Pizza dough has four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. That is it. Everything else is technique. The differences between a great crust and a forgettable one come down to fermentation time, hydration ratio, and oven temperature.
Fermentation is the most important variable. Dough that has fermented slowly in a refrigerator for 24 to 72 hours develops flavor compounds that quick-rise dough cannot match. The crust has more complexity, better browning, and a texture that is crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. When you eat a pizza and the crust tastes like something, that is the fermentation.
Hydration affects texture. Higher hydration dough (65 percent water or more relative to flour) produces a more open, airy crumb with larger bubbles in the crust. Lower hydration dough produces a denser, crispier crust. Neither is inherently better — they are suited to different styles. Neapolitan pizza uses high hydration; New York-style uses moderate hydration; cracker crust uses low hydration.
Oven temperature matters more than home cooks realize. A wood-fired oven reaches 800 to 900 degrees and cooks a pizza in 90 seconds. A home oven at 500 degrees needs 8 to 12 minutes. The difference in cooking time affects the moisture content of the crust. That is why home-baked pizza rarely achieves the same texture as restaurant pizza — it is not the cook's fault, it is the hardware.
When you are evaluating a pizzeria's dough, pay attention to the crust. Is it browned evenly? Does it have some chew without being tough? Does it taste like bread or like cardboard? Those are the signals of good dough.