Take your homemade pizza up a notch with sourdough crust! A crispy yet chewy crust with that delicious sourdough tang. My family has been making pizza dough with yeast for years. My husband spent quite some time perfecting his own recipe. I thought it was about time to adapt the recipe to sourdough! We love using our pizza oven but it can be made in a traditional oven as well. You don’t have a sourdough starter? No problem, I have full instructions on how to make your own here. Read on to learn more about the process or jump right down to the recipe if you’re too excited!
The Process
Like most sourdough recipes, the dough will need some time to ferment. You will make the dough one evening and bake it the following evening. You can also store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days if life happens and you don’t get around to baking it that night.
Sample Schedule
7 pm- Mix up the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit on the counter overnight.
7 am- Punch the dough down and reform it into a ball. Re-cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator.
4 pm- Remove from the refrigerator and divide the dough into 3 balls. Cover each ball and leave at room temperature until ready to bake.
6 pm- Heat up your oven and make pizza!
Keys to Success
Do not over-mix. This will cause the dough to become too firm and difficult to stretch without creating holes.
Make sure your starter is active. Because there is no yeast in this dough, your starter will need to be active in order for it to rise and create those fluffy bubbles. Feed your starter 4-8 hours before making the dough and perform the float test to ensure the starter is active. Take a teaspoon of starter and drop it in a cup of water. If it floats you’re ready to go!
Use room temperature water. Sourdough starter does not like cold water! On the other hand, water that is too hot can kill the good bacteria and essentially deactivate your starter.
A very hot oven. If baking indoors, place your baking steel or sheet pan in the oven while it is preheating. If cooking in a pizza oven, give it some time for the bottom of the oven to heat up.
Heavily flour work surface. When shaping the dough make sure there is a good amount of flour on the counter to prevent sticking. We prefer to use semolina on the pizza peel to help the pizza slide off into the oven more easily. Semolina also tends not to burn the same way that all-purpose flour does.
Adjustments
Temperature- On warmer days you may not need quite as much water. You can use 25-50 fewer grams of water on hot and humid days.
Flour- If you can’t find 00 flour you can use any high-protein bread flour. You could also use some whole wheat but it may make the dough slightly firmer and a bit more challenging to work with.
Storing the Dough
Refrigerator: The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep it covered and remove it 2-3 hours before baking.
Freezer: Lightly coat the unbaked dough balls with olive oil and place them in individual freezer bags. They can be stored for 2-3 months.
Oven Tips
As I said, you can use either a pizza oven or a traditional oven to bake this pizza. The most important thing with either choice is getting it nice and hot!
Pizza Oven: Heat your pizza oven up to around 650 degrees Fahrenheit. Using an infrared thermometer works great here.
Traditional Oven: Place your pizza steel, stone, or baking sheet in the oven and heat it up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. If your oven doesn’t get that hot, heat it to the highest temperature setting. Let the oven sit at temperature for 30 minutes to get the cooking surface nice and hot.
Supplies
Baking Stone, Steel, or Baking Sheet for indoor baking.
Pizza Pan or cooling rack for the pizza to rest on before slicing.
Favorite Sourdough Pizza Crust Toppings
- Whatever is growing in your garden
- Freshly sliced pepperoni
- Pesto and greens
- Garlic olive oil, figs, and prosciutto
- Caramelized Onions, mushrooms, and spinach
After Baking Toppings
- Truffle Oil or Truff Hot Sauce
- Arugula tossed with lemon olive oil
- Fresh Basil
- Parmesan
- Fermented Jalapeños or Onions
I hope you enjoy this sourdough pizza crust as much as my family does! As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I’d love to see how yours turns out!
Sourdough Pizza Crust
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or Mixing Bowl
- Baking Steel, Stone or Baking Sheet For indoor cooking
- Large bowl for proofing
- Pizza peels
Ingredients
- 100 grams Active Sourdough Starter
- 500 grams 00 Flour or High Protein Bread Flour
- 275 grams Water Room Temperature
- 11 grams Salt
- 8 grams Olive Oil
- 6 grams Sugar
Instructions
- Mix sourdough starter, flour, water, and sugar until just combined.
- Cover the bowl and let rest for 15-30 minutes.
- Add the salt and olive oil and knead on low (or by hand) for 5-6 minutes or until it passes the windowpane test. Take a golf ball-sized piece of the dough and stretch it until it is so thin you can almost see through it. If it breaks, continue kneading for 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature overnight.
- In the morning, your dough should be doubled in size. Punch it down to deflate it and transfer it to your counter. Reshape it into a ball and put it back in the bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator until 2-3 hours before baking.
- 2-3 hours before baking divide the dough into 3 equal-sized pieces. (around 300 grams) Form dough balls, creating a tight smooth exterior, sealing at the bottom. Cover them and let them rest at room temperature until baking time.
- Once your oven is up to temperature and all toppings are ready, shape the crust. The crust should be approximately 12 inches and slightly thicker at the edges to form a good crust.
- Sprinkle your pizza peel with semolina to prevent sticking. Place your pizza on the peel and add your toppings of choice.
For Pizza Oven
- Heat the oven up to 650 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using your pizza peel, transfer the pizza to the oven. Rotate periodically for even browning.
- The pizza is done when all of the cheese has melted and the crust is golden brown. This only takes 2-3 minutes.
For Traditional Oven
- Place your pizza steel, stone, or baking sheet in the oven. Preheat oven to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. If your oven does not get that hot, heat to the highest temperature setting. Let the cooking surface heat up for 30 minutes.
- Transfer your pizza to the oven and bake for 9-12 minutes. The pizza is done when all of the cheese has melted and the crust is golden brown.