Small Batch Pizza Dough for One Pizza

A simple pizza dough recipe that makes one 10-12″ pizza with a hand-tossed, chewy crust. Use this small batch pizza dough as a base for your favorite toppings!

I’m guilty of ordering pizza from local pizza places … like … a LOT.  But after developing this small batch pizza dough recipe, that’s all changed. This is a super delicious pizza dough recipe that makes one pizza, and comes together in under an hour. 

There are a few key points within this blog post to make this pizza the absolute best it can be, so don’t skip those. I prefer to make this pizza dough by hand, but you can use a stand-up mixer if you prefer!

This pizza dough is thick and chewy, and makes a perfect 10″ thicker “hand tossed” pizza crust, or a 12″ thinner pizza crust.  There are only five ingredients, and besides waiting for an hour for the dough to rise, it’s an incredibly quick and easy recipe.

How to Make Small Batch Pizza Dough by Hand:

1. Combine the warm water, yeast, and honey in a mixing bowl. Stir until they are well mixed.

2. Add the flour, salt, and olive oil.

3. Stir to combine. The dough will be wet and sticky, but it will come together!

4. Transfer the dough to a clean, floured surface. Have extra flour nearby, as you may have to add some more (one tablespoon at at time) if the dough is too sticky.

5. Knead the dough for 8-9 minutes until it has a tacky, smooth texture. “Tacky” means that it should feel slightly sticky when you touch it, but it shouldn’t stick to your hands.

6. Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap.

7. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a cozy, warm place until it is nearly doubled in size. Punch the dough down, then remove it from the bowl.

8. Use your hands to gently stretch the dough into a 10″-12″ pizza crust, leaving the edge of the crust a little thicker to form the crust. Lightly flour a baking sheet, then gently transfer the pizza crust to the baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 475 F, then top the pizza crust with your favorite sauce and toppings.

9. Bake the pizza at 475 for 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

I prefer kneading the dough by hand because you can feel the dough transform as you knead it. It’s therapeutic, and only takes eight minutes!

Remember, if the dough is sticking to your hands, add more flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough has a tacky texture but doesn’t stick to your hands while kneading. The dough should pull away from the countertop and your hands.

How to Make Small Batch Pizza Dough with a Stand-Up Mixer:

This is a great method to use if you don’t feel comfortable with kneading the dough by hand. You’ll need a stand-up mixer and the dough hook to knead the dough in the mixing bowl, but that’s it!

Combine the warm water, yeast, and honey in the bowl of a stand up mixer. Gently stir to combine, then add the flour, salt, and olive oil. Attach the dough hook, and start the mixer on “low” speed until the dough comes together as a shaggy dough ball. Slowly increase the mixer speed to “medium”, and let the mixer knead the dough for 8-9 minutes. 

The dough should be tacky, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl.  If your dough is still sticking to the sides, just add all-purpose flour one tablespoon at a time until it pulls away.

Once the dough is the right consistency, remove it from the bowl.  Add a drizzle of olive oil to the bowl, then use your hand to coat the bowl with the oil.  Place the dough back inside the bowl, and turn the dough so that the entire surface is coated in oil, too.  Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and place it in a warm place for thirty minutes until the dough is nearly doubled in size.

What if my Pizza Dough isn’t Rising?

Chances are it may be in a place that’s too cool.  A trick I use during the wintertime, when I’m not trying to go broke by keeping my house super warm.  Preheat the oven to 350 F, but turn it off after about 2 minutes of pre-heating.  This makes your oven *just* warm enough to nurture your pizza dough without baking it.  Place the bowl in the oven (be sure the bowl is covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap), and let it sit for the entire thirty minute rise time.

Once the dough is kneaded, gently form it into a ball. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a clean mixing bowl and use your hand to coat the inside of the bowl with the oil.  Place your pizza dough inside of the bowl, and turn the dough in the bowl to coat it with oil, too.  Cover the bowl with either a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and place it in a warm spot for thirty minutes until it has doubled in size.

Tips for Making the Best Small Batch Pizza Dough:

1. Test the yeast to make sure it’s alive.  This pizza dough recipe can be forgiving, but active yeast is crucial to the dough rising and developing flavor and texture. Old yeast or yeast that hasn’t been stored properly are the biggest contributors to dough that doesn’t rise. Before you make the entire recipe, test your yeast. Sprinkle a small amount of yeast in warm water (not too hot, because it can kill your yeast), and wait for it to bloom.  The water should be between 90 F – 105 F, and the yeast should start to bloom after ten minutes in the water.
2. Use warm water to make this pizza dough. I mentioned testing your yeast in warm water (ideally 90 F – 105 F), and the same applies when making your pizza dough. To be perfectly honest, the last three times I made this recipe, I did not take the temperature of the water. I used warm water from the tap and it worked every time.
3. Use salt according to your taste.  I use Diamond Kosher salt for almost all of my cooking and baking, but it’s not available everywhere. I tested this recipe using both Diamond Kosher salt and fine sea salt. The 3/4 teaspoon measurement worked great for both of them, so use what you have on hand! If you’re afraid of salt, scale it down to 1/2 teaspoon. Also, if you’re using table salt, only use 1/4 teaspoon. Table salt is pretty salty, so a little goes a long way!
4. Pay attention to the texture of the dough.  This applies to pre-rising texture and post-rising texture.  Before it rises, it should be tacky and smooth.  After it rises, it should be silky, soft, and smooth.  
5. Bake your pizza dough at a high temperature.  This dough is perfect when cooked at 475 F for about 15 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the cheese should be entirely melted

If you make your own small batch pizza dough, I would love to see it on Instagram!  And if you haven’t signed up for recipe updates and a weekly newsletter with new and favorite small batch recipes, you can do that right here.  As always, feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions you may have!

xx Sara