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This same-day no-knead pizza dough recipe requires just five ingredients and one hour! Friday night pizza will easily become a weekly ritual with this dough recipe up your sleeve. It’s effortless and works with any style—from air fryer pizza to cast iron pizza. You’ll love it.
Homemade pizza is basically a love language in this house. It’s our non-negotiable Friday night ritual and, honestly, the best way to wrap up a long week. Which means a reliable same-day pizza dough recipe is a must. This one’s so simple you’ll have it memorized after making it once or twice. And the rise? Just an hour. That’s it. You can walk in the door after work, mix up the dough, and be eating your own bubbling, cheesy masterpiece before you know it. This crust works well when baked, and it makes for a great air fryer pizza or cast iron pizza.
And once you’ve got your dough, the topping situation is wide open. You can keep it simple with a Caprese pizza or get adventurous with a dill pickle pizza—but our latest pie obsession? Grandma pizza, hands down.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What Is No-Knead Pizza Dough?
- Ingredients for Same-Day No-Knead Pizza Dough
- Can I Use Active Dry Yeast?
- What Type of Pan Should I Use?
- Step-By-Step Instructions
- Troubleshooting
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Same-Day No-Knead Pizza Dough (One hour) Recipe
- Delicious Pizza Recipes to Make…
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick—Just an hour for rise time!
- Easy enough for beginners—You don’t have to be a habitual baker or dough master to get this dough right. Just mix, cover, and rest (you and the dough).
What Is No-Knead Pizza Dough?
No-knead pizza dough is a favorite for its convenience, producing a light, bubbly, flavorful crust without any kneading. Traditionally, this dough relies on a long, slow fermentation to develop gluten and depth of flavor. But if you need pizza fast, you can speed up no-knead pizza dough by using quick rise yeast, proofing in a warm environment (like the laundry room), and including a teaspoon of sugar to feed the yeast. Just stir everything in one bowl, let time do the work, and you’ve got a beginner-friendly dough that delivers pizzeria vibes with almost zero hands-on time.
Ingredients for Same-Day No-Knead Pizza Dough
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Quick-Rise Yeast—This may also be labelled as fast-acting yeast or instant yeast. It can be added directly to your dry ingredients without the need for activation first.
- Sugar—This will increase the moisture retention and tenderize the crust. It also helps activate the yeast so your dough rises more quickly.
Can I Use Active Dry Yeast?
Yes, you can make no-knead pizza dough rise in about an hour using active dry yeast—it just needs the right conditions. In Step 2, you will instead stir the active dry yeast with the warm water (105-115ºF) and the sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes, until foamy. Then, whisk in the olive oil and salt, and add all of this to the flour as it’s being mixed on medium-low. Then move on to Step 3.
What Type of Pan Should I Use?
This no-knead pizza dough works with any pizza-appropriate pan. Cooking times will vary with each, however. Here are some recommendations:
- Cast-iron pizza pan—Crispy crust, stovetop-to-oven versatility, non-stick
- Pizza stone—Crispy crust, even heat distribution, mimics a brick oven
- Perforated pizza pan—Air circulation, moisture escape, even heat distribution
- Sheet pan—Large pizza portions, even cooking
- Cast-iron skillet—Crispy, chewy crust, even heat transfer, non-stick
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep the Bowl
Lightly oil a big mixing bowl and set it aside. Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer.
Step 2: Mix
In the mixer bowl, add 2 cups of flour and a packet of quick-rise yeast. In another bowl, whisk warm water, olive oil, salt, and sugar. With the mixer on medium-low, slowly pour in the wet ingredients.
Step 3: Dough Ball
Turn the speed up to medium and let it come together. Scrape down the sides (flour likes to hide there). In less than a minute, you’ll have a shaggy little ball—don’t worry if it’s not perfect.
Step 4: Rise
Oil your hands, transfer the dough to that greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let it rise somewhere warm (in the laundry room, in a turned-off oven with the light on, in the microwave next to a bowl of hot water, or set it on a towel-covered heating pad set to low). It should double in size within an hour or so.
