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The Best Beer Pizza Dough

You already know what I’m going to tell you, but it’s the cold, hard truth (well… ok, in this situation, it’s the warm, soft truth).

Yep, you can’t avoid yeast if you want to make tender, chewy-crispy homemade pizza dough.

You can make a flatbread imitation to get around it, but if you want to be authentic, you’re going to have to deal with the gassy little buggers every time.

Homemade pizza dough
Photo: Casey Barber

Luckily, I am in possession of a fantastic recipe that requires only 15 minutes of active duty and is a wonderfully simple introduction to the world of yeasted doughs.

The secret to the best pizza dough is…

It’s in the recipe and post title, so it’s not exactly a secret, but beer is the magic ingredient that makes this pizza dough absolutely foolproof.

Think of it as a rocket booster for the yeast, providing a nice food feast for them to munch on and do their magical burpy thing.

pan pizza with cheese and pepperoni
Photo: Casey Barber

Make sure your beer is at room temperature, not straight from the fridge, when you add it to the bowl.

Yeast needs warmth, sugar, and moisture to make the magic happen, and a cold beer is going to freeze the little guys right in their tracks.

And the best beer for beer pizza dough is…

Surprise! Corona or Corona Light is my favorite beer for making homemade pizza dough.

I have tried many, many brands and styles of beer when making this recipe for more than a decade, and after much trial and error, Corona is the only brand I’ll use.

rising pizza dough next to a Corona beer can
Photo: Casey Barber

While it has no added sugar, Corona is a beer that’s high in carbohydrates—AKA natural sugars.

And as I mentioned earlier, yeast loooooove sugar. So why not give them more of what they love?

I’m not a food scientist, but I find the dough softer, more pliant, more high-rising, and honestly, even tastier when I make it with Corona.

sausage, egg and cheese breakfast pizza
Photo: Casey Barber

When even your fellow food professional friends rave about how legit your beer pizza dough is, you know you’re doing something right.

If you’re intimidated by the mere thought of baking with yeast, this beer pizza dough is a confidence-builder, I promise.

Instant yeast vs. active dry yeast

I’m always a fan of instant yeast for pretty much all of my dough-making needs. Why?

It’s more economical—easier on the wallet—to buy one big package of instant yeast than lots of tiny single-portion packets of active dry yeast.

rising pizza dough next to a Corona beer can
Photo: Casey Barber

And yeast will last pretty much forever in the freezer until you’re ready to use it, so you don’t have to worry about expiration dates.

Finally, it’s simple to add instant yeast directly to the rest of the ingredients in whatever recipe you’re baking instead of going through the “blooming in water” process that’s necessary when using active dry yeast.

However, I’ve tested this recipe with both types of yeast. And if you want to substitute 1 package of active dry yeast, you can still do so with the same perfect pizza dough results.

garlic knot calzones
Photo: Casey Barber

See the Notes section in the recipe below on how to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast in the recipe.

Nope, you don’t need a stand mixer for this dough

Pizza dough is a great excuse to use the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can mix the ingredients together in a large bowl and knead by hand on a well-floured work surface.

The dough is meant to be soft and pliant, not rich and eggy like pasta dough, so it’ll remain a little sticky as it comes together and rises.

rising pizza dough next to a Corona beer can
Photo: Casey Barber

Hand-kneaded dough will likely be a bit crispy-crunchier instead of chewy, since you’ll need to add more flour to keep everything from sticking all over the place as you knead.

But don’t let that stop you from making this supremely easy dough. It’s homemade pizza! People are still gonna eat it no matter what.

Pizza recipes to try with this homemade dough

In the recipe below, you’ll find instructions for making an easy slab-style sheet pan pizza. But that’s not the only way to bake up this pizza dough.

You can:

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 8, 2009 and updated in October 2022 with an updated recipe and text.

Homemade pizza dough

Beer Pizza Dough

Yield: 4 14-inch round pizzas or 2 slab pizzas
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes

Beer pizza dough is a foolproof recipe for tender, chewy-crunchy homemade pizza every single time. The special secret for this high-rising pizza dough is to use Corona beer!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups (17 ounces; 480 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 (12-ounce) bottle or can Corona or Corona Light beer, at room temperature
  • vegetable oil or baking spray

Instructions

  1. Add the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Stir with a fork or whisk a few times to incorporate.
  2. Pour the beer into the bowl.
  3. Stir with a dough whisk or the mixer paddle attachment just until a shaggy dough forms.
  4. If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead on medium-low for about 2-3 minutes.
  5. If kneading by hand, generously sprinkle a clean work surface (such as a Roul'Pat) with flour and use a dough scraper to transfer the dough. Knead by hand for 3-5 minutes.
  6. The dough will go from a shaggy and messy pile to a cohesive ball. When it's ready, the dough will be smooth, but still very soft and sticky.

If you'll be letting the dough rise overnight:

  1. Add a splash of vegetable oil (about 1 tablespoon) to a 1-gallon zip-top bag, or spray the inside of the bag with baking spray.
  2. Add the dough and seal the bag.
  3. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
  4. Bring the dough to room temperature before shaping and baking.

If you'll be making pizza the same day you make the dough:

  1. Grease a large bowl with vegetable oil or spritz with baking spray.
  2. Place the dough in the bowl and toss to coat.
  3. Cover with a damp cotton (non-terrycloth) towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 2 hours, until it has just about doubled in size.

Your pizza dough is now ready to use as you please!

  1. If you're not baking it all right away, divide the dough into 2 to 4 pieces.
  2. You can freeze the dough in quart-size zip-top bags as noted above in the overnight rise section.
  3. Thaw in the refrigerator at least 8 hours before you want to bake the dough, and let it come to room temperature before shaping and baking.

To make 4 round pizzas for the oven or the grill:

  1. Follow the shaping and assembly instructions in my breakfast pizza recipe.

To make a slab-style sheet pan pizza:

  1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F for at least 30 minutes. Place a large rimmed sheet pan in the oven to preheat as well.
  2. Tear off a piece of parchment paper that will fit within the sheet pan that's currently preheating, and place it on an unrimmed baking sheet. (This will be your DIY XL pizza peel.)
  3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface such as a Roul'Pat. Divide into 2 pieces and reserve 1 of the pieces for another day.
  4. Gently shape the dough into a rough rectangle with cupped hands, then start to stretch and push the dough out into a large rectangle shape by dimpling it with your fingertips. (Or you can use a rolling pin! I totally do!)
  5. When the dough is large enough to fill the sheet pan, transfer it to the parchment paper.
  6. Top with your choice of sauce, shredded cheese, and toppings.
  7. With oven mitts, remove the preheated sheet pan from the oven and carefully slide the pizza on its parchment onto the pan.
  8. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is crispy and golden brown.
  9. Slice and serve.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 560Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 325mgCarbohydrates: 102gFiber: 4gSugar: 1gProtein: 14g

The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.

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