Whole Foods Pizza Dough: The Complete Guide to Making It Great

Updated February 2026: This post was originally published in 2020. After six more years of testing store-bought doughs (and making thousands of pizzas from scratch), I've completely rewritten this guide with everything I've learned about getting the best results from Whole Foods pizza dough, and when it's worth making your own.

Let's be real. Sometimes you don't have 24 hours to make dough from scratch. Life happens. The kids are hungry, friends are coming over, and you need pizza now. That's when Whole Foods pizza dough saves the day.

I've used it dozens of times. It works. But there's a difference between "it works" and "it's great" and that difference comes down to how you handle it. Most people rip the bag open, try to stretch cold dough, and wonder why their pizza is tough and uneven. That's not the dough's fault. It's a prep problem.

Here's everything I've learned about turning a $6 bag of Whole Foods dough into a pizza you're actually proud of.

What You're Working With

Whole Foods sells fresh pizza dough in the bakery section, usually near the prepared foods. It comes in a 1 lb 6 oz. bag enough for two personal pizzas or one large pie. They typically carry a regular white dough, a whole wheat version, and sometimes an ancient grain option.

The dough is made with simple ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, olive oil. No weird preservatives. It's solid dough  not great dough, but solid. The key is knowing its limitations and working with them instead of fighting them.

The #1 Mistake Everyone Makes

You cannot stretch this dough cold. I can't stress this enough. Whole Foods dough comes refrigerated, and cold dough fights back. The gluten is tight, it tears, it springs back, and you end up with a thick, uneven crust that doesn't cook right.

The fix is simple: take it out of the fridge at least 3 hours before you plan to make pizza. Cut the bag open, divide the dough into two equal pieces, shape each into a ball, and set them on a lightly floured surface covered with a towel or plastic wrap. Let them come to room temperature and proof. You'll know they're ready when they feel soft, pillowy, and relaxed.  About 3 hours for the final proof.

This single step is the difference between fighting your dough and having it cooperate. Three hours. That's all it takes.

How to Stretch It

Even after proofing, this dough can be a little stubborn compared to a long-fermented homemade dough. Here's how I handle it:

Flour your hands and the work surface generously. Press the dough ball flat with your fingertips, working from the center outward. Leave about a half-inch border around the edge — that's your crust. Once it's a rough disc, pick it up and let gravity help. Drape it over your knuckles and gently rotate, letting the weight of the dough stretch it. Don't force it. If it springs back, set it down and let it rest for 5 minutes, then try again.

You're aiming for about a 10-12 inch round. It doesn't have to be perfect. Rustic is good. Rustic means homemade.

The Bake

This is where the Baking Steel changes everything. A pizza stone gives you a decent bake. A Baking Steel gives you a pizzeria-quality bake — even with store-bought dough.

Setup: Place your Baking Steel on the top rack, about 7 inches from the broiler. Preheat your oven to 500°F for a full hour. The steel needs to be completely saturated with heat.

The bake: Transfer your topped pizza onto a floured peel and launch it onto the steel. Bake for 5-7 minutes. About halfway through, rotate the pizza for even browning. If you want extra char on the top crust, flip the broiler on for the last 60-90 seconds.

Pull it when the crust is golden with some leopard spots and the cheese is bubbling. Let it rest for a minute on a cutting board before slicing. This rest lets the cheese set so it doesn't slide off when you cut.

My Go-To Whole Foods Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole Foods pizza dough (22 oz bag, divided into 2 portions)
• 3 oz pizza sauce per pie (our 2-ingredient pizza sauce works perfectly)
• 4 oz shredded low-moisture mozzarella per pie
• Optional toppings: thinly sliced jalapeños, fresh basil, pepperoni, whatever you love

Directions:

1. Remove dough from fridge. Divide into 2 equal portions, shape into balls, cover, and let proof at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
2. Place your Baking Steel on the top rack. Preheat oven to 500°F for one hour.
3. Stretch the dough into a 10-12 inch round on a floured surface.
4. Transfer to a floured pizza peel. Spread 3 oz of sauce from center outward, leaving a half-inch border. Add cheese and toppings.
5. Launch onto the Baking Steel. Bake 5-7 minutes, rotating halfway through.
6. Optional: flip the broiler on for the last 60-90 seconds for extra char.
7. Remove, rest 1 minute, slice, and serve.

Pro Tips for Better Results

Don't overload the toppings. This is the second most common mistake after cold dough. Too many toppings means too much moisture, which means a soggy center. Keep it simple: sauce, cheese, one or two toppings max.

Use less sauce than you think. About 3 ounces — roughly a quarter cup — is plenty for a 10-12 inch pizza. Excess sauce is the number one cause of a gummy layer under the cheese.

Flour your peel well. Nothing ruins pizza night faster than dough that sticks to the peel. Give it a good dusting of flour or semolina before you build your pizza, and give the peel a shake before you launch to make sure it slides.

Check the expiration date. Whole Foods dough is fresh with no preservatives, which means it has a short shelf life. Old dough = tough dough. Buy it the day you plan to use it if possible.

When to Level Up to Homemade

Look, Whole Foods dough is great for pizza night in a pinch. But once you've made a pizza with a proper 72-hour cold fermented dough, there's no going back. The flavor, the stretch, the chew it's a completely different experience. Long fermentation develops complex flavors and makes the dough incredibly easy to work with. No fighting, no tearing. It stretches like yoga.

If you love making pizza at home but don't always have time for a 3-day dough process, our dough packs give you the same 72-hour recipe in a pre-portioned kit. Just add water, wait, and make pizza. It's the best of both worlds — homemade quality without the guesswork.

Shop the Baking Steel Original | Get the 72-Hour Pizza Dough Recipe

About Andris

I'm Andris Lagsdin, and I invented the Baking Steel in 2012 after reading one line in Modernist Cuisine: "Steel conducts heat better than stone." My family had run Stoughton Steel for over 50 years, so I grabbed a slab from my dad's shop and tested it. That first pizza told me everything. Today, tens of thousands of home cooks use Baking Steel to make legendary pizza from regular home ovens. Read more about my story.