9 Grocery Store Bakeries That Sell Fresh Pizza Dough

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It can be tough to whip up a pizza that's more delicious than delivery, yet not so painstaking to make that you lose your appetite. Amateurs might feel like they either have to attempt a traditional Neapolitan pizza dough recipe that requires precise mixing, proofing, and rolling, or sacrifice flavor for convenience and buy a premade crust. As an ideal middle ground, you can actually find freshly-made pizza dough at some of the best grocery store bakeries.

Tasting Table put together a list of American grocery chains that sell fresh (not frozen!) pizza dough  — truly the next-best thing to dough mixed in your own kitchen. While the best store-bought pizza crusts may also produce tasty results, fresh dough gives the whole family a chance to roll out and assemble their own pies. Even better, these chains sell their house-made doughs at reasonable prices, providing a better value than purchasing a frozen pizza or ordering in. 

Alongside foolproof tips for stretching pizza dough like a pro, consider letting these store-bought doughs come to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter before shaping. Grocery stores usually refrigerate their fresh dough, and letting it warm up makes the rolling process much easier. 

Kroger is easily one of the best grocery store chains for fresh baked goods, yet one of its most useful products is worth preparing yourself: the Kroger Ready to Bake Pizza Dough. This affordable bagged dough comes recommended by shoppers for its great flavor and texture, as well as the ease of preparation. After bringing it to room temperature and rolling it out, Kroger's pizza crust takes just 10 to 15 minutes to bake.

Famed for its exclusive store-brand products, Trader Joe's breads, cakes, and cookies all have cult followings, as does its fresh pizza dough. Trader Joe's Plain Pizza Dough, typically sold at just $1.69 per pound, earns rave reviews for its convenience, taste, and reliability, turning out a beautifully browned and chewy crust after baking. TJ's also sells its own Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough that adds extra savory flavor to your pies.

House-made desserts are the main reason why Whole Foods' bakery is one of the best, according to customers; however, the natural foods chain also sells excellent ready-to-cook pizza doughs in its bakery section. At $4.99 per pound (which makes about three pizzas), Whole Food's plain dough is consistently named as one of the best store-bought pizza bases on the market. After trying it, one Reddit user said, "I might never make my own dough again."

The fresh Publix Pizza Dough is something of a hidden gem, squirreled away in the refrigerated section of the store's bakery. Tasting Table's taste tester found that Publix easily beat one of Kroger's premade pizza doughs, and this highly convenient product is also well-liked by others who have tried it. Plus, Publix sells a pre-stretched version of its classic crust that speeds up pizza night even more — just thaw, top, and bake.

Wegmans White Pizza Dough is one of the thriftiest items on this list. Priced at $4.25 for a 28-ounce ball. You get more dough compared to other products while paying a comparable price. This pizza base gets great feedback, to boot — one reviewer on Wegmans' website wrote, "It makes a nice, thin, crispy pizza that is as good as [a] pizza joint and costs just a fraction of ordering out."

The smaller grocery chain Giant offers its own fresh pizza dough under the aptly-named in-store label, Our Brand. Customers have found good results with this classic white dough, saying it stretches and rises successfully and bakes up with a robust, yeasty flavor. At $2.49 for a one-pound bag, Giant's dough makes an easy and affordable base for everything from fully loaded barbecue chicken pizza to Detroit-style deep dish pizza.

It may not be as big as Walmart or Target, but frequent customers know that Albertsons is the best grocery chain in the Pacific Northwest, and its Signature Select Traditional Pizza Dough can easily contend with leading brands. Made with just a handful of ingredients, this fresh dough boasts hundreds of positive reviews for its convenience and versatility. In addition to pizza, you can use this dough to bake up garlic knots, calzones, or rolls.

A natural and organic grocery store similar to Whole Foods, the underrated Fresh Thyme Market has an equally nice bakery that sells the best grocery store croissant as well as its own All Natural Pizza Dough. Priced around $4 for a 1-pound ball, this product is a reliable pick that many customers grab the second they're craving some 'za. "If I'm not using my own dough, this is my go-to," said one user on Reddit.

Not to be confused with Fresh Thyme Market, The Fresh Market is a farmers market-esque specialty grocer that sells its own New York Style Pizza Dough for a pretty good deal: $4.49 for a 22-ounce ball, which is a bit larger than the standard 16-ounce serving. Use this dough along with some essential tips for making New York pizza from a world champion pizzaiolo, and you should be able to bake a delicious NY-style pie.