Sourdough Pizza Dough

Sourdough pizza dough is one of the most delicious things you’ll ever make at home. It’s completely irresistible, with a slightly tangy flavor that goes amazingly well with anything, even pineapple!

Pineapples aside, if you’re making homemade pizza and want to take it to the next level, you’ll love this sourdough pizza dough, it’s totally easy to make, tastes great and has a crispy exterior with a soft, chewy crumb – just how it’s meant to be.

I’ve included shaping directions to hand stretch your delicious dough, but if you’re wanting to bake in a cast iron skillet or make pan pizza, feel free to shape and bake your pizza as you like.

This sourdough pizza crust recipe is dedicated to a perfect pizza party!

Dough Style Notes:

If you’re a pizza nerd, consider this pizza dough to be Neapolitan style with a bit of New York flair and all the flavor.

Neapolitan pizzas are bound by a strict requirements in order to actually be considered as such by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana. The regulations include the type of mixers, the ingredients used, and even approved ovens! When it comes to the pizza itself, you can expect a Neapolitan pizza to be stretched as thin as possible, be cooked in a wood fired oven, and have only four ingredients; 00 flour, water, yeast, and salt.

New York Style pizzas are a little less rigid in classification. NY pizza is derived from Neapolitan pizzas over a century ago. New York pizzas are generally hand tossed with sturdier crusts that can stand up to the true NY fold. New York style pizza is also made with high protein bread flour and a generous helping of oil before being cooked in gas or electric ovens.

This recipe marries both New York and traditional Italian pizza doughs for what I call Neapolitan-ish ‘zza without any strict regulations only baking enjoyment.

Key Ingredients

Sourdough starter: The leavening power in this recipe comes from an active, vibrant sourdough starter. Use a starter that has at least doubled in size after its most recent feeding.

Bread Flour: This recipe is made with bread flour to keep it easy and accessible to everyone. No need for fancy 00 flour taking up pantry space for this recipe! If you don’t have bread flour, all purpose flour will work, though the texture may suffer a bit!

Oil: We’re doing it! Adding a little bit of oil helps to improve the tenderness of the crust because we’re cooking it in a home oven instead of a wood fired oven, the dough will spend more time cooking and the oil will help to prevent it from drying out too much. That said, it will bake beautifully in an outdoor pizza oven too!

Psst.. Need a sourdough starter recipe? Want to know more about feeding your starter, storing sourdough starter, using up discard, or even which is the best jar for your starter?

How To Make Sourdough Pizza Crust

Prepare The Dough:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add 600g bread flour and make a well in the center. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, add 375g room temperature water and 90g active sourdough starter. Stir them to combine then mix in 12g extra virgin olive oil.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour and mix by hand until the dough starts to come together, and once it begins to pull away from the bowl cover with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch + Fold:

1. Dimple the dough by poking it as though you’re poking focaccia then sprinkle 12g fine sea salt over the dough and stretch and fold the dough. To do this, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times. This makes 1 set of stretch and folds. Cover and set the dough aside for a 4 hour bulk fermentation.
2. During the 4 hour rest, perform at least one, and preferably 2 sets of stretch and folds. Recover between each set of stretch and folds.

Portion + Proof:

1. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using a dough scraper and scale, portion the dough into 4 ~250g pieces of dough.
2. Form each piece into a tight ball by folding it into itself.
3. Place the balls on a lightly floured baking sheet, then lightly flour the surface of each ball. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap then set aside to proof for 5-6 hours or until the dough balls have roughly doubled in size.

Cold Retard:

1. Once the dough has roughly doubled, transfer the tray to the fridge to cold retard for 12 hours before making pizzas or up to 4 days. A longer cold retard will result in a more intensely flavored dough, likewise, a shorter time in the fridge will give a more mild dough.

Baker’s Percentages

This pizza dough is a medium-low hydration dough, about 65%. I like this hydration level because it gives me a dough that’s easier to handle than one with more water, the crumb is denser and chewier, and firm enough to hang on to it’s toppings. Oh, and the crust ends up a little crispier, which is *chef’s kiss*.

Tasty Soudough Bread Recipes

Shaping The Pizza Dough

Before shaping the dough, the oven should be preheated and heat soaked – see directions in the next section.

