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    Home » Mains

    The Best Semolina Pizza Dough (Quick and Easy!)

    Originally Published: Nov 25, 2018 · Last Updated: Mar 1, 2020 by Ann · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    4.5K shares
    • 80
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    A ball of pizza dough on a floured wood counter and a slice of pizza

    This homemade semolina pizza dough has the perfect texture, flavor and chewiness. Best of all, it's ready to go in under an hour. If you've been searching in vain for a great pizza dough recipe, look no further!

    When it comes to food, I'm easily tempted by the next shiny object. I might make a brownie recipe and declare it the be all end all, and that the search is over blah blah blah.

    Then a month later I'll stumble upon this hypnotic video on Instagram and I'm practically sprinting to the kitchen to try "the world's best fudgiest brownies".

    The one recipe I am supremely loyal to though is my pizza dough recipe. For years, I never had much luck with homemade pizza dough, and would sheepishly put a ball of frozen dough in my cart whenever the craving struck.

    Then one day I decided to put on my big girl pants and conquer pizza dough once and for all.

    *This post probably contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

    A ball of pizza dough on a floured wood counter

    I tweaked and tinkered with this recipe for a long time, but then I finally got it and I have not looked back since. I honestly can't imagine a chewier, more flavorful, less cardboardy crust and so I am done looking. Done.

    I'm also sharing all this hard work with you, dear reader, because, well, I have my moments.

    Alright, let me explain why I think this is the best pizza dough ever.

    The Best Flours for Pizza Dough

    Semolina

    I think the addition of semolina is really what sets this pizza dough recipe apart from most others I've seen.

    Semolina is a coarse flour made of durum wheat. It's often used to make homemade pasta and is pretty easily found in most grocery stores. I particularly like Bob's Red Mill semolina. It adds great flavor and texture to this dough.

    A bag of semolina and ingredients for pizza dough in a mixing bowl with dough hook

    All-purpose vs. bread flour

    My first attempts used just all-purpose flour, as I'd seen in many recipes. I found the texture too crispy, not chewy enough, and the taste kind of bland.

    So I experimented with incorporating varying amount of bread flour, which is higher in gluten and contributes more "chew".

    As it turned out, the specific ratio was critical. Too much bread flour and the dough was dense and hard to chew. I find the ideal ratio to be exactly half and half, for the best texture.

    pizza dough being mixed in a mixer with dough hook, and proofing in a mixing bowl

    It takes less than an hour to make

    I've seen pizza dough recipes that call for up to a week of fermenting. Although a long fermentation builds flavor, I've found that the above mix of flours makes for a very flavorful dough, without the long wait.

    This semolina pizza dough takes only 45 minutes to an hour to rise, making it perfect for last minute pizza cravings.

    How to stretch it out

    This dough also happens to be the easiest dough I've ever worked with. 

    A problem I've had with every other dough, store bought or homemade, was that it would just resist any attempt at stretching and snap back, making it impossible to get anything resembling a circular shape. 

    To be fair, the culprit is usually not the recipe itself, but the temperature of the dough. Cold dough means the gluten strands are tighter and more resistant to stretching. Letting the dough come to room temperature before trying to work with it will usually help a lot.

    The thing about THIS dough is that, because it's so quick to make, it's easy to just make it an hour before dinner time, so it never has to go into the fridge.

    So you're working with dough that's all warm and relaxed. I find that plopping the risen dough onto a large parchment sheet and just quickly spreading it into a circle with my fingers works great. No need to spin it in the air, unless you're into that!

    See this post from The Kitchn for more tips for handling pizza dough.

    Pizza dough rolled out into a circle and covered with red sauce

    The Best Way to Bake Pizza

    The VERY BEST way I have found to bake pizza is to use a pizza stone. If you don't have one, they are quite inexpensive (no need to get fancy, I've been using the same $10 pizza stone for 12 years).

    To use a pizza stone, simply place it in the oven while the oven is preheating to the highest temperature it can go (mine goes up to 525 F). 

    The pizza stone will get so hot that once you transfer your dough onto it (parchment sheet and all), it will immediately start cooking the bottom of the pizza and ensure that you don't end up with burnt cheese and toppings and a raw crust underneath.

    It can be tricky to transfer the pizza to the pizza stone, so you may want to get yourself a pizza peel if you make pizza often. Otherwise the back of a baking sheet works too!

    Freezing Pizza Dough

    This recipe makes one large 12 inch pizza. To freeze it, just follow the recipe to the end, letting it rise completely, shape it into a ball and wrap in a couple layers of plastic wrap. 

