Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe

This sourdough pizza dough recipe is the most perfect sourdough pizza crust you could think of – chewy on the inside and lightly crisp on the outside. 

Pizza has always been one of my favorite foods – it’s my go-to answer to the age-old question “If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life…?” And this dough recipe is the perfect base for a thin bottom and a crisp, chewy crust. 

If Friday night is pizza night in your household (like ours), sourdough pizza will up your pizza game. I love that I can mix the dough together in the morning and have it ready to bake by the evening. 

Why I Love This Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe

• It’s 100% sourdough which means we’re using natural yeast and slow fermentation processes instead of commercial yeast. 
• Timing is flexible. You can mix the dough the evening before you want to make pizza or in the morning on the day you want pizza, and it’ll be ready by dinner. 
• I said it above, but texture. This sourdough crust is chewy, lightly crisp and the crust gets nice and pillowy (as long as you hand stretch instead of using a rolling pin to shape).
• It’s perfect for your home oven OR your pizza oven. I’ve tested this recipe on both and they both turn out great.

Ingredients

• Active Starter: A starter that is active, bubbly and will double when you feed it. If you haven’t fed your starter in a few days, you may need to feed it once or twice before it’s ready to make this recipe.
• Bread Flour: For a nice chewy crust, you need to use bread flour (not all purpose flour) for this recipe. I like using King Arthur Bread Flour because its protein content is slightly higher than other bread flours.
• Water: Warm water, not hot. 
• Sea salt
• Olive oil: A drizzle of olive oil over the top of the dough pieces will prevent them from drying out.
• Cornmeal or more flour for dusting.
• To assemble: tomato sauce, cheese, your favorite pizza toppings. 

Equipment

• Kitchen scale: If you bake sourdough, you may already own one of these. Using weight measurements allows you to achieve more predictable outcomes in baking.
• A large, glass mixing bowl
• Cloth bowl covers (optional): you can also use a clean kitchen towel, but I use the large cover in this set every time I make sourdough.
• Parchment paper
• Pizza Peel: If you are baking this in a home oven, you can also use a large cutting board or upside down baking sheet to slide the parchment paper holding the pizza onto the pizza stone in the oven. I have one like this with a foldable handle, and I love it for storage.
• Pizza Stone: Alternatively, you can use a baking sheet turned upside down. It's a nifty trick that works decently.

How to Make This Recipe

PREPARE DOUGH

Mix together 200 grams sourdough starter, 400 grams water, 667 grams of bread flour and 15 grams of sea salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula, and then finish by hand to fully incorporate the flour. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rest on the kitchen counter for 20-30 minutes at room temperature.

After resting, wet your hands and perform a series of stretch and folds, pulling one side of dough up over itself 3 to 5 times (however many the dough will allow). Rest for 20-30 minutes and repeat at least 2 times. 

BULK FERMENTATION (FIRST RISE)

Then, cover and let the dough rise at room temperature for 6-18 hours. How long it takes will depend on the strength of your starter and the temperature in your kitchen. In the summer it should take less time and in the winter, longer.

Use immediately or cold proof 1-3 days for a more flavorful, relaxed dough that will be easier to roll out.

TO USE IMMEDIATELY

Put a pizza stone/steel or an upside-down rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500-550ºF for 30 minutes.

Divide into 4 equal sections and roll into balls. Let rest on the counter 20-30 minutes. Skip ahead to “Stretching Your Dough.”

TO COLD PROOF FOR UP TO 3 DAYS

Divide dough into 3 or 4 equal sections, roll into balls and pop into individual tupperware containers and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Put a pizza stone/steel or an upside-down rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500-550ºF for 30 minutes.

Remove your dough from the fridge and let sit on the counter at room temperature while you preheat your oven. 

Divide into 4 equal sections and roll into balls. Let rest on the counter 20-30 minutes and skip to ‘Stretching Your Dough”

STRETCHING YOUR DOUGH

Prepare a cutting board or pizza peel. Take a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle semolina flour or cornmeal on it. This keeps the dough from sticking to the parchment paper.

Using your fingertips, gently press from the center of the dough outward, working toward the edges—try not to press down on the outer rim, since that’s what gives you a nice, puffy crust. Once it’s flattened a bit, you can pick up the dough and rotate it around your fingers to stretch it into a circle. (Also, if you’re feeling hesitant, you can resort to a rolling pin - you’ll lose crust height but still end up with a very nice pizza.) Place the dough on your floured or cornmeal-dusted parchment paper and slide it onto a pizza peel. Each dough ball makes about a 10”-12” pizza.

Once on the pizza peel, assemble your pizza with sauce, cheese (not pre-shredded if you can help it) and toppings. 

BAKE

Preheat your oven to 500–550°F (as hot as it will go) with a preheated pizza stone or on an upside-down sheet pan on the middle rack. Let the pan heat for at least 30 minutes so it’s nice and hot when the pizza goes in.

Once your pizza is topped and ready, gently slide it onto the hot pizza stone or sheet pan using parchment paper and a peel (or a cutting board). Bake for 10-12 minutes*, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Ovens can vary, so start checking around the 6-minute mark, removing the parchment paper when you do. You can rotate the pizza halfway through for even browning.

Remove the pizza and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing. Repeat with the rest of your dough.

How to Freeze Homemade Sourdough Pizza Dough

If, after mixing up your pizza dough and refrigerating it overnight, you don’t think you’ll be using it in the next couple of days, transfer the dough to the freezer (still in a plastic bag or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and then stored in a plastic bag) and use within one month, taking it out and setting it in the fridge a full day before you plan on using it. (From that point on you can follow the instructions under “To Start Dough the Night Before” where it says you can freeze.)

