Olive Oil Pizza Dough: The Recipe and What the Oil Actually Does
Olive oil pizza dough is simply pizza dough with a small, measured amount of olive oil worked into it, and that small amount changes more than most people expect. In a home oven, which bakes a pizza over several minutes rather than ninety seconds, the oil keeps the crust tender instead of crackery, makes the dough easier to stretch, and helps the rim brown before it dries out. Below is our own recipe, written for this article, with metric and US measures and baker's percentages so you can scale it to any number of pizzas; a slow cold-fermented version; an oil-rich pan dough; and a plain account of what the oil actually does at each level. For oil on top of the pizza, before or after baking, see our companion guide to olive oil on pizza.
For our own oil, see our Cold-Pressed Single-Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Marrakech (500ml).
The Short Answer
- Our olive oil pizza dough uses 500g strong bread flour, 325g water, 20g extra virgin olive oil, 12g salt and 5g instant yeast: 100%, 65%, 4%, 2.4% and 1% in baker's percentages. It makes three 30cm (12in) pizzas.
- Oil in pizza dough makes the crust more tender, the dough more extensible (it stretches without springing back), and the rim browner in a home oven.
- Traditional Neapolitan dough contains no oil at all: the AVPN regulations say "Never add any fat or sugar to the dough", because a 60–90 second bake in a 400°C-plus oven does not need it.
- Around 2–5% oil suits a thin home-oven pizza; pan and tray pizzas use more, typically 5–8% in the dough plus a generous film in the tin.
- Add the oil after the flour and water have come together, not before, so it does not coat the flour before gluten starts to form.
- Sidr & Stone's olive oil is a single-estate, cold-pressed, unfiltered extra virgin oil from our own farm on the plains outside Marrakech, Morocco, sold in 500ml dark glass.
Olive Oil Pizza Dough Recipe: Ingredients and Baker's Percentages
This makes about 867g of dough: three balls of roughly 290g, each enough for a 30cm (12in) pizza with a modest rim. Weighing is strongly recommended for dough; the cup measures are approximate, and flour should be spooned into the cup and levelled, not scooped.
| Ingredient | Metric | US | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strong white bread flour (or "00" pizza flour) | 500g | 4 cups | 100% |
| Cool water | 325g (325ml) | 1⅓ cups + 2 tsp | 65% |
| Extra virgin olive oil | 20g | 1½ tbsp | 4% |
| Fine salt | 12g | 2 tsp | 2.4% |
| Instant (fast-action) yeast | 5g | 1½ tsp | 1% |
| Sugar (optional, for browning) | 5g | 1 tsp | 1% |
What the percentages mean: in baker's percentages every ingredient is expressed as a share of the flour weight, which always counts as 100%. So 65% water means 65g of water for every 100g of flour. The percentages are what define a dough; the grams are just one batch size.
How to scale it: add up the percentages (173.4% here, or 172.4% without the sugar), divide the total dough weight you want by that figure, and the answer is your flour weight. For four 250g balls, 1,000g ÷ 1.734 = 577g flour, then 375g water, 23g oil, 14g salt, 6g yeast and 6g sugar.
Flour and yeast notes: strong bread flour (about 12–13% protein) gives a chewier crust; plain or all-purpose flour works but makes a softer, less elastic dough, so hold back 10–15g of the water. If you use active dry yeast instead of instant, use about 6g and dissolve it in the water first.
Method: Same-Day Olive Oil Pizza Dough, Step by Step
- Mix flour and water. In a large bowl, stir the flour, yeast and sugar together, add the water and mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will be shaggy. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Add salt, then oil. Sprinkle the salt over the dough and squeeze it in. Then pour over the olive oil and work it in by folding and squeezing; the dough will look slippery and torn for a minute or two before it absorbs the oil and comes back together.
- Knead. Knead on an unfloured worktop for 6–8 minutes, or 5 minutes on low speed with a dough hook, until smooth and springy. It should feel soft and slightly tacky, not sticky.
