Sourdough Pizza Dough
If you’ve never tried working with sourdough pizza dough, make trying this sourdough pizza dough recipe a priority. We love pizza in our house. However, once we started working with sourdough pizza dough, we never looked back.
Working with Sourdough
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If you don’t have time to let the dough rise, try our Fast No Rise Dough recipe. However, if you can wait, you will be rewarded with an outstanding flavor and texture.
Last fall, I took a class at a local bed and breakfast on how to make sourdough pizza. Their specialty when serving guests is sourdough pizza. So, they opened up a class for locals to try their hand at it.
We even got to take home our own sourdough starter. I’ve been using it ever since.
Sourdough Pizza Crust
One of the benefits I’ve discovered from making my pizza dough using a sourdough is a better crust. It is more flavorful and definitely crisps up better than other dough recipes I’ve used.
Also, just the feel of working with the dough makes me think it’s closer to the kind of dough you see the guys in a pizzeria tossing around. Not that I know this firsthand. Remember: I worked baking New York bagels in high school, not making pizza.
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Sourdough Pizza Dough
Mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl:
- all purpose flour (you can use bread flour, too, like I do with a traditional sourdough loaf)
- salt
- olive oil
- sourdough starter
- sugar
- water
If your dough is dry, mound it, make an indented well and add some water. I recommend doing this one-quarter cup at a time. If you find you’ve added too much, you can always add some flour back.
Knead the dough on a floured work surface. You can also use a mixer with a dough hook. We’ve made this recipe using our Ankarsrum Mixer.
To make your dough less sticky, coat with a half tablespoon of olive oil.
Form a smooth dough ball.
Flatten to form a pie.
Place your flattened dough on a pizza stone or your favorite large round or pizza pan. Coat with sauce.
Top as you see fit.
Pop the pizza in the oven at 425 F for 15 to 20 minutes. When done, remove and slice. If you have a specialized outdoor pizza oven, like an Ooni, you’ll want to use a pizza peel to get the pie out.
You should end up with a gorgeous pizza crust and a pie with a tangy yet delicious taste. I love how you have a chewy crust that’s also a bit crispy. It’s the best of both worlds.
Topping your sourdough pizza dough
You can use any tomato sauce when you make a pizza using sourdough. Or, if you have fresh basil and want to top it with that — or skip the tomato sauce altogether and use pesto — be our guest.
Another option: try our Goat Cheese Pizza Sauce. It is my favorite and complements hearty toppings, like pepperoni and onions.
You can use any mozzarella cheese when making pizza. However, we prefer fresh mozzarella. Fresher is better — either shredded or thin sliced.
The pre-shredded cheese in grocery stores is convenient, but contains a bunch of anti-caking and anti-mold ingredients that distract from the flavor. Also, it tends not to melt as nicely. So, if you have the time and money, go with the fresh stuff.
Notes
This dough is good in the fridge for a day or two. Beyond that, freeze it. Always store in an airtight container.
Because you’re using a sourdough starter for this pizza dough, you do not need to use yeast. You’ll get the rising and leavening from the starter all by itself.
If it’s been some time since you’ve used your starter, you’ll need to let it warm to room temperature. Then, you’ll likely need to skim or pour off the sourdough discard that’s collected at the top. But don’t throw it away. There are plenty of sourdough discard recipes you can use it in. Next time we have discard, we’re hoping to try our hand at sourdough focaccia.
In the meantime, here are three of our focaccia recipes:
Sourdough Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour All purpose or bread. I prefer bread flour for this recipe
- ¾ cup active sourdough starter
- 1¼ cup warm water Plus extra water if the dough is too dry.
- 2½ tablespoons olive oil Divided, two tablespoons and ½ tablespoon.
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the ½ tablespoon of oil and the extra water. Mix thoroughly.3 cups flour, ¾ cup active sourdough starter, 1¼ cup warm water, 2½ tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- The resulting dough is likely to be dry. If it is, add additional water ¼ cup at a time until the dough is pliable.
- Shape on a flat surface with a light coating of flour or directly on a nonstick baking sheet baking sheet. If the dough is too sticky, drizzle an additional ½ tablespoon of olive oil and massage it into the surface. Add sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice.
- Bake in a preheated 425℉ oven until the crust is golden brown. About 15-20 minutes. Use a pizza stone if you have one.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that nutrient values, if included with the recipe, are estimates only. Variations can occur due to product availability/substitution and manner of food preparation. Nutrition may vary based on methods of origin, preparation, freshness of ingredients, and other factors.