Go Back
+ servings
Sugar and Soul Logo

Sourdough Pizza Crust


Course Bread, Dinner
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Proof Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings 3 10" crusts
Overhead photo of a sourdough pizza sliced on a pizza stone.

This Sourdough Pizza Dough recipe walks you through step-by-step to turn sourdough discard into a thick and chewy pizza dough!

Ingredients  

  • 225 g water
  • 400 g bread flour
  • 125 g ripe sourdough starter (8-12 hours after last feeding)
  • 25 g olive oil
  • 15 g sea salt

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the water and bread flour. Mix until combined, the dough will be very “shaggy.”
    225 g water, 400 g bread flour
  • Mix in the sourdough starter, olive oil, and salt. You may need to use your hands to work the dough together.
    125 g ripe sourdough starter, 25 g olive oil, 15 g sea salt
  • When it is mostly combined, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and allow it to sit for 4 to 6 hours, completing 4 sets of stretches and folds (see next step) every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours.
  • After the first 30 minutes, do a set of stretches and folds, lifting the edge of the dough on the side furthest from you and folding it up and over to the side closest to you. Turn the bowl 90 degrees counter clockwise, perform another stretch and fold, etc. until you have stretched and folded the dough from every side.
  • Allow the dough to sit, covered, for another 30 minutes and repeat the set of stretch and folds. Do this two more times (a total of four times) and then leave the dough to rest for another 2-4 hours, allowing it to expand and rise by about 50%.
  • After this initial “bulk fermentation”, divide the dough into two or three sections, place in plastic bags, and store in the refrigerator overnight or until ready to use.
  • Several hours before you’d like your pizza ready, remove a ball of dough from the refrigerator. Set it out on the counter (still inside the plastic bag) until it reaches room temperature.
  • Set out a sheet of parchment paper; drizzle a bit of olive oil onto both the paper and your fingers.
  • Remove the dough from the plastic bag and use your fingers to press it out into a pizza crust shape. You can make the crust very thin or with a bit of thickness.
  • The pictures here show a “thick” crust made with half the dough recipe.
  • Brush the dough with olive oil and cover with a damp towel or with plastic wrap.
  • Set in a warm place to rise for 2 to 3 hours or until puffy. The dough is ready when it bounces back just
  • slightly, leaving a small indent in the dough when pressed with your fingertip.
  • Toward the end of the rise time, heat a cast iron pizza pan or pizza stone in the oven at 500°F for at least 30 minutes. (please check the maximum temperature a pizza stone can withstand and adjust if needed).
  • Place the pizza dough onto the hot pan (you can leave it on the parchment paper during cooking) and bake for an initial 5 minutes.
  • Add desired sauce and/or toppings to the partially baked pizza crust and return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until crust is browned and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Notes

  • Storage: Store pizza dough in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer up to 1 month.
  • This is a sourdough recipe and takes a good amount of time for the dough to ferment and rise, just as a sourdough bread recipe would take.
  • Bread flour really does make a difference in this recipe and will yield a puffier, chewier pizza crust.
  • You can use all-purpose flour in a pinch.
  • We liked a thicker crust with this recipe - so we could really appreciate the chew and structure of the sourdough crust. ½ recipe will yield a 10” pizza with a thicker crust.
  • Heat the pan before adding the crust and also cook the crust for about 5 minutes before adding toppings to ensure a nice even cook to the pizza crust.
  • Even though the pizza crust takes some time to prepare, it is mostly hands-off, taking just a few minutes of work between steps and simply requiring some patience for fermentation and rising.
  • You don’t have to store the dough in the refrigerator overnight, but it helps the dough develop more flavor and also makes it a bit easier to time baking the pizza.

Nutrition

Calories: 593kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 1945mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Find it online: www.sugarandsoul.co/sourdough-pizza-dough/