 550F Convection Bake if possible, otherwise Bake will do

- Once oven comes to temperature, allow to preheat for 1 hour

Shape:

- Dust a pizza peel with flour (all-purpose is fine) and evenly smooth it over with your hand, brushing excess onto the counter.

- Dust the top of the dough ball with flour and flip it upside down onto your counter (the top of the dough ball is now on the counter).

- Sprinkle flour over the top of the dough and, cupping your hands around the sides of the dough, rotate it a few times to ensure it forms a circle.

- Using your fingers, press into the edges of the dough ball, establishing a rim. Then press from the middle out while avoiding making it too thin and pop any large bubbles that develop at the rim.

- Feel free to lightly dust the top of the pizza with flour if it feels tacky as you open it up.

- Rotate the pizza 90 degrees and repeat the process.

- Rotate again and repeat.

- Flip the pizza over and do the same to the other side, doing your best to establish a rim, press gases to the edge, all while not thinning out the middle and popping any large bubbles that may appear.

- Flip the pizza back over so the original top of the dough ball is back to being the bottom of the pizza.

- Do a few edge stretches and then pick it up and toss it back back and forth between the back of your hands, allowing it to slightly stretch at the rim and knock excess flour off

- Next, using your knuckles along the rim of the pizza dough, stretch the dough and rotate it to form a disk approximately 13”-14” in diameter.

- Place the pizza down on the floured peel, ensuring the original top of the dough ball is the bottom of the pizza.

- Top your pizza according to preference

- Pull at the rim to stretch it one last time, doing your best to keep or make it a circle. Pop any bubbles that appear in the rim.

Bake:

- Launch pizza after the 1 hour preheat - target steel temperature should be approximately 625F

- After 2 minutes turn the oven Broiler on Hi

- Remove the pizza with a metal peel after a 4 to 5 minute total bake depending on the capabilities of your oven and preference of doneness

- Place pizza on a cooling rack for 1 minute

- Slice, serve, and enjoy!

In-Depth Explainers

How to Ball Your Dough:

Shaping and Topping:

Conclusion

A note on home ovens: Home ovens, gas or electric, all behave differently. The best way to learn about your oven is to purchase an infrared thermometer and take the time to measure the temperature of your steel at different times during the preheating process. Ideally you’d want to launch with a steel temperature of approximately 625F. Always keep an eye on your pizza and rotate if necessary to ensure even browning.