- First rise. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave at warm room temperature for about 1½ hours, until roughly doubled.
- Divide and ball. Divide into three pieces of about 290g. Tuck each piece under itself into a tight ball, place on a lightly oiled tray, cover and rest for 45–60 minutes, until puffy and relaxed.
- Heat the oven. At least 45 minutes before baking, put a baking stone or steel on a high shelf and heat the oven to its maximum, usually 250–260°C conventional / 480–500°F.
- Stretch and bake. Press each ball out from the centre, leaving a rim, and stretch it to about 30cm. Top lightly and bake for 7–10 minutes, until the rim is well browned and the base is crisp underneath.
The oil is the reason the stretching step is easier than with a lean dough: an oiled dough relaxes faster and fights back less. If a ball keeps springing back, cover it and give it ten more minutes rather than forcing it. On the oven itself, a domestic oven will not reach the 380–430°C floor temperature the Neapolitan rules call for, and that difference is exactly why this dough includes oil.
What the Oil Actually Does in Pizza Dough
Olive oil in pizza dough works as a tenderiser and a lubricant: the fat coats some of the flour's gluten-forming proteins and the gluten strands themselves, so the dough is softer, stretches further without tearing or springing back, and bakes into a more tender crumb. It does five specific jobs:
- Tenderness. Fat interrupts the gluten network, giving a crust that is tender rather than tough or leathery, especially after a long home-oven bake.
- Extensibility. An oiled dough stretches thin more easily and holds its shape, which is why many home cooks find it easier to handle than a lean dough.
- Browning. Fat helps the crust take on colour, which matters in a home oven that runs at not much more than half the temperature of a wood-fired pizzeria oven.
- Moisture and keeping. Oil slows the crust from drying out during a longer bake, and leftover slices stay softer than lean-dough slices.
- Flavour. A little, honestly. Baking dulls the fresh, fruity notes of extra virgin olive oil, so the dough tastes richer rather than distinctly of olives. If you want olive flavour you can taste, add it after baking.
How much oil you use changes the result in a fairly predictable way:
| Oil (% of flour) | Per 500g flour | Typical style | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | None | Neapolitan, wood-fired | Puffy, chewy, blistered crust; best in a very hot oven; can turn tough and dry in a home oven |
| 1–2% | 5–10g (1–2 tsp) | New York-style | Slightly softer crumb and easier stretching; still chewy and foldable |
| 3–5% | 15–25g (1–2 tbsp) | Home-oven thin crust (our main recipe, 4%) | Tender, crisp-edged, well-browned crust; the most forgiving to stretch |
| 6–10% | 30–50g (2½–4 tbsp) | Pan, tray and focaccia-style | Soft, rich, almost bready crumb; best baked in an oiled tin, which fries the base |
Above about 10%, dough starts to lose the structure it needs to rise well and can turn greasy, short and crumbly. Oil is also not a replacement for water: a dough with more oil feels softer, so at the higher levels some bakers trim the water by a few percent. For the wider picture of how fat behaves in bread, cakes and pastry, our guide to baking with olive oil covers the swaps.
Cold-Fermented Variation: More Flavour, Less Yeast
If you can plan a day or two ahead, the same formula with much less yeast and a slow rise in the fridge gives a crust with more flavour, better blistering and a lighter, more open rim. Change one thing: cut the instant yeast to 2g (a scant ¾ tsp), or 0.4%.
- Mix and knead exactly as above, adding the oil after the flour and water have come together.
- Ball straight away. Divide into three, ball tightly, and put each ball in a lightly oiled lidded container or a lightly oiled bowl covered well.
- Refrigerate for 24–72 hours. Flavour deepens with time; 48 hours is a good middle ground.
- Warm up before stretching. Take the balls out 2–3 hours before baking so they come to room temperature and relax; cold dough tears and springs back.
The oil earns its place here too: a cold, slow dough is tighter when it comes out of the fridge, and the fat helps it relax and stretch once it warms.
