With Our Favorite Weeknight Pizza Dough You're Never More Than a Half Hour from Homemade 'Za

The idea of making your own pizza probably seems like a whole project. Kneading and proofing the perfect pizza dough, carefully assembling the toppings, baking it off. Except… it really doesn’t have to be. In fact, you could be eating a totally homemade from scratch pizza faster than you can Postmates one from the trendy pizza place down the street. Plus, since you’re the pizza captain now, you’re in charge of everything that goes on top. Anything from stone-cold classics to cheese-free flatbreads with tons of seasonal veggies to veganized versions with high-quality dairy-free cheeses are all in play.

To make this magic happen, you need to start with one essential item: Our super-fast, super-easy, totally vegan pizza dough.

Get this dough started, prep your toppings while it proofs, and then give it a quick trip in the oven. We wrote baking notes based on cooking in a standard kitchen oven, but if you’re fancy enough to have a pizza oven, feel free to use it.

Lickety-Split Pizza Dough

makes 1 thick pizza crust or 2 thin crusts

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbs. olive oil

1. In a stainless steel or ceramic bowl, combine yeast and sugar. Add 1 cup hot water (100 degrees) and let sit 2 minutes, or until mixture begins to froth.

2. Add salt and flour, and mix with a fork until dough becomes firm. Knead in bowl for 1 minute, then form into a soft ball.

3. Pour oil into a second bowl, add dough, and roll in oil to coat.

4. Allow dough to rise for 15 minutes or until doubled in size, then punch down into another ball to incorporate oil.

5. For a thin crust, divide dough into two balls and press one into an oiled pie pan. Add sauce (tomato or pesto) and toppings of your choice (sliced peppers, onions, cooked potato, zucchini, tomatoes), then bake on the middle rack of a preheated, 500° oven 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. For a thick crust, press dough into an oiled pie pan and bake for an additional 10 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes.

More Related Recipes to Try Next:

Rustic Squash Pizza with Goat Cheese Gremolata

Kale, Caramelized Onion, and Parmesan Pizza

Baked Potato Pizza