Step 5: Preheat
Crank your oven to 525-550ºF. Lightly oil your pizza pan and dust with cornmeal for extra texture.
Step 6: Shape
Once risen, plop the dough in the center of your pan and gently stretch it outwards with your fingers.
Step 7: Top & Bake
Add your toppings, bake 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden.
Troubleshooting
- At the mixing stage, if your dough feels very wet and won’t form into a semi-sturdy ball, add a bit more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until your dough becomes more sturdy.
- If your dough isn’t forming well and isn’t picking up all the flour as it mixes, add more warm water, bit by bit, until the dough starts to form nicely.
- Are your toppings cooked before your crust is? This is so aggravating, because you then have to sacrifice one for the other: undercooked crust, or overcooked toppings. If this happens in your oven, par-bake the dough for 3-5 minutes before adding the toppings. Take the pizza out, dress it up, and then bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden. Results vary, depending on the oven and the pan used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! After the dough has risen, dump it onto a lightly floured surface and, with lightly oiled hands, work it into a ball. Lightly oil the dough ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then seal it into a freezer-friendly bag. Pop it in the freezer for up to three months.
You can easily double this recipe, yes. If you want to use half the same day and freeze the rest for another time, please take a look at the notes above.
Same-Day No-Knead Pizza Dough (One hour)
Equipment
- Stand mixer + dough hook (optional)
- Pizza pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour (302 g)
- 1 packet quick-rise yeast (1/4 oz), *See notes if using active dry yeast instead
- 1 TBSP olive oil, plus a bit extra
- 1 tsp salt (6.7 g)
- 1 tsp sugar (4.7 g)
- 1 cup warm water (243 g), Approx. 105-110ºF
Instructions
- Lightly oil a big mixing bowl and set it aside.
- Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer. In the mixer bowl, add 2 cups of flour and a packet of quick-rise yeast.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk warm water, olive oil, salt, and sugar. With the mixer on medium-low, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the flour.
- Turn the speed up to medium and let it come together. Using a spatula, scrape any flour down the sides of the bowl. In less than a minute, you’ll have a shaggy little ball—don’t worry if it’s not perfect.
- Oil your hands, transfer the dough to that greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let it rise somewhere warm (in the laundry room, in a turned-off oven with the light on, in the microwave next to a bowl of hot water, or set it on a towel-covered heating pad set to low). It should double in size within an hour or so.
- Preheat the oven to 525-550ºF.
- Lightly oil your pizza pan and dust with cornmeal for extra texture. When it's ready, plop the dough in the center of your pan and gently stretch it outwards with your fingers.
- Prebake the crust for 3-5 minutes, until it's just starting to harden. Remove it from the oven, add your toppings, and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden.
What kind of Yeast?
I’ve used both regular and Rapid Rise, and both have worked. I *am* in the process of sort of re-creating this recipe, though. So if you try it, please pop back in with feedback!
What temperature is the water? Warm water varies
Hi Anthony! Anywhere between between 105°F and 110°F is good :)
Dough is soft and slightly crunchy as good if not better then pizza joints.. will be my pizza dough recipe thankyou bella
Peggy canadian fan❤
I’m so excited to hear this!! Thank you so much :)
Soo quick and easy! Made a beautiful crust that was light and not too dense. I will be making this again and again!
I’m so glad, Linda! Thanks for the feedback!
I love that your recipe pic shows green olives on pizza! THIS NEEDS TO BE MORE OF A THING. Because green olives are a delicious pizza topping. Also now I really want to go home and make some green-olive-topped pizza. ;-)
YESSS KELLY!!! It’s funny. I grew up in Canada, and when you ask for olives on pizza in Canada, you get green olives. When I moved to the US, the default olive was black and it was hard to find places that even had green olives to offer!! I was like, what is this nonsense!!?? Always happy to see others who appreciate that salty briny-ness on pizza :)