Olive Oil Pan Pizza Dough (Tray Bake)
Pan pizza is where olive oil does the most work, in the dough and in the tin. This makes one 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) tray pizza; the high water content gives an open, airy crumb, and the oiled tin fries the base until golden and crisp.
| Ingredient | Metric | US | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strong white bread flour | 400g | 3¼ cups | 100% |
| Water | 300g (300ml) | 1¼ cups | 75% |
| Extra virgin olive oil, in the dough | 24g | 1¾ tbsp | 6% |
| Fine salt | 10g | 1¾ tsp | 2.5% |
| Instant (fast-action) yeast | 4g | 1¼ tsp | 1% |
| Extra virgin olive oil, for the tin | 40g | 3 tbsp | not counted |
- Mix. Stir the flour, yeast and water into a sticky dough, rest 15 minutes, then work in the salt and the 24g of oil. The dough is too wet to knead; instead, give it four sets of stretch-and-folds in the bowl, 15 minutes apart, with wet hands.
- Rise. Cover and leave for 1 hour at room temperature, or refrigerate overnight for more flavour.
- Pan. Pour the 40g of oil into the tray and tip the dough into it. Turn it once to coat, press it gently towards the corners and leave it to relax for 20 minutes; then press again until it fills the tin.
- Proof and bake. Leave until puffy and bubbly, about 1 hour. Heat the oven to 250°C / 480°F, top, and bake on a low shelf for 15–20 minutes, until the edges are deep golden and the base is crisp when lifted with a spatula.
Which Olive Oil to Use, and Pizza Dough Without Olive Oil
Use extra virgin olive oil if you have it, but it does not need to be your finest bottle for the dough. A few grams baked into the crust affects texture more than taste, so save your freshest, most characterful extra virgin for drizzling over the finished pizza, where you will actually taste it. Our guide to olive oil on pizza covers that finishing drizzle, and whether extra virgin copes with oven heat, in detail. Whatever you use, it should be fresh: stale oil tastes of crayons or old nuts, and baking does not hide it. Our guide to choosing a quality olive oil sets out what to look for on a label.
If you have no olive oil, or prefer to leave it out, you have three choices:
| Option | How to use it | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Leave the oil out | Make the recipe as written without it; keep the water the same | A chewier, leaner crust that dries out faster in a home oven; bake it hot and fast |
| Another liquid oil (sunflower, rapeseed, avocado, light olive oil) | Swap 1:1 by weight | The same texture, with a neutral flavour |
| Melted butter | Use about 25% more by weight (25g for 20g oil), since butter is roughly 80% fat and the rest mostly water | A richer, softer crust with a dairy flavour; not dairy-free |
Refined and "light" olive oils behave exactly like extra virgin in dough, with less flavour; our explainer on what "light" olive oil means sets out how they differ.
Troubleshooting Olive Oil Pizza Dough
The dough is sticky and won't come together after I add the oil
That is normal for a minute or two: oil and wet dough separate at first. Keep folding and squeezing and it will absorb the oil. If it is still very sticky after kneading, your flour may be lower in protein; next time hold back 10–15g of the water.
The crust came out pale
Your oven or stone was not hot enough, or it was not preheated long enough. Give a stone or steel the full 45 minutes, bake on a high shelf, and keep the optional sugar in the recipe; a light brush of oil on the rim also helps.
The crust is greasy or cakey
Too much oil in the dough for the style. For a thin pizza, stay at 2–5%; save the higher levels for pan pizza, where the tin gives the extra fat somewhere to go.
The dough tears when I stretch it
It is either too cold or under-rested. Let it come fully to room temperature and rest, covered, until it relaxes, then stretch from the centre outwards rather than pulling the edges.
Why Sidr & Stone
In a pizza dough, olive oil is a small ingredient doing a large job, and it is the ingredient we can speak for. Sidr & Stone's extra virgin olive oil comes from one place, our own farm on the plains outside Marrakech, and we control every step from tree to bottle.
- Single-estate: Sidr & Stone's olive oil comes from our own family-owned farm near Marrakech, Morocco, with no blending across origins.