1. Carefully remove the chilled dough from the tray and transfer it to a floured work surface and flour the top of the dough ball before beginning the shaping process.
2. Working about 3/4″ from the edge of the dough ball, press a ditch with your fingertips to define the crust edge. The distance from the edge will determine the crust size – further away will give a larger crust while closer will result in a smaller crust. As a proud member of the no carb left behind club, I’m a big fan of a larger crust.
3. Begin shaping the dough by pressing gently in the center of the dough to flatten the the dough, I like to overlap my index fingers and press my middle fingers together during this stage, it creates a natural curve along my fingertips encouraging the dough into a round shape.

3. To stretch into shape, you’ll be lifting the dough – try to avoid squeezing the crust edge formed in step 2. Make a fist with your left hand, then place the dough right side up onto your fist. Make a fist with the right hand, and place them together underneath the dough, from there, you’ll be gently stretching your hands apart, then rotating the dough a bit, stretching, then rotating to make it around the entire circle. I like to stretch to about 8-9″ in diameter per 250g ball – this gives me the perfect mix between thin base and chewy crust.
4. Assemble your pizza!

Make Your Best Pizza Ever

1. Load your baking steel or baking stone into the oven and preheat oven to 550f or as high as it will go. Allow the oven to heat soak and reach temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking. Prepare a large square of parchment paper and set aside.
2. Once the oven has been sufficiently preheated, shape the dough following the directions as above or use your own method. Place the shaped dough on the parchment paper.
3. Spread your favorite homemade pizza or tomato sauce on the dough, leaving a gap around the edge of the pie where you’ve defined the crust.
4. Add fresh mozzarella cheese and toppings before loading the dough onto your pizza peel and baking to perfection in the hot oven. I bake my 8-9″ pizzas for about 7 minutes at 550f.

Batch + Storage Information

Batch:

This sourdough pizza dough recipe makes enough for four 250g dough balls. Each 250g dough ball will yield one 10″ thin crust pizza or 8-9″ thicker crust pizza.

It can be scaled larger or smaller by using the baker’s percentages provided.

Storage:

In the fridge:

This dough can be made up to 4 days in advance! Sounds wild, but it’s true, which makes it a great weekend meal prep option for quick and easy weeknight pizza parties!

In the freezer:

Your homemade sourdough pizza crust can easily be frozen! Once portioned into 250g balls, rub each with a thin layer or olive oil then wrap each ball tightly in plastic wrap before sliding them into a freeze ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 6 weeks.

Thawing frozen dough:

It’s important to thaw your sourdough pizza dough in the fridge to keep the yeast sluggish during the defrosting process. To thaw, transfer the dough to a covered container the fridge and allow it to thaw overnight. Then warm up the dough by resting at room temperature for up to 8 hours before you’re ready to work with it! Don’t skip this step – as these frozen dough balls haven’t been through their final proof and it’s necessary.

Basically, you’ll be taking the dough out of the freezer the night before you intend to have pizza and in the morning you’ll transfer the container the counter so it’s ready at dinner time!

More Sourdough Recipes To Try

Recommended Equipment

Baking Steel: I have two 14 x 16 ” baking steels in my cooking arsenal. These are the perfect size to fit into my residential oven, and subsequently into my cookie sheet cupboard when I’m not using them. Not only are they pretty much the best thing to happen to homemade pizza, they’re also amazing for baking sourdough without a dutch oven!

Pizza Peel: A pizza peel is super handy when making homemade pizza and working at high temps! We use ours whenever we’re baking pizza on the Traeger, open oven baking sourdough. I got an inexpensive pizza peel from a restaurant supply store similar to this one from Amazon.

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📖 Printable Recipe

Sourdough Pizza Crust

Allyson Letal

Unleash your inner pizzaiolo with this simple yet flavorful sourdough pizza crust recipe, marrying the best of Neapolitan and New York styles. With an easy-to-follow process, you'll create a perfectly fermented dough that's sure to elevate your homemade pizza nights.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 day d

Bake Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 day d 1 hour hr

Course Sourdough

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 8-10″ pizzas

Calories 608 kcal

Ingredients

 

• 600 g bread flour
• 375 g water room temperature
• 90 g active sourdough starter
• 12 g olive oil
• 12 g fine sea salt

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

prepare the dough:

