Overnight pizza dough is made with four ingredients, requires no kneading, and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days before shaping and baking. Skip the takeout pizza and make your own at home!
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Classic hand-tossed pizza with a chewy, crisp crust.
Yield: One 12" pizza
For a crowd: This recipe can be doubled or tripled to make multiple pizzas.
Similar to: Garlic Bread Pizza
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Bread flour - Using bread flour results in a chewier crust, but all-purpose flour can work as a substitute. Make sure you're using a high protein AP flour (like King Arthur) for best results.
- Yeast - I use instant yeast in this recipe but dry active yeast will also work. If you're using dry active yeast, your rise times will be slightly (15-20 minutes) longer.
How to make overnight pizza dough
- Whisk together the ingredients, cover, and allow the dough to rise for two hours before refrigerating overnight (up to 3 days).
- Transfer the dough to a floured countertop and shape into a round ball. Rest for 1 hour while your oven heats.
- Starting at the center of the dough ball, flatten the dough into a disc, creating a "steering wheel" around the edges.
- Use the steering wheel to lift and stretch your dough into a 12" circle.
- Dock the pizza dough with a fork or a pizza docker to remove large air bubbles.
- Top with sauce and your favorite toppings.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until your pizza is golden and bubbly.
- Slice and enjoy!
Using a pizza stone (or steel)
Benefits of a pizza stone - They distribute heat evenly, preventing a soggy bottom and creating a crispy crust. They also retain heat well, which means you can bake several pizzas in a row without losing that intense heat.
Heating a pizza stone - Place your pizza stone in the top third of a cold oven (preferably in the top rack position), then preheat the oven and stone together. A thick stone or steel needs at least 60 minutes to heat properly.
Don’t have a pizza stone or steel? - Transfer the parchment to a baking sheet or pizza pan and bake as directed in the recipe card.
Frequently asked questions
I've tested this recipe up to three days in the refrigerator with no degradation of the dough. Eventually, your dough will overproof and begin to deflate if it rests too long.
I don't recommend it. This recipe is meant to be stored in the refrigerator overnight. Leaving it at room temperature can cause the dough to overproof, deflate, and turn into a sticky mess.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Overnight Pizza Dough
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 g) instant yeast
- ⅔ cup (160 g) warm water
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) olive oil
- 2 cups (240 g) bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon table salt
Toppings
- ½ cup (113 g) pizza sauce
- 1 ½ cups (170 g) shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- 20-30 slices pepperoni, or your favorite toppings
Instructions
- Mix: In a large bowl, whisk together instant yeast, warm water, and olive oil. Add flour and salt and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
- Rest: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or an airtight lid and allow the dough to rise until it is about doubled in size and looks puffy, about 2 hours at room temperature.
- Chill: Transfer to the refrigerator to rest overnight, up to 3 days.
- Heat: Arrange the oven rack in the top third of the oven and heat your oven to 500°F. If you have a pizza stone or steel, place it in the oven while your oven warms up.
- Shape and rest: Remove the dough from the oven and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press it into a square shape, then take each corner and pull it to the center, slightly overlapping with each other to create a ball. Flip the dough ball over and place it on a clean surface. Dust your hands with flour and cup them around the dough ball, pulling it across the work surface to create a taut, smooth shape. Pick it up and pinch any seams closed on the bottom. Transfer the dough ball to a floured or parchment lined tray, cover with plastic wrap, and rest it for 1 hour. This brings the dough to room temperature, making it easier to stretch.
- Stretch: Flour your work surface and place the dough ball in the middle. Starting at the center of your dough ball, use your fingers to flatten the dough into a disc, leaving a 1 inch border around the edge, creating a "steering wheel". Pick up the dough by the edges (the steering wheel you've created) and allow the weight of the dough to pull down and stretch itself out, slowly rotating the dough by moving your hands around the steering wheel. Drape the dough over your knuckles and pull your hands apart slowly, stretching the dough (don't use your fingers, this can poke holes in the dough) to achieve your desired pizza size.
- Dock: Transfer the pizza dough to a piece of parchment. Gently prick the dough all over with a fork (or a pizza docker), to remove unwanted bubbles.
- Assemble: Pour the pizza sauce in the middle of the dough, then use the back of a spoon to gently spread it into an even layer up to about 1 inch from the edge. Top the sauce with half of the shredded cheese. Add pepperoni (or your favorite toppings) evenly across the pizza, then top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake: Use a pizza peel to transfer your parchment to the heated pizza steel and bake until pizza is golden brown across the top and cheese is bubbly, about 10 to 12 minutes. Use the pizza peel to transfer parchment from the oven to the countertop and allow the pizza to rest for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing and serving hot.
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