I am just obsessed with homemade pizza. My first experience with it was in college when some friends got together for a pizza night. Each person got to make their own and from then on I was HOOKED. I have been on a mission to make different flavor options of pizza dough, and this Rosemary Red Pepper Pizza Dough is one of my favorite go-to’s!
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Pizza doughs, and doughs in general, can sometimes be bland. I am convinced that this is why I tend to dislike the crust at so many places. But if it is seasoned well, you can BET that I will be finishing off every last piece of it! So I always make sure that I am flavoring my dough with some fun mix ins, and that the dough flavors work with the toppings. My Oregano Garlic Pizza Dough is made of classic pizza flavors, but I wanted to make one that had a little “zip” to it.
Enter, red pepper flakes! The red pepper flakes add a subtle heat to the dough with the earthiness of the rosemary. If you want a mild spice, reduce the red pepper to 1 teaspoon. You could also switch it out for some garlic powder.
This Rosemary Red Pepper Pizza Dough does need a little prep time as it has to sit to rise, but other than that it is so incredibly easy and tastes SOOOOOO GOOD! I will even make the dough the day before and go through the first blind bake, and then leave the pizza crusts in a large, new garbage bag overnight to keep them from drying out. I also have readers that have tried freezing the dough if you want to make it far in advance and it works well that way too!
I make pizzas with a stone that goes in my oven and I use a handy pizza peel that you see in the pictures. (This pizza peel is pretty close to what I have, and this pizza peel is just GORGEOUS). I think it is worth it to have these gems because the stone makes my pizza crisp up beautifully and the peel makes it so easy to get the dough/pizza in and out of the oven. But you can also use a plain cookie sheet if you want.
This batch of Rosemary Red Pepper Pizza Dough is enough for two pizzas approximately 12″ wide with a thinner crust. There are so many toppings that would taste great on this dough! What is your favorite type of pizza?
This recipe is slightly adapted from this site.
Rosemary Red Pepper Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
- 1 envelope active dry yeast (not instant) (1/4 oz)
- 1 Tablespoon honey (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon dried rosemary leaves
- 1/2 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- yellow cornmeal (for rolling and dusting)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the water, yeast, honey, and olive oil. Stir to combine and let it sit until it starts to foam, approximately 5 minutes.
- Add the rosemary, red pepper flakes, and salt to the yeast mixture. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, mixing gently until incorporated. Add the flour a little at a time, working the flour into the dough after each addition, until the dough is a little sticky and smooth. You will likely not need all of the flour.
- Remove the dough and knead on a floured surface for 3-5 minutes until the dough is still a little tacky but smooth.
- Cover the inside of the large mixing bowl with some more olive oil. Put the dough in the oiled bowl and turn dough to coat with the oil. Keep the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place for approximately 60-90 minutes until the dough is doubled in size.
- When you are ready to start making the pizza, place your pizza stone (or a large baking sheet) in the oven on the center rack. Preheat to 450F.
- Dust your pizza peel with some cornmeal. The cornmeal will give the crust a great texture and bite while also preventing it from sticking to the surface you are working on. Cut the dough in half for two thin crust pizzas.
- Roll out one piece of the dough to your desired size, approximately 12" is what I aim for, on the pizza peel and make sure that the size and shape will fit onto your stone or cooking sheet that is in the oven.
- Using a fork or knife, poke holes in the dough everywhere except for the crust edge. This will allow air to escape and prevent the dough from bubbling up too much.
- Make sure that the dough is loose on the pizza peel by shaking it gently. The dough should move around. If the dough is sticking anywhere, pull up that area and throw some more cornmeal under it until nothing is sticking.
- When the oven is done preheating and you are at 450F, open the oven door and throw some cornmeal onto the stone or sheet. Use the pizza peel to shimmy the dough onto the stone/sheet. If you have the cornmeal under the dough, this should be rather easy to do.
- Blind bake the dough (without toppings or sauce) for approximately 5 minutes. Pull out the crust using your pizza peel when the dough is not soft to the touch anymore and it is just starting to get some color on it.
- Brush the crust edge with some olive oil and sprinkle with some garlic salt, parmesan, and/or oregano to give it some flavor.
- Add your sauce and toppings. Put the pizza back in the oven and cook approximately 10-12 minutes longer until the cheese is melting and starting to brown. Let the pizza rest just a couple minutes before serving.
I love homemade pizza! The flavors in this dough sound great!
I always add a little red pepper flakes and few herbs to my dough too. The pictures are gorgeous, would love a slice!
I am going to make a pizza today and this recipe is bookmarked for next weekend! Thanks.
I hope you love it!
Pizza is one of my favorite foods. This looks soo good. Homemade pizza is the best.
Do you use a dough hook with a stand mixer? I don’t have one and have such a hard time getting my dough right by hand!!! I’ll have to try this version!!
Hi Sarah,
I do it all by hand! It took me a few batches of dough in general to really get it down. I found a few important tips were helpful:
1) Be careful about adding the flour, just do a little at a time, because if the dough gets too much flour it becomes too stiff! And then it will not rise and do what you want it to do.
2) The dough should be just slightly tacky when you are done. Not sticky, but not dry.
3) You know the gluten has developed when you poke the dough ball and it bounces back. I also pull at it to make sure that it stretches instead of breaking off. And lastly I do the “windowpane test” where you start pulling the dough so that it becomes thin and you can see light through it. If it breaks before this happens, the gluten is not developed enough.
When it is rising, if there is no movement (or slow rising), try putting it in a warmer place. I tend to always put the dough in my oven (turned off) to keep it away from drafts. This is especially important if it is a cold day! Not enough warmth means it will not rise.
I am planning on making a dough tips post in the future, but these are the main things I have learned that have gotten me successful dough! I hope it helps!
The recipe calls for 3cups of flour in the ingredients list, but then only instructs to add 1 1/2 cups of flour in the directions. I’m a bit confused.
Hi Erin,
You start with the 1 1/2 cups and then add more slowly until your dough is barely sticky as outlined in step 2. The exact amount you need will vary based on how dry your flour is and the humidity/heat/moisture of where you are. You want the dough to be barely sticky and rather smooth.
I got a 404 on your pizza peel link
Thank you, I have updated them!
Would this pizza dough recipe work well in a cast iron pan?
Hi Sandy,
I have not tried it, but I would think it would work following any recipe that uses fresh dough.
Can you make half of the dough and freeze the other half for future use?
Hi Alicia,
Yes, I have had people comment that it freezes just fine!