• In a large mixing bowl, add 600g bread flour and make a well in the center. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, add 375g room temperature water and 90g active sourdough starter. Stir them to combine then mix in 12g extra virgin olive oil.
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour and mix by hand until the dough starts to come together, and once it begins to pull away from the bowl cover with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

stretch + fold:

• Dimple the dough by poking it as though you're poking FOCACCIA then sprinkle 12g fine sea salt over the dough and stretch and fold the dough. To do this, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times. This makes 1 set of stretch and folds. Cover and set the dough aside for about 4 hours.
• During the 4 hour rest, perform at least one, and preferably 2 sets of stretch and folds. Recover between each set of stretch and folds.

portion + proof:

• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using a dough scraper and scale, portion the dough into 4 ~250g pieces of dough.
• Form each piece into a tight ball by folding it into itself.
• Place the balls on a lightly floured baking sheet, then lightly flour the surface of each ball. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap then set aside to proof for 5-6 hours or until the dough balls have roughly doubled in size.

cold retard:

• Once the dough has roughly doubled, transfer the tray to the fridge to COLD RETARD for 12 hours before making pizzas or up to 4 days. A longer cold retard will result in a more intensely flavored dough, likewise, a shorter time in the fridge will give a more mild dough.

shaping the pizza dough

• Before shaping the dough, the oven should be preheated and heat soaked – see directions in the next section.
• Carefully remove the chilled dough from the tray and transfer it to a floured work surface and flour the top of the dough ball before beginning the shaping process.
• Working about 3/4" from the edge of the dough ball, press a ditch with your fingertips to define the crust edge. The distance from the edge will determine the crust size – further away will give a larger crust while closer will result in a smaller crust. As a member of the no carb left behind club, I'm a big fan of a larger crust.
• Begin shaping the dough by pressing gently in the center of the dough to flatten the the dough, I like to overlap my index fingers and press my middle fingers together during this stage, it creates a natural curve along my fingertips encouraging the dough into a round shape.
• To stretch into shape, you'll be lifting the dough – try to avoid squeezing the crust edge formed in step 2. Make a fist with your left hand, then place the dough right side up onto your fist. Make a fist with the right hand, and place them together underneath the dough, from there, you'll be gently stretching your hands apart, then rotating the dough a bit, stretching, then rotating to make it around the entire circle. I like to stretch to about 8-9" in diameter per 250g ball – this gives me the perfect mix between thin base and chewy crust.

make your best pizza ever

• Load your baking steel or baking stone into the oven and preheat oven to 550f or as high as it will go. Allow the oven to heat soak and reach temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking. Prepare a large square of parchment paper and set aside.
• Once the oven has been sufficiently preheated, shape the dough following the directions as above or use your own method. Place the shaped dough on the parchment paper.
• Spread your favorite homemade pizza sauce on the dough, leaving a gap around the edge of the pie where you've defined the crust.
• Add shredded cheese and toppings before loading the dough onto your pizza peel and baking to perfection in the hot oven. I bake my 8-9" pizzas for about 7 minutes at 550f.

Notes

baker's percentages

100%Bread Flour

63%Water

15%Starter

2%Olive Oil

2%Sea Salt

batch:

This sourdough pizza dough recipe makes enough for four 250g dough balls. Each 250g dough ball will yield one 10" thin crust pizza or 8-9" thicker crust pizza.

It can be scaled larger or smaller by using the baker's percentages provided.

storage:

In the fridge:

This dough can be made up to 4 days in advance! Sounds wild, but it's true, which makes it a great weekend meal prep option for quick and easy weeknight pizza parties!

In the freezer:

Once portioned into 250g balls, rub each with a thin layer or olive oil then wrap each ball tightly in plastic wrap before sliding them into a freeze ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 6 weeks.

Thawing frozen dough:

To thaw, transfer the dough to a covered container the fridge and allow it to thaw overnight. Then warm up the dough by resting at room temperature for up to 8 hours before you're ready to work with it! Don't skip this step – as these frozen dough balls haven't been through their final proof and it's necessary.

Recommended Equipment + Ingredients

• Kirkland Signature Non Stick Parchment Paper
• Classic Olive Oil
• French Grey Sea Salt
• King Arthur, Special Bread Unbleached Flour
• Primica Pizza Steel (16″ x 13.4″)

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 608kcalCarbohydrates: 117gProtein: 19gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 1170mgFiber: 4gSugar: 1g

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