Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe

If you love the combination of pizza and sourdough, you will love this same-day sourdough pizza crust recipe.

Start it in the morning, and have it ready by dinner time!

In our family, we LOVE pizza (but who doesn’t?), and I like to make as much of our grain-based food as I can using sourdough to increase digestibility.

To be really clear, my husband, who has celiac disease, doesn’t eat sourdough, which is why there are so many gluten-free recipes on this website. Instead, we make either a traditional gluten-free pizza crust, which is my favorite, or a coconut flour pizza crust for him, which is really easy and has lower carbs.

But for the rest of us, sourdough pizza crust is the favorite.

I know that sourdough can seem overwhelming because of the time involved, but it’s important to remember that most of the time is inactive time.

Most of what you do is mix and then leave, then several hours later, mix in more stuff, then leave it again, and finally, make your pizza.

You can absolutely do your morning mix, leave for work or errands, and come back in the evening to make your pizza. That’s what I do most often. And, though this is a same-day pizza crust, you can make it overnight or over multiple days by storing your dough in the refrigerator. That makes it really easy to get your dough prepped during a less busy day and then simply be able to pull it out on pizza night and go crazy.

Ingredients needed for Sourdough pizza crust

• Sourdough starter. This is, obviously, an essential component of a sourdough recipe. This recipe uses a white flour starter, which tends to be faster acting and more bubbly than a whole-wheat starter. In my previous tests, when 50% whole wheat was used in the starter and recipe, the rise time would be slower, so bear that in mind if you decide to add whole grains to your recipe. See how to feed your sourdough starter here. 
• Olive oil. This helps tenderize the dough and limit gluten development, yielding a softer crumb and richer flavor. Sourdough can be very springy and can resist rolling out into a thin crust, so the butter really helps with that.
• Salt. Regulates the yeast (sourdough is wild yeast) activity and ensures that fermentation doesn’t happen too quickly. While it does retard fermentation, it is not enough to affect the rise of your dough.
• Flour. I recommend unbleached, all-purpose flour. As mentioned above, you can use some whole wheat flour if you like, as long as you understand that it will probably affect your rise time and density.

Success tips for making sourdough pizza crust

If you’re familiar with baking, this sourdough pizza crust recipe will be easy.

If you’re not a seasoned baker, don’t despair! These tips are for you, and honestly, it’s not complicated.

The hydration of your starter can affect the texture of your dough. While I’m not specifying to the gram how much water to feed your starter with, etc., it is a factor in the end product. If you use a thick starter, the measurements in this recipe will be perfect. If your starter is thinner, you may need to add an extra tablespoon or two of water.

Use active sourdough starter rather than sourdough discard. This way, your starter can get to work on fermenting the dough right away.

How do you know if your dough is properly hydrated? When the dough is done kneading, it will be tacky to the touch but will easily pull away from your hands. You can get a good idea of what this will look like in the video just above the recipe card.

Don’t over-knead the dough. Kneading develops the gluten and results in a dough that is more difficult to roll out, which can be frustrating. We knead it a little because we still want a nice, chewy crust, but not as much as we might with sourdough sandwich bread. Pro-tip: If your dough is snapping back too much when you roll it out, let it rest for five minutes before continuing to roll.

If you don’t have a pizza stone, a large cast iron skillet makes an excellent pizza pan! Especially if you like thick crust. I love the way the bottom of my pizza crust is nice and crunchy when I bake it in cast iron. 

If you would like to make your own tomato sauce to make homemade pizza sauce, use these instructions.

How to make Sourdough Pizza Crust

This recipe bucks the trend in sourdough baking, which involves time-consuming stretch and folds, kitchen scale weights, and complicated wording to make things simple and easy for us everyday bakers. But don’t let that fool you! This sourdough pizza crust recipe is fully fermented and delivers perfect results every time!

1. In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine flour and salt.
2. Mix in olive oil, water, and sourdough starter.
   
3. Continue to knead for about four minutes until the dough has come together but is still a little rough. You’re not looking for a nice, smooth, stretchy, perfectly kneaded dough.
4. If kneading by hand, you may want to oil or flour your hands a few times and just knead it until it comes together; don’t worry about time.
5. Place in an oiled bowl that is at least 3x as big as your dough ball
   
6. Spray or lightly brush with oil, and cover with a tea towel.
7. Rest at room temperature for 8-10 hours (this is your bulk fermentation). At this point, you can also place it in your refrigerator in a lidded container (to keep it from drying out) for up to 2-3 days.
   
8. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 450º
9. Divide dough into two
10. Generously oil two large pizza pans, or prepare two pizza stone
11. Optional: Dust pizza pan with cornmeal
12. Roll dough out into large, 14-16 inch pizzas for thinner crust or 12 inches for thick crust.
    If the dough begins to snap back before it’s as thin as you want, let it rest for five minutes, and continue to roll.
    
13. Bake pizza crust for five minutes, remove from oven, and add toppings
14. Bake pizza for 15 minutes (thin crust) to 20 minutes (thick crust) until the cheese on top begins to bubble
    
15. Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes
16. Slice and serve as desired

Favorite toppings for sourdough pizza

Typically, you will need about 3/4 cup of sauce and 2-3 cups of cheese per pizza. All the other toppings are completely based on your preference. If you’re wondering what sauce to use, red pizza sauce is usually marinara, and white is usually Alfredo.

We love a variety of toppings, so here are a few basic ideas: Pepperoni

• Sausage
• Ham
• Olives
• Bell pepper
• Pickled banana peppers or pepperoncini
• onions
• Mushrooms

And a few topping combinations that are just *chef’s kiss* listed in the order in which you would layer them on your pizza:

The possibilities are endless with pizza topping combinations.

Classic pepperoni:

• Marinara sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Pepperoni
• Parmesan

Margherita pizza:

• Marinara
• Mozzarella
• Quartered grape tomatoes
• Fresh basil
• Parmesan

Chicken bacon ranch:

• White sauce (alfredo)
• A drizzle of ranch dressing
• Mozzarella
• Diced chicken
• Crumbled bacon
• Diced tomatoes
• A drizzle of ranch dressing

The Ron Swanson:

• Marinara (or salsa)
• Mozzarella
• Crumbled sauce
• Crumbled bacon
• Break 2-4 eggs over pizza during last 5 minutes of baking

Other sourdough recipes for you:

• Easy sourdough tortillas
• Homemade sourdough hamburger buns
• Sourdough chocolate chip cookies
• Flaky sourdough biscuits
• Caramel-Apple Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

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