- Rain-fed: the trees are not irrigated; they take what the season gives.
- Organically grown: no synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides are used (not yet certified; certification is in progress).
- Single harvest: each batch is small and limited, picked when the fruit is ready; once it is gone, it is gone until the next harvest.
- Cold-pressed within hours of harvest: to protect flavour, aroma and polyphenols.
- Unfiltered extra virgin: minimally processed, so a little natural sediment at the bottom of the bottle is normal.
- 100% natural: a single ingredient, olive oil, with nothing added.
- Dark glass with a gold label: 500ml bottles that protect the oil from light.
- 10% of profits to charity: a Sidr & Stone commitment across every product.
- Fulfilment in the UK, EU and US.
We will not tell you ours is the best olive oil for pizza dough; as this article says, the dough is not where an oil's character shows most. What we will say is that it is single-estate Moroccan, rain-fed, organically grown and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, and that the product page carries the details of the current batch, so you can judge its freshness for yourself. Use it in the dough, and taste it properly in the drizzle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you put olive oil in pizza dough?
For a home oven, yes: around 2–5% of the flour weight makes the crust more tender, the dough easier to stretch and the rim browner. For a Neapolitan pizza baked at 400°C or more, no; the AVPN rules exclude fat from the dough.
What does olive oil do to pizza dough?
It coats and lubricates the gluten, so the dough stretches more easily and bakes into a softer, more tender crust that browns better and dries out more slowly. It adds a little richness, but most of the fresh olive flavour is lost in the oven.
How much olive oil goes in pizza dough?
Our recipe uses 20g for 500g of flour, or 4%. New York-style doughs typically use 1–2%, and pan pizza doughs 5–8%, plus oil in the tin.
When do you add olive oil to pizza dough?
After the flour and water have combined into a rough dough, ideally after a short rest. Added at the very start, the oil coats the dry flour and slows gluten formation, so the dough takes longer to come together.
Is Sidr & Stone's olive oil good for pizza dough?
It works well in dough, but its fresh, fruity character is most noticeable as a raw drizzle on the baked pizza. It is a single-estate, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed within hours of harvest, so we suggest tasting it on a spoon and deciding how you want to use it.
Can you make pizza dough without olive oil?
Yes. Leave it out and keep everything else the same; the crust will be chewier and leaner, and is best baked as hot and fast as your oven allows. Any other liquid oil can replace olive oil one for one by weight.
Where can I buy single-estate extra virgin olive oil for pizza?
Our Cold-Pressed Single-Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Marrakech (500ml) is available directly from the Sidr & Stone website, with fulfilment in the UK, EU and US.
Is olive oil a medicine?
No. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history — including being honoured in the Prophetic Sunnah — and a substantial body of modern research, particularly around polyphenols, cardiovascular health, and the Mediterranean diet pattern. It can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine, but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any olive oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
Olive oil pizza dough is not a gimmick; it is the sensible adjustment for the oven most of us actually have. Without the 400°C floor of a pizzeria oven, a pizza bakes for several minutes, and a few percent of oil in the dough keeps that longer bake from turning the crust tough and dry. Weigh the ingredients, think in baker's percentages, and you can move between a thin home-oven crust, a slow cold-fermented one and a thick, crisp-bottomed pan pizza by changing two or three numbers.
Keep your best oil for the end, where you taste it. Our Cold-Pressed Single-Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Marrakech (500ml), single-estate, rain-fed and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, is available to pre-order now, with fulfilment in the UK, EU and US.
Our extra virgin olive oil is grown organically on our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech: we control every step from tree to bottle, and no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers are used. It is not yet certified organic — certification is in progress, and we will publish it as soon as it comes through.
Disclaimer: This article shares home-baking recipes and general cooking information at the time of writing; ovens, flours and ingredients vary, so treat times, temperatures and water amounts as starting points. Take normal care with very hot ovens, baking stones and hot oil. References to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana describe its published regulations and imply no affiliation or endorsement. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.