    You can also divide it into 2, 3 or 4 smaller balls for smaller or individual size pizzas and wrap them separately. 

    You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months and then thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Be sure to bring it to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before you work with it so it's easier to stretch.

    Wondering what toppings to put on this dough? Here are a few of our favorite pizzas.

    Artichoke Pizza with Boursin and Sun dried Tomatoes

    Pepperoni Pizza

    Buffalo Chicken Pizza

    Veggie Pizza

    Plus: my favorite easy homemade pizza sauce recipe

    Enjoy xx

    Sound good to you? If you make my semolina pizza dough recipe, I would be thrilled if you would take a pic and tag me on Instagram @ourhappymess!

    Or pin for later! ↓↓↓

    A ball of pizza dough on a floured wood counter and a slice of pizza

    And if you're looking for more easy dinner inspiration, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Or subscribe in the sidebar on the right to get every new recipe in your inbox 🙂

    A ball of pizza dough on a floured wood counter

    The Best Homemade Pizza Dough

    This homemade semolina pizza dough has the perfect texture, taste and chewiness. Best of all, it's ready to go in under an hour.
    5 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
    Course: Main Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Proofing Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 162kcal
    Author: Ann Otis

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup bread flour
    • ½ cup semolina
    • 2 teaspoons quick-rise (bread machine) yeast
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 cup warm water
    • olive oil for coating the bowl
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flours, semolina, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the water and stir together with a dough hook, just until it starts to come together.
    • Fit the dough hook to the stand mixer and mix on low speed for about 5 minutes until the dough comes together in a smooth ball. The dough should still be quite sticky, but if will not come away from the bowl, add an extra tablespoon of flour and continue mixing until it comes together. Do not add too much flour or the crust will be tough. 
    • Drizzle a little olive oil down the inside of the bowl and roll the ball of dough around to coat it and the inside of the bowl.
    • Cover the bowl with a tea towel and put in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to an hour, until doubled in size. (When our kitchen is particularly cold, I like to turn the oven on for a couple of minutes, then turn it off so that the inside temperature is like a hot summer day, and let the dough rise in there.)
    • Punch the dough down and roll back into a ball. Sprinkle some semolina onto a piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough out or spread with your fingers into whatever shape you like. 
    • Add your toppings and bake (ideally on a pizza stone) in an oven preheated to the highest temperature it will go (mine is 550 degrees F), 8-12 minutes until golden and cooked through.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 6g | Sodium: 294mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 2g | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1.4mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag it Today!Mention @OurHappyMess or tag #OurHappyMess!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mitch Davies

      September 21, 2022 at 7:24 pm

      How can you call this 'semolina pizza dough' when only 1/5th of the flour is semolina?

      Reply
      • Ann

        September 21, 2022 at 8:12 pm

        I call it semolina pizza dough because it is made with semolina, contrary to most homemade pizza doughs. I find this ratio gives me the texture I like, and it's not the same without the semolina. Feel free to use the ratios you prefer 🙂

        Reply
    2. Jane

      May 28, 2022 at 11:25 pm

      5 stars
      I mad deep dish pizza with it and it is delicious!
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Ann

        June 01, 2022 at 9:53 am

        Yay!! I'm so happy to hear that!!

        Reply
    3. Tony

      March 25, 2022 at 2:31 pm

      So it's now 6:14pm and I have used your flour mix. Firstly I must add the flour mix gave me an amazing dough but I must add I used my own technique more traditional I don't like to use machines to make my dough prefer the traditional hand method but my results felt slightly better than previously the dough was perfect using your flour mix with my starter to make my baga.i then used this super stretchy baga to make my pizza dough. I added some water to the baga and mixed untill I had some creamy water I then added more of your flour mix and salt with oil and needed by hand untill the dough felt perfect. I then stretched and folded dough around 10 times as I usually do and again it felt slightly better than my 25yr traditional dough I then cut into 4 equal portions and let sit for 6 hrs to pure.after the 6 hrs I took 1 portion used my hands and traditional technique to prepare the pizza dough using your flour mix into a pizza I fired up the drum bbq prepared to suit pizza making with a pizza stone cooked the pizza and the 2 most fussy children on earth I used as my test subjects got served the pizza after 3minutes of cooking and told me this is the best pizza I have ever made("tastes like domino's only better"). Result is excellent your flour mix my pizza method have went together and the result is amazing no slice for me it was that good 2 teenage girls ate the whole thing in seconds and demanding more so 10 out of 10 for your flour mix thank you it will now be my new recipe after 25 yrs of pizza making

      Reply
      • Ann

        March 28, 2022 at 9:45 am

        This is amazing Tony!! I am so glad it worked out, traditional napolini pizza is one of the greatest foods on earth :). I'm so glad you could make this flour mix work with your methods, and love hearing all the details!!

