Explore our easy-to-follow Beer Pizza Dough Recipe, perfect for creating your ideal pizza crust – thin or thick! Save time by using your bread machine for a soft and chewy texture. Personalize your pizza with favorite toppings to make it uniquely yours!
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If you’re like my family and love pizza night, this is just the pizza dough recipe to try! This homemade beer crust brings your pizza to the next level and since the alcohol bakes off, it is completely family friendly!
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Quick and Easy– using only a few ingredients, simply place into your bread machine and the work is done!
- Perfect for beer lovers– even if you don’t love beer, you will enjoy this crust, but its fun to experiment with new beers for different flavors in the crust! We love using a dark ale or IPA since my hubby keeps those on hand.
- Can be prepped ahead of time– to save on time, you can make this the morning of when needed, or even the day before. Once dough is ready, simply wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator!
Ingredients needed for Bread Machine Beer Pizza Dough
See printable recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and step by step directions.
- Beer– any beer works, however, we have found that dark ales add a depth to the flavor that just can’t be beat, flat beer is best, simply let it sit out for a bit until it gets room temperature before adding into the recipe
- Butter– unsalted since you are already adding salt into the dough. If you only have salted butter on hand, omit the additional salt
- Sugar– don’t skip this as it offsets some of the bitterness from the beer. It doesn’t sweeten the dough, so you won’t even know its there
- Salt– a little goes a long way and helps with rise of the bread
- Flour– all purpose flour
- Yeast– I use bread machine yeast, but you can also use fast acting yeast, active yeast, etc.
- Olive Oil– this gets brushed over the dough once spread into a pizza pan and is our new go to method before creating our pizzas
- Toppings of choice– have fun with this part
How to make this easy Beer Pizza Dough Recipe
- In a bread machine, pour in the beer.
- Add in the butter, sugar, salt, and flour on top of the beer.
- Create a well in the middle of the flour and add in the yeast.
- Lock bread pan into machine and start dough cycle.
- Once dough is complete, remove from the machine and place into a greased bowl.
- Cover bowl and allow to rise for about an hour.
- Roll dough out onto a pizza stone/pan to desired thickness.
- Brush lightly with olive oil.
- Proceed to add sauce and toppings of your choosing.
- Bake in a preheated oven, 400 degrees, for about 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and slice and serve!
What kind of beer to use
- Any beer you have on hand works great in this recipe. We have found the Dark Ale Beer works best due to the depth of flavor and color addition, however, IPA, light ale, etc. all work wonderful.
- For a more mild flavor, stick with using a lager, pale ale, or wheat beer.
- Stouts and IPA beers add more flavor to the dough, however, if you don’t want to taste the beer flavors, stick with a lighter ale.
Tips for the best homemade pizza dough
- Once the dough is cooked, the alcohol is baked off entirely, therefore making this 100% kid friendly and family approved.
- If you are in a pinch for time, you don’t NEED your beer flat and room temperature. We just noticed the best results by adding in flat beer, but both work great!
- This dough will rise quite a bit if left out. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. If the crust rises too much, no worries, just spread it out to desired thickness or split into two pizzas.
- Feel free to freeze this pizza dough for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and spread onto pizza pan or pizza stone.
- Have fun with the pizza dough ingredients. You can add fresh herbs or garlic into the pizza dough once spread out and top with your favorite sauce.
- A pizza stone is best for baking pizzas, however, cast iron pizza pans are great and even a baking sheet.
- A pizza peel is great for getting your pizza safely out of the oven. We love THIS one.
- You can flour your work surface when rolling the pizza dough out to make it easier to spread and less sticky.
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
How do you freeze pizza dough?
Once the pizza dough has risen, you can roll it into two dough balls, or keep it as one and wrap in plastic. Place the wrapped pizza dough balls into a freezer bag and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight before using.
How do I make this without having to use a bread machine?
If you don’t have a bread machine, no worries! Put the flour into a medium-sized bowl then add the salt to one side and the yeast to the other. Mix the beer and water together and pour ¾ into the bowl. Using a wooden spoon mix the ingredients together, adding more water as necessary until a soft dough forms that incorporates all of the flour. You may not need all of the liquid. Knead, either by hand or with a mixer, for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Put a teaspoon of olive oil into a clean bowl, spread it around the base and sides with your fingers, then place the dough in the bowl, cover with a towel and leave to rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size. When risen, knock back, knead briefly and your dough is ready to use!
Does the pizza crust taste like beer?
Not really. With a stronger beer, you will notice a slight beer flavoring, but if you use a lighter ale, you will just have a delicious, chewy crust everyone will enjoy.
Do I have to use beer in this pizza dough or can I substitute with something else?
If you aren’t able to use beer due to allergies or preference, you can use water in its place. It won’t have the same flavor, but will still be a great homemade option.
What if I don’t have yeast on hand?
No problem if you don’t have yeast. My No Yeast Pizza Dough recipe is just the thing to try!
More Pizza Recipes to try
Bubble Up Pizza Casserole– a quick and easy dish that calls for only 5 ingredients! Add your favorite toppings and make tonight a pizza night!
Pull Apart Pizza Bread– makes a great appetizer, snack, or even meal option! Add your favorite ingredients and have fun with it!
Garlic Toast Pizzas– uses only 3 ingredients and makes the perfect anytime meal or snack.
Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas– skip the drive-thru and make this Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza right at home! Crunchy, full of flavor, and a quick dinner the whole family will enjoy!
Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizzas– a fun, easy pizza recipe made specifically with ease in mind. It takes less than 10 minutes and one appliance, a toaster oven, to make!
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Beer Pizza Dough Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup flat beer *I use a dark ale
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoon yeast
- Olive Oil
- Toppings of your choosing
Instructions
- In a bread machine, pour in the beer.
- Add in the butter, sugar, salt, and flour on top of the beer.
- Create a well in the middle of the flour and add in the yeast.
- Lock bread pan into machine and start dough cycle.
- Once dough is complete, remove from the machine and place into a greased bowl.
- Cover bowl and allow to rise for about an hour.
- Roll dough out onto a pizza stone/pan to desired thickness.
- Brush lightly with olive oil.
- Proceed to add sauce and toppings of your choosing.
- Bake in a preheated oven, 400 degrees, for about 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and slice and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Lisa Nygaard says
I’ve been trying to find the perfect pizza crust since I got my bread machine. I think I have just found it! I used Guinness Draught Stout and made it in a cast iron skillet. We like a thicker crust and that was the issue with previous attempts. I spread it in the pan and allowed it to sit for about half an hour while the oven heated up. Perfection! Thank you!
Kristin says
Yay!!! Love hearing this!! SO glad you all enjoy as much as my family! I love having pizza crust anytime that pizza craving hits!!
Cindy says
Dough will rise during the dough cycle. Should you have it rise a second time when the dough cycle is finished?
Kristin says
You don’t “have” to, but I have found that it helps the dough become even fluffier once cooked!
Aunt Gail says
try the dough as bread with spaghetti just let rise put into a lightly oiled, sprinkled with corn meal pie plate. Add a little sauce slather on top & sprinkle with a few Italian spices & Parmesan even some mozzarella! Bakes about 20 minutes at 375 should be golden like bread! I have done with Chili too using Mexican mix cheese! Love the moisture & course texture!
Kristin says
I love this idea! Thanks for the tip, I will definitely try that!