How to use shop-bought pizza dough

Types of shop-bought dough

Chilled dough balls are the best for pizza ovens: they are ready to shape and usually made for thin, hand-stretched pizza. Ready-rolled dough sheets are designed for kitchen ovens and baking trays; they often contain more oil and sugar, which burns at pizza oven heat. Frozen dough balls are a good stock to keep in.

Check the label for flour type and ingredients. Dough with lots of sugar or oil suits lower temperatures. Plain doughs of flour, water, salt and yeast handle high heat best.

Bringing dough to room temperature

Cold dough is tight. Leave chilled dough in its packaging or in a lightly oiled, covered bowl at room temperature for one to two hours, until it feels soft and slightly puffy. In a warm kitchen it may need less time; in a cold one, more.

For frozen dough, move it to the fridge the night before, or at least eight hours before you need it. Then treat it like chilled dough. Thawing on the worktop from frozen tends to leave the outside over-proofed and the middle cold.

Dividing and balling

If you have a large piece of dough, weigh and divide it. About 200 to 250 g makes a 10 to 12 inch pizza. Our pizza dough ball sizes table gives weights by size. Shape each piece into a tight ball by tucking the edges underneath, then cover and rest for at least 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes.

If the dough springs back when you try to stretch it, it needs more rest. See pizza dough shrinking back.

1. 1

   Take the dough out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours ahead.

2. 2

   Divide into 200 to 250 g pieces if needed.

3. 3

   Ball each piece and cover.

4. 4

   Rest 30 minutes or more.

5. 5

   Stretch by hand on a floured worktop.

6. 6

   Lay on a semolina-dusted peel, top and bake.

Shaping and baking

Flour the worktop and press from the centre out, leaving a rim. Lift and stretch over your knuckles. Avoid a rolling pin if you want a puffy crust. Lay the base on a peel dusted with semolina, top lightly and launch.

In an outdoor pizza oven, bake at 370°C to 450°C on the stone for about 60 to 90 seconds, turning often, if the dough is a simple flour, water, salt and yeast mix. Doughs with oil or sugar brown faster; drop to around 300°C to 350°C. In a kitchen oven, use a preheated stone or steel at the highest setting. See the pizza oven temperature guide.

Storing leftover dough

Unused chilled dough keeps in the fridge until its use-by date if kept sealed. You can freeze balls you will not use, wrapped tightly; thaw them in the fridge before use. Our how long pizza dough keeps guide covers timings for homemade dough.

Once you are comfortable with shop-bought dough, making your own is the next step; try our Neapolitan dough method and dough calculator.

Choosing an oven for quick pizza nights

Shop-bought dough plus a gas oven is the quickest route to great pizza on a weeknight: about 20 minutes to heat, a minute or two per pizza. See best gas pizza ovens. For a kitchen, an electric pizza oven does a similar job; see best electric pizza ovens for indoors.

Whatever oven you use, a peel, a bag of semolina and an infrared thermometer make shop-bought dough far easier to handle.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to let shop-bought pizza dough rise? It has already risen. It just needs to warm up and relax for one to two hours before shaping.

Can you use ready-rolled dough in a pizza oven? At lower heat, yes. It often contains oil and sugar that burn at 450°C.

How long does shop-bought pizza dough take to thaw? Overnight in the fridge, then one to two hours at room temperature.

Why is my shop-bought dough so stretchy it tears? It may be over-warm or over-proofed. Chill it for 15 minutes and handle it gently.