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Delicious and perfect, you’ll love this simple Overnight Pizza Dough recipe! Easily made in a mixing bowl, this homemade no knead pizza dough is fool-proof and sure to become a family favorite.
Lots of overnight pizza dough recipes call for complicated mixing, shaping, and rising schedules. Not this one!
Oh no, my friends, you’re going to mix everything all at once, in one bowl and then you’re going to straight up ignore it for 18-24 hours. That’s it!
If you haven’t worked with no knead dough before, it’s super simple, but a little sticky. That’s ok, I’m going to walk you through it and you’re going to ACE this!
This recipe does need a long rise time, so check out our Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe if you only have an hour or so. You can also use all-purpose flour in that recipe; just read the notes in the printable recipe card for details.
Overnight Pizza Dough Ingredients & Variations
This recipe is rocking:
- Flour – I used all-purpose, but bread flour or 00 flour will also work.
- Water – room temp, please, and thank you.
- Yeast – you can use active dry or instant/rapid yeast.
- Olive oil – just a bit.
- Salt – basic sea salt works great here.
This recipe has not been tested with fresh yeast, whole wheat, or gluten-free flour. This no knead pizza dough recipe depends on the gluten activating over a long rise. Gluten-free flour will not produce that result.
How to Make Overnight Pizza Dough
I’ll walk you through it with some tips and tricks and photos, and you’ll find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements and baking times.
Grab a medium-sized mixing bowl and combine water, yeast, flour, salt, and olive oil. Mix with a spatula (I love this one) until all the flour has been incorporated. If it looks a wee bit dry, you can add a bit more water. See the photo grid below to see what it should look like.
Cover the bowl (I use these reusable silicone bowl covers to cut down on plastic wrap) and let it sit at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 18-24 hours. Don’t put it in the fridge, and don’t shape it into persnickety dough balls. There is no need to do anything other than ignore it.
When the dough has doubled in size and is dotted with air bubbles, it’s time to make some pizza! Preheat your oven to 500F and put your pizza stone or steel pizza peel in there to get nice and hot.
Get the flour back out because you’ll need some to keep the dough from sticking to the counter and your hands. Liberally flour the edges of the bowl where the dough meets the bowl.
Either divide the dough in half for two thin-crust pizzas or use the entire batch for a thicker pizza. The dough will be sticky, but very forgiving. Add flour bit by bit until you feel like you can comfortably work with it.
Gently shape the dough into your desired shape/size. Remember, you and I are not professional pizza makers, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Don’t apologize for imperfections. Call it “artisanal and rustic” and go live your best life.
When the pizza pan is nice and hot, reduce the temp of the oven to 425F, and get your sauce and all your toppings ready to go. This next part moves pretty quickly! Sprinkle the pizza pan with cornmeal and gently transfer the pizza dough onto the pan.
Quickly add your favorite sauces, shredded cheese, and toppings. Bake that beautiful pizza for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
Toppings For No Knead Pizza Dough
For sauces, I encourage you to make this pizza your own! We love this homemade pizza sauce recipe, white pizza sauce, pesto without pine nuts or vegan pesto if you need a dairy-free version and even homemade sugar-free barbeque sauce.
Any meat should be cooked prior to adding it to the pizza. The baking time isn’t long enough to make sure raw meat is cooked to a safe temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe can make two thin-crust 10-inch pizzas or a 14-inch thicker-crust pizza.
Plans change, so if you can’t make the pizza dough after it has risen, that’s ok! Pop that covered bowl into the fridge for up to 24 hours.
When you are ready to use the dough, allow it to come to room temperature for 1-2 hours. Nothing is more frustrating than working with cold dough.
Yes, absolutely! Once the dough has fully risen for 18-24 hours, you can freeze it.
I transfer the dough into small reusable silicone bags, press extra air from the bags, and freeze for 2-3 months.
Allow the dough to thaw overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temperature before rolling.
I’m a huge fan of our cast iron pizza pans, and I know that steel pizza peels are beloved by those who have them.
But if you don’t own either, you can still make this pizza. You can use a pizza stone or even a simple baking sheet.
For best results, place whatever you use in the oven while it preheats. This gives you the closest results to a pizzeria oven. Oil the baking sheet and sprinkle cornmeal on it before adding the dough.
You bet! Outdoor pizza ovens cook pizzas at 700-900F, meaning they cook in just a handful of minutes. This dough is absolutely perfect for those conditions.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- To make sure the dough isn’t too dry, you’ll want to spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Do not scoop the cup into the container of flour.
- Keep the bowl out of direct sunlight during the rise time.
- The temperature of your house will impact the rising time for this no knead pizza dough. A cooler house means it will take longer to rise. It may rise more quickly in a very warm house.
More Pizza Recipes That You’ll Love
Overnight Pizza Dough
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups water {room temperature}
- 1 tsp yeast {instant or active dry both work}
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour {plus more for dusting}
- cornmeal for pizza pan
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined.1.5 cups water, 1 tsp yeast, 2 tsp olive oil, 1.5 tsp sea salt, 3 cups all-purpose flour
- Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 18-24 hours. Keep it out of direct sunlight.
- When the dough has doubled in size and is dotted with air bubbles, preheat oven to 500F and put pizza stone, steel pizza peel, or baking sheet in to preheat.
- Liberally flour the edges of the bowl where the dough meets the bowl.
- Flour your hands and a clean surface and gently shape the dough into your desired shape/size. Pro tip: The dough will be sticky. Add flour bit by bit until you feel like you can comfortably work with it.
- When the oven is fully preheated, reduce the temp to 425F, and get sauce and all toppings ready to go.
- Sprinkle the pizza pan with cornmeal and gently transfer the pizza dough onto the pan.cornmeal for pizza pan
- Quickly add your favorite sauces, shredded cheese, and toppings. Bake at 425F for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
Notes
- This recipe can make two thin-crust 10-inch pizzas or a 14-inch thicker-crust pizza.
- For best results, place whatever baking sheets you plan to use in the oven while it preheats. This gives you the closest results to a pizzeria oven.
- To freeze uncooked dough: allow the dough to fully rise for 18-24 hours, and transfer to freezer-safe bags for 2-3 months. Allow the dough to thaw overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temperature before rolling.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
