Air Fryer Pizza (from scratch)

Making crispy, tasty, homemade pizza in air fryer is so easy and perfect for weekend dinner or pizza night. It is fun to make, cheesy, delicious and customisable as everyone gets their own individual-size or personal pizza with toppings of their choice.

I have made the pizza crust from scratch (which is really quick to make), as readymade pizza dough is not easily available everywhere. Incase you are using ready-to-bake dough, the cooking steps will remain the same except you get to skip the kneading and fermenting part.

Ingredients you’ll need-

To make pizza base at home, you need just 4 ingredients- flour, water, yeast and salt. The dough making process is not complicated and does not need overnight or 12 hr waiting. You can make it post lunch and it will be ready by dinner time.

The pizza tastes so fresh and turns out perfect with crispy edges & chewy centre. You can make simple Margherita or add toppings like onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, sweet corn, jalapeño or olives etc.

Salt– It gives flavour to the pizza, control the fermentation process and gives strength to gluten structure. Do not add it directly over the yeast, instead add it over the flour or mix it in flour before adding to activated yeast.

Shaping Air Fryer Pizza-

To shape air fryer pizza, use a parchment paper cut to the size of air fryer basket as guide. It not only prevents the dough from sticking to the kitchen counter while shaping but also gives you an idea of how large you can spread it. Use gentle poking and stretching action to shape the pizza.

The size of the pizza can be adjusted depending on the size of air fryer basket. If you want to bake pizza larger than the size explained in recipe, then divide the dough in lesser portions (instead of 4, make 3 or 2).

Baking pizza in air fryer-

We bake pizza in air fryer in 2 parts. In the first part, we bake only the pizza base for 4-5 min until it is half cooked and not sticky anymore. For the second part, we spread pizza sauce and cheese on it and then bake again till cheese is hot and melty. Baking twice helps in even cooking of the base and also the cheese does not get over-baked.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour- 2 cups (240 g)
• Lukewarm Water- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (155 g)
• Salt- 1 tsp (5 g)
• Sugar- 1 tsp
• Active Dry Yeast- 1/2 tsp
• Olive Oil- 4 tsp (divided)
• Pizza Sauce- 1 cup
• Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded)- 1 cup
• Vegetable Toppings*- 1 cup

Notes:

1. The above recipe yield 4 pizzas of ~6.5″.
2. *Use pepperoni or any toppings of your choice like diced onion, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, olives, sweet corn, baby corn shoots, jalapeños, sautéed mushrooms etc.
3. In summers 1/2 tsp yeast is enough but in winters, use upto 3/4 tsp yeast.

Directions:

Step 1:
Add water & sugar to a bowl. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add yeast and mix once again. Let it rest for 1-2 minutes until there is a layer of froth on top as shown in image below.

Step 2:
Add 1 tsp olive oil, flour and salt (add it over flour). Mix with a back of a large spoon or wooden ladle to make a shaggy dough.

Step 3:
Scrape the mixture from the spoon and add it back to the bowl. Start kneading with your hands now. When the dough starts to come together but is still sticky, add 1/2-1 tsp olive oil. Continue kneading for 2-3 min (until the bowl is almost cleaned).

Step 4:
Transfer dough on kitchen counter and knead for 5-10 min more to develop gluten. Add little bit flour ONLY if is too sticky and you are not able to knead it. Tuck it to make a smooth round ball and transfer to a bowl. Rub some oil on top & sides of dough to prevent from drying.

Step 5:
Cover the bowl with a lid or cling wrap. Let the dough rest for 2-3 hrs until it doubles up in volume as shown below.

Step 6:
Dust some flour on kitchen counter. Remove the cling wrap and invert the dough over it. Divide in 4 equal parts. Roll to make smooth balls and cover them with cling wrap. Let them rest for 10-15 min.

Step 8:
Prick the centre of pizza base with fork. Lift it as it is with parchment paper and transfer in air fryer basket. Bake in a preheated air fryer at 200°C (400°F) for 5-6 minutes depending on the thickness of crust.

Step 9:
If you can, slide the parchment paper from below using kitchen tongs (helps in getting crisper crust). Spread pizza sauce, add cheese & toppings of choice. Press them lightly. Brush olive oil on the edges. Air fry for 3-4 min more at 200°C (400°F) till cheese is melted and bubbly. Lift the pizza out of basket using a spatula. Wait for 1-2 min before slicing. Enjoy!

Tips:

1. To test the temp of water before adding yeast, dip your little finger in it. It should feel slightly warm.
2. If making this recipe in winter, keep the covered dough-bowl in oven with light on. Make sure it is NOT turned on.
3. The size of my air fryer basket is 6.5″x 7”. If you have larger basket, stretch the pizza dough more to make thin crust pizza.
4. Pricking the pizza base with fork (also known as docking) prevents it from puffing too much.
5. You can pre-bake multiple pizza bases in advance and use them later whenever you want to bake pizzas.

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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