Eat Well, Live Happy: Giada's Pizza Dough

A few years ago I posted a recipe for Bobby Flay's Pizza Dough, but I haven't made it in a long time. As someone who enjoys cooking and baking and always prefers homemade food over store-bought, I'm a bit ashamed to say my husband and I have been using store-bought dough lately, since life has been a bit hectic in our house (especially dinnertime). I ran into my cousin Christine yesterday and she told me that she makes Giada's Pizza Dough regularly, so I decided to give it a try last night. This recipe is very simple and quite delicious. It reminded me a lot of my grandmother's pizza, but took a lot less time to make since it's for just 1 pizza and not 12! This was the first time I made homemade pizza for my 1-year-old twins, and they approved! I kept it simple for them and made half of it with sausage and half of it with cheese. I froze most of the remaining pizza slices, wrapped individually, as an easy lunch or dinner option for them.

I started the dough around 2:00 pm after putting my boys down for their naps. The timing worked out perfectly so that I was able to spread the dough in the pizza pan (coated with olive oil first), put the sauce and toppings on, and bake it in time to be ready for our 6:00 pm dinnertime.

For the sauce, I just stirred some basil, oregano, salt and pepper together with an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce and spread it on the dough, then added my sausage and shredded mozzarella, and topped with grated cheese. I baked it at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

If you're looking for a pizza dough recipe for just a few people, this is a great one to try. You can also easily double the recipe. I made it in a jelly roll pan and it fit perfectly (per my cousin's suggestion), but I normally make a double recipe and get 3 14" round pizzas out of it - see pics below! I personally think it is a bit too much dough for 2 round pizzas so I make 3, but my sister prefers thicker crust and makes 2.

Edit January 2022: I made this pizza tonight using Anna 00 Flour. I had never used 00 Flour before so I was interested to see the difference (I usually use King Arthur All-Purpose Flour). The dough was very easy to spread. I usually separate the dough, shape it into round balls and let it rest on the oiled pizza pans for a few minutes, then spread the dough a bit, then let it rest for a few minutes, and then finish spreading it. I was able to spread the dough completely out on the first try. As usual, I made 3 pizzas with a double recipe. Once the pizza was baked it had a very thin crust, but it was delicious! I actually think this was the best pizza I've made.

Edit April 2023: Today I made 4 recipes of dough which made 6 pizzas. This is probably the max amount of recipes I could make at one time in my larger 6-qt. KitchenAid mixer. I'm still using the Anna 00 Flour and the pizzas were so delicious!

Edit November 2024: If you don't want to use honey, you can use 1 teaspoon of sugar in its place. I also usually need to add more flour than the recipe calls for, about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup extra per recipe. I've been making this recipe often for years now and it's my favorite recipe to make! Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes and enjoy!

Giada’s Famous Pizza Dough

Recipe Courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

This is one of Giada’s most beloved recipes: her go-to famous pizza dough. It’s so easy to whip up, and turns out beautifully every time.

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon honey

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

To the warm water, add the yeast and honey. Stir to dissolve. Allow the mixture to sit for 3 minutes to make sure the yeast is alive. It should foam and start to bubble.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and mix on low speed until the mixture starts to come together. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 8 minutes. The dough should start to pull away from the sides but still remain soft and slightly sticky at the bottom of the bowl. Add an extra tablespoon of flour if needed.

Coat your hands in a bit of olive oil and form the dough into a ball. Place the dough in a bowl that is coated in olive oil. Cover with a towel and allow to sit in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Knock down the dough and cut into 4 equal pieces if making small pizzas or simply reform into a ball and allow the dough to proof for an additional 1 hour.

The dough is now ready to use.

For basic cooking instructions, roll the pizza dough out on a floured surface to your desired thickness. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet or pizza peel, and top with your favorite toppings. Bake at 500° for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Drizzle the crust with extra olive oil if desired. Slice and serve hot.

Serves 4.