FAQS

What’s the difference between sourdough pizza dough and traditional pizza dough?

This sourdough pizza dough uses active sourdough starter as a leavening agent, which gives it a distinctive tangy flavor and a chewy texture. Traditional pizza dough uses commercial yeast for leavening – either active dry yeast or instant yeast – which results in a different flavor profile and texture.Sourdough pizza dough takes longer to proof than traditional pizza dough because of the long fermentation process required for the dough to rise.

How do I get a chewy crust? 

The answer is bread flour, which is the recommended flour for this recipe, because it has higher gluten. Gluten gives bread structure and bite, which is why bread flour will give you a chewier crust than if you use AP flour.

Can I make this pizza crust without a pizza stone?

Yes, you can. You can preheat a metal baking sheet, turned upside down, in the oven.

Topping Ideas

Now that you've got the perfect chewy and crispy crust, you can focus on turning it into a true masterpiece! Try this Hot Honey Pepperoni Pizza (one of our all-time favorite pizza combos) or this Asparagus Pizza with Bacon and Balsamic Glaze. Otherwise, here are a few other of our favorite toppings and flavor combinations: 

• Roasted garlic + prosciutto + roasted red pepper + mozzarella cheese + aged gouda
• Creme fraiche + goat cheese + honey 
• Garlic sour cream + grated mozzarella + fontina + fresh mozzarella + parmesan (grate this over the pizza right as it comes out the oven)
• Eggplant + mushroom + sausage + red pepper + fresh basil
• Ham, pineapple, hot honey
• Pesto, fresh mozzarella, dollops of red sauce

Serving Suggestions

This Lemony Swiss chard salad with parmesan and breadcrumbs is one of my absolute favorite salads. Otherwise, I like a simple salad tossed in this tangy honey mustard vinaigrette.

📖 Recipe

Sourdough Pizza Dough

This sourdough pizza dough recipe is the most perfect sourdough pizza crust you could think of – chewy on the inside and lightly crisp on the outside. 

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Resting Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 7 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Course dinner

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 10-12" pizzas

Equipment

• kitchen scale
• mixing bowl
• cloth bowl covers or a clean kitchen towel
• Parchment paper
• pizza stone or metal baking sheet
• Pizza Peel

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 200 g bubbly active sourdough starter
• 400 g warm water preferably filtered
• 667 g bread flour
• 13 g fine sea salt
• Fine ground cornmeal for dusting

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

 

PREPARE DOUGH

• Mix together 200 grams sourdough starter, 400 grams water, 667 grams of bread flour and 15 grams of sea salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula, and then finish by hand to fully incorporate the flour. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rest on the kitchen counter for 20-30 minutes at room temperature.
• After resting, wet your hands and perform a series of stretch and folds, pulling one side of dough up over itself 3 to 5 times (however many the dough will allow). Rest for 20-30 minutes and repeat at least 2 times.

BULK FERMENTATION (FIRST RISE)

• Then, cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for 6-18 hours. How long it takes will depend on the strength of your starter and the temperature in your kitchen. In the summer it should take less time and in the winter, longer.
• Use immediately or cold proof 1-3 days for a more flavorful, relaxed dough that will be easier to roll out.

TO USE IMMEDIATELY

• Put a pizza stone/steel or an upside-down rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500-550ºF for 30 minutes.
• Divide into 4 equal sections and roll into balls. Let rest on the counter 20-30 minutes. Skip ahead to “Stretching Your Dough.”

TO COLD PROOF FOR UP TO 3 DAYS

• Divide dough into 3 or 4 equal sections, roll into balls and pop into individual tupperware containers and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Put a pizza stone/steel or an upside-down rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500-550ºF for 30 minutes.
• Remove your dough from the fridge and let sit on the counter at room temperature while you preheat your oven.
• Divide into 4 equal sections and roll into balls. Let rest on the counter 20-30 minutes and skip to ‘Stretching Your Dough”

STRETCHING YOUR DOUGH

• Prepare a cutting board or pizza peel. Take a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle semolina flour or cornmeal on it. This keeps the dough from sticking to the parchment paper.
• Using your fingertips, gently press from the center of the dough outward, working toward the edges—try not to press down on the outer rim, since that’s what gives you a nice, puffy crust. Once it’s flattened a bit, you can pick up the dough and rotate it around your fingers to stretch it into a circle. (Also, if you’re feeling hesitant, you can resort to a rolling pin - you’ll lose crust height but still end up with a very nice pizza.) Place the dough on your floured or cornmeal-dusted parchment paper and slide it onto a pizza peel. Each dough ball makes about a 10”-12” pizza.
• Once on the pizza peel, assemble your pizza with sauce, cheese (not pre-shredded if you can help it) and toppings.

BAKE

• Preheat your oven to 500–550°F (as hot as it will go) with an upside-down sheet pan on the middle rack. Let the pan heat for at least 30 minutes so it’s nice and hot when the pizza goes in.
• Once your pizza is topped and ready, gently slide it onto the hot sheet pan using parchment paper and a peel (or a cutting board). Bake for 10-12 minutes*, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Ovens can vary, so start checking around the 6-minute mark, removing the parchment paper when you do. You can rotate the pizza halfway through for even browning.
• Remove the pizza and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing. Repeat with the rest of your dough.

Keyword pizza, pizza dough, sourdough, sourdough pizza

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!