Par baking pizza dough is one of the best ways to meal prep pizza. And it takes only 7 minutes! After perfecting par baked pizza recipes for sheet pan pizzas and pizza stone recipes, I have some tips! Learn how to par bake pizza dough to freeze or bake later right here!
Why pre-cook pizza dough?
Pre-cooking pizza dough makes sure the center of your homemade pizza doesn’t get soggy. When you par bake pizza dough, it cooks halfway through and the air can touch the top of the dough. It also gets more fluffy and gives the pizza crust the opportunity to bake to a perfect golden brown.
Do you need to par bake pizza dough on a pizza stone?
This is a gray area for me. If you have a pizza peel, so you can slide the pizza directly into the oven on a preheated pizza stone, then I don’t find it necessary to parbake the dough. However, if you’re going to take the preheated pizza stone out of the oven, then add toppings, I’d suggest par-baking it for 3 minutes, because it will cook as you assemble pizza toppings.
When do you add toppings to par-baked pizza dough?
Once pizza dough that’s par baked is done cooking (which only takes 7 minutes on a sheet pan), you take it out of the oven, add toppings and then stick the entire pizza back in the oven. Cook at a higher temperature until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.
Ingredients to make par baked pizzas
- 1 bag pizza dough (store bought dough or see how to make pizza from scratch)
- A little flour to stretch the dough
- Olive oil to get a crisp brown crust
How to par bake pizza dough
Now I’ll walk you through the step-by-step to make prebaked pizza crust.
Step 1. Help the pizza dough rise. (Option 1) Take the pizza dough out of the fridge the morning of making parbaked pizza dough. Let the pizza dough rise on a counter or in front of a sunny window. It will almost explode out of the bag, so you can also transfer it to a bowl to rise and cover it in plastic wrap.
(Option 2) Take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes (ideally at least 2 hours) before stretching it. You want the pizza dough to be nice and plump before stretching and par baking it.
Step 2. Prep work station for par baking pizza dough. About half an hour before you want to make par baked pizza dough, preheat the oven to 450°F. Set out a large rimmed sheet pan and add a piece of parchment paper to it. Brush 1 tsp olive oil on the parchment paper and set aside.
Step 3. Stretch pizza dough. Sprinkle half the flour onto a large cutting board or other clean work surface. Set the rest of the flour to the corner of the workstation to use as you stretch the dough.
Add the raw pre-made pizza dough on top of the flour, and flip it around in the flour to lightly coat each side. Remember to add light dustings of flour to the dough as you stretch it. Stretch the dough at first by pinching the outside 1” in a circular motion to make the crust.
Stretch the pizza dough by using a few different techniques:
- Push the center against the cutting board.
- Use knuckles to stretch pizza dough from underneath.
- Put a hand in the center of the dough and pull the dough edges outwards.
Keep adding a light dusting of flour while stretching it. If dough tears, don’t pull it so much and overlap dough where there are holes.
Step 4. Transfer raw pizza dough to a sheet tray. To prevent holes in the dough, don’t force it to stretch. If the dough will stretch a little, push it to the edges of the tray. Otherwise, it’s fine if the dough isn’t a perfect rectangle shape. Those can be the best looking pizzas!
Step 5. Parbake dough. Bake the naked pizza dough without toppings in the oven at 450°F for 7 minutes. Pizza will still be light in color, not browned, but the dough will be set in place and is ready to freeze or add toppings and continue baking at 500°F for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown crust has formed and the cheese is bubbling.
Cook pizza with confidence!
With these par baked pizza instructions, you’ll be able to make any fresh dough then freeze pizza dough par baked so it’s easy to add toppings and bake later. Use this guide for any store bought dough including Whole Foods pizza dough, and Trader Joe’s pizza dough, too.
See how to make homemade pizza with par baked dough.
Doesn’t this pizza look amazing? Learn how to make Philly cheese steak pizza with marinated flank steak or coulotte steak. It’s topped with sautéed onions and peppers, and a delicious cheesy white pizza sauce.
How to freeze par baked dough
To freeze par baked pizza dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, then foil to keep it from going bad in the freezer. You don’t want it to get freezer burn. Store frozen par baked dough for up to 2 months.
See more dough recipes…
How to bake frozen par baked pizza dough
This section will walk you through if you have stretched and par baked dough, then frozen it on sheet trays for meal prep later. There are two basic ways to bake frozen par baked dough. These recommendations are assuming you haven’t added toppings to the pizzas.
Option 1 – Thaw then bake par bake dough
The first is to let it thaw for 20-30 minutes on the counter so it’s not completely frozen when toppings are added. If I remember to do this earlier in the day, I’ll put the par baked dough on the counter or in the fridge hours in advance. Otherwise, usually when I’m prepping the kitchen for dinner and pulling out all my ingredients, that’s a good time to take out the dough.
Option 2 – Bake par baked dough that’s frozen
The second option is to bake par baked dough from frozen, but this isn’t my favorite method because it can throw off the cooking time. You’d want to continue baking the parbaked dough for ~5-7 minutes, then add the toppings and finish baking the pizza.