        Reply
    4. Tony

      March 25, 2022 at 6:29 am

      I have been making traditional napolini pizzas for best part of 25 years all my friends and family love it "best pizza ever" I use baga and my 25yr old starter (frank) but today march 25th 2022 I am for the first time ever changing my recipe I browsed and found this recipe, I am not using entire guide but I will use the semolina. I will be making a baga to start my dough(your flour semolina mix along with my 25yr old starter)
      but this time Iam making it more like a batter and leaving aside for an hour to get nice and stretchy then I will add water to dissolve some of the more wet very stretchy baga add more your flour semolina mix salt sugar and have a go. For ultimate result I will cook in my barrel bbq as a makeshift pizza oven(my outdoor oven is being dismantled and refreshed for uk summertime). I always have perfect results using my barrel bbq so hear goes with my first recipe change in 25 yrs

      Reply
    5. Priyanshi Jain

      May 29, 2021 at 3:54 pm

      Can I half and half all purpose flour and whole wheat flour or use wheat flour more ... Like 1 and 1/2 wheat flour 1/2 cup all purpose flour and then add semolina in it

      Reply
      • Ann

        May 29, 2021 at 8:32 pm

        In the case of pizza dough the specific flour or blend of flours used, and their proportions, have a huge impact on the texture. I suspect whole wheat would make for a denser, harder dough. I would recommend looking for a recipe specifically formulated for whole wheat flour instead of making a substitution 🙂

        Reply
    6. judith judge

      February 19, 2021 at 7:28 pm

      5 stars
      if i dont have semolina what can i use .is putting the semolina on the parchment paper the only tiem you use it

      Reply
      • Ann

        February 19, 2021 at 9:43 pm

        There is semolina in the dough as well, but you can substitute all purpose flour 🙂

        Reply
    7. John Ferguson

      September 05, 2020 at 5:06 pm

      In step 1 you tell me to mix a number of items together add water a using a dough hook stir till it just comes together. Th3n in step 2 you tell me to fit the dough hook to the stand mixer and mix on low for 5 minutes. How much time is there between steps 1 and 2. Is the dough just sitting there.
      Thanks
      John

      Reply
      • Ann

        September 05, 2020 at 10:12 pm

        In step 1, I whisk together the dry ingredients and then I add the water and mix it just a bit before putting it on the stand mixer (I use the dough hook to mix in the water just to avoid dirtying a spoon, but you can use a spoon too!). Then in step 2 I use the stand mixer to knead the dough till it comes together. There is no resting time between the two steps. The only resting time is the 45 minutes in step 4. Hope that's clearer! 🙂

        Reply
    8. Sol

      August 02, 2020 at 7:50 am

      5 stars

      Reply
    9. Dave

      July 29, 2020 at 4:49 pm

      5 stars

      Reply
    10. ปั้มไลค์

      July 25, 2020 at 4:34 pm

      5 stars

      Reply
    11. Faith

      June 13, 2020 at 10:26 am

      Can I use regular active dry yeast in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Ann

        June 13, 2020 at 10:32 am

        Absolutely! You'll need to increase the amount you use a little, so 2.5 teaspoons of active dry yeast instead of 2. The other change to make would be to sprinkle it over the warm water and let that sit for 5 minutes, before adding the water and yeast to the dough. This activates the yeast (it should start to foam). Hope that helps!

        Reply
    12. Kathy

      January 27, 2020 at 5:16 pm

      I just found this recipe so im making it for the first time. The recipe was simple ti follow and the dough look great.

      Reply
      • Ann

        January 27, 2020 at 9:24 pm

        Yay!! Hope you love it as much as we do!

        Reply
    13. Boyd Kobe

      March 01, 2019 at 4:24 am

      5 stars
      Nothing beat fresh homemade pizza dough! This looks great!

      Reply
      • Ann

        March 11, 2019 at 10:28 pm

        Thank you so much!! 🙂

        Reply

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    Ann from Our Happy Mess

    I'm Ann and I believe in balanced eating, homemade foods, and DESSERT. I love to cook, but I can't spend all day in the kitchen anymore, so what you'll mostly find here are simple, family-friendly recipes. I'm really happy you're here!
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