Best Vegan Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good pizza dough? ›

The secret to great dough isn't kneading or throwing . . .

It's good old-fashioned H20. “Water, water, water,” says Falco. “Pizza dough made at home should be 50 percent water. Pizza needs to cook longer in a home oven, which means the dough needs to be more hydrated.”

Often times, pizza dough is naturally vegan. The basic pizza dough formula is just water, flour, yeast, and salt. The only times that eggs or dairy are used for a bread recipe is typically just for enriched doughs (like brioche or cinnamon rolls– which we have the vegan options for on the blog!).

Not Letting the Dough Rest

Proofing – which is the process of putting the dough aside and allowing it to rise – enables the yeast to leaven through fermentation, making the dough rise. Not allowing your dough to proof for long enough will result in a hard, dense and just plain gross pizza base.

Flour is the main ingredient in pizza dough, and the type you use can have a big effect on the end result. All-purpose flour will work fine, but if you want a chewier crumb and a better hole structure, you should consider buying yourself some high protein bread flour.

The Secret Ingredient to the Perfect Pizza: Fresh and Never Frozen Dough. Pizza is one of the most beloved foods in the world. It's hard to resist the lure of a crispy crust, gooey cheese, and savory toppings. But what many people don't realize is that the dough is the foundation of any great pizza.

If you're cooking pizza at home, stay away from white sugar, honey, and whey to keep your pizza dough completely plant-based. Read the pre-made dough packages carefully, or use our easy recipe to ensure that you get a great vegan pizza dough.

Start with Our Original Dough

Our original hand-tossed dough is tasty, plant-based and contains no animal products. Nope, not even honey. Note: Our other crust options contain milk and/or egg products.

Now, vegan pizza isn't perfect — vegan cheese and vegan meat are typically very high in fat and salt, after all — but in many cases, it's a healthier alternative to traditional pizza. Thanks to a vegan pie's lack of meat and dairy, you don't have to worry about consuming cholesterol or carcinogens.

Under-proofed pizza dough is hard to stretch and dense. An over-proofed dough will stretch too thin and won't spring up when you put it in the oven. Warm-up your dough: Cold dough is hard to stretch and more prone to tearing. Let your dough warm up to at least room temperature before stretching for best results.

Don't let it rise for too long, though.

“A few days' rise is fine and will enhance the taste of the crust, but any more than three days and the yeast will start to eat up all the sugar in the dough and convert it into alcohol, which will adversely affect crust flavor,” Schwartz said.

What happens if you don't put sugar in pizza dough? ›

Sugar is an oft-misunderstood ingredient in dough. Some people believe that it's necessary to include sugar to feed the yeast. In truth, yeast is perfectly happy munching on flour. If you don't want to add sugar, you don't have to, and there are plenty of breads where sugar is completely unnecessary.

Of course you do. Parbaking, or partially baking the dough to its halfway point in advance can save you a ton of time on pizza party day. You just have to top it and toss it back in the oven before you want to sit down and eat. This is also a great way to get everyone involved in the pizza-making experience.

Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger can increase yeast activity, potentially challenging the slow fermentation process. Dry mustard has the potential to slow down yeast development and can result in a more sour flavored crust. Sweet – If not spice, than sugar is nice.

Pizza dough loves warmth, so if you can find a way to add some extra heat, your dough will rise faster. One way to do this is to preheat your oven to the lowest setting (usually around 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and then turn it off. Place your pizza dough in the warm oven for 10-15 minutes until it begins to rise.

I do usually try to spice up my crust just a bit, though, by adding a dash of garlic powder (usually around a ¼ teaspoon) and sometimes dried basil leaves (dried oregano could also work for you but I absolutely loathe oregano) into the dough before you add your oil and water.

Nail the sweet spot — warm enough to rise at a decent rate, yet cool enough to develop flavor — and you're golden. Studies have shown that the optimum temperature for yeast to grow and flavor to develop is 75°F to 78°F. (Interested in the science behind the data?