Have leftover chicken? Toss it on some pizza! Make this chicken spinach pizza with bacon from Sip Bite Go.
The Perfect Pizza Setup
Want to make restaurant style pizza at home? I’ve got you covered! Here are some of my top tips, tricks, secret ingredients and tools for a pizza night everyone will look forward to, again and again.
- NEVER do this… Contrary to what most people believe, when baking pizza on a sheet pan, never add toppings to raw pizza dough. Instead, follow my recipe for making homemade pizza with ready made dough, which will teach you how to par bake pizza dough first.
- Get help from secret ingredients…
– This dough seasoning is the secret to real Italian-tasting homemade pizza dough.
– Add pizza seasoning to store bought pizza sauce. This makes the pizza taste really fresh! - Herbs are for after… In my weekly pizza making practice, I’ve found that fresh herbs, like basil, need to be added to pizza after the pizza is done baking (so the herbs don’t wilt).
- Buy fresh dough and get amazing results. Yup, fresh dough from grocery stores is one of my favorite short-cuts. Learn how to use fresh Trader Joe’s pizza dough and Whole Foods pizza dough with my tutorials.
- Frozen pizza can taste amazing, too!! Learn how to spruce it up with this recipe for pizza using frozen crust.
- Slice pizza pies like a chef with just a few swipes, using big ol’ pizza cutters.
- Want to grill pizza? Here are some pizza grilling tools to check out.
- Do you really need to cook pizza on the rack? Nope! I basically never do. Here are tools you see me using in my tutorials on cooking pizza in the oven…
– Bake pizza on a rimmed baking pan set to get a beautiful golden brown crust.
– Love crispy crust? Let the air flow with this dishwasher safe pizza pan.
– Get personal – let your fam / friends top their own pies with this set of personal pizza pans.
More pizza recipes from Sip Bite Go
- Cast iron skillet pizza
- Pepperoni pizza
- Cheeseburger pizza
- Philly cheese steak pizza
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Chicken spinach pizza with bacon
- Homemade pizza dough
- Pizza sauce recipe
- White pizza sauce
- See tips for stretching pizza dough by hand
- Learn how to make frozen premade pizza crust taste better
- GUIDE: how to cook chicken breast for pizza
Become a better home cook
Get my free recipe newsletter.
I’m here to help you put together delicious meals, right at home. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments.
Follow for new recipes on Instagram and subscribe to the SipBiteGo on YouTube.
Chat soon!
– Jenna
Next, browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection…
How To Par Bake Pizza Dough To Freeze Or Bake Later | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
- 1 bag pizza dough fresh
- 2 tsp olive oil divided
- 1 ½ tbsp flour divided
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Help the pizza dough rise. (Option 1) Take the pizza dough out of the fridge the morning of making parbaked pizza dough. Let the pizza dough rise on a counter or in front of a sunny window. It will almost explode out of the bag, so you can also transfer it to a bowl to rise and cover it in plastic wrap. (Option 2) Take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes (ideally at least 2 hours) before stretching it. You want the pizza dough to be nice and plump before stretching and par baking it.
- Prep work station for par baking pizza dough. About half an hour before you want to make par baked pizza dough, preheat the oven to 450°F. Set out a large rimmed sheet pan and add a piece of parchment paper to it. Brush 1 tsp olive oil on the parchment paper and set aside.
- Stretch pizza dough. Sprinkle half the flour onto a large cutting board or other clean work surface. Set the rest of the flour to the corner of the workstation to use as you stretch the dough. Add the raw pre-made pizza dough on top of the flour, and flip it around in the flour to lightly coat each side. Remember to add light dustings of flour to the dough as you stretch it. Stretch the dough at first by pinching the outside 1” in a circular motion to make the crust. Then stretch the inside of the pizza dough by using a few different techniques: (1) push the center against the cutting board (2) use knuckles to stretch pizza dough from underneath (3) put a hand in the center of the dough and pull the dough edges outwards. Keep adding a light dusting of flour while stretching it. If dough tears, don’t pull it so much and overlap dough where there are holes.
- Transfer raw pizza dough to a sheet tray. To prevent holes in the dough, don’t force it to stretch. If the dough will stretch a little, push it to the edges of the tray. Otherwise, it’s fine if the dough isn’t a perfect rectangle shape. Those can be the best looking pizzas!
- Parbake dough. Bake the naked pizza dough without toppings in the oven at 450°F for 7 minutes. Pizza will still be light in color, not browned, but the dough will be set in place and is ready to freeze or add toppings and continue baking at 500°F for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown crust has formed and the cheese is bubbling.
Benjamin Bear says
What is the second teaspoon of olive oil for?
lakowak says
If your oven takes a half hour to get up to 450 degrees, you need a new oven.
name says
lol but true, mine takes 6 minutes from room temperature to maximum it can do 230 C
Jessica says
It’s heating the stone that helps. That would be why you preheat oven with stone inside.
Jenna Passaro says
Also heating the pizza stone prevents the stone from CRACKING because if you don’t SLOWLY bring it up to temperature, it can crack.