Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe

Once you try Sourdough Pizza Crust, there is no going back! Chewy, crispy, and super flavorful, it’s the perfect base for all your favorite toppings. Here we’ve added a secret ingredient! Watch the Video.

Pizza, in my humble opinion, is all about the crust and once you try sourdough pizza crust, you won’t want anything else. Not only does it taste better, but it is also much easier to digest, with more nutrients from the fermentation process.

This sourdough pizza dough is incredibly easy to make using simple ingredients. It takes about 10 minutes of hands-on time, with a very adaptable 10 to 48 hours of fermenting time, based on your schedule.

We use the exact same recipe as our Sourdough Bread Recipe but with one optional addition that truly elevates; rice flour! Adding a little rice flour makes the pizza crust light and crispy! Try it – or leave it out, up to you!

Sourdough Pizza Recipe ingredients

1. Sourdough Starter – use an active, hungry starter. Make your own sourdough starter from scratch or buy a starter.
2. Flour– Pizza flour (00′ flour), bread flour or bread flour all work here. FYI- 00′ flour (double zero flour) is the finest flour you can get, typically from Italy made from durum wheat- and is what is used in Naples, giving their pizza their signature airy pockets, crispy crust and the perfect amount of chewiness.
3. Rice flour– optional, to create a fantastic texture ( a lighter crispier crust)!
4. Salt– sea salt, Himalayan salt
5. Water– for hydrating the dough.
6. Olive oil

*See the detailed ingredients list in the recipe card below.

Proofing Time (3 Options)

Depending on your schedule, sourdough pizza dough can proof quickly or slowly. I prefer a slow, longer rise, which enhances the flavor of the dough and improves digestibility. But in a pinch, the fast rise works well too.

1. Same day (10-12 hours) the Fastest! Make the dough in the morning, let rise during the day on the counter, use it at night. 
2. Overnight (24 hours) Make the dough in the evening, let it rise overnight, refrigerate until the evening and use it that night.
3. Long slow rise (36 -48 hours) Make the dough anytime, place it in the fridge, until almost doubled (36 -48 hours) or longer.  Great for meal prep, and easiest to digest. 

How to make Sourdough Pizza Dough

Step one: In a large bowl, weigh out 385 grams of water ( 1 3/4 cups).

Step two: Zero out the bowl and add 90 grams of active starter ( 1/3 cup).

Step three: Mix well and add the salt (2 teaspoons) stirring to combine.

Step four: Zero out the bowl and add 520 grams of total flour including the optional rice flour (about a 1/3 cup) or 4 cups flour total (spooned and leveled).

I added a 1/3 cup rice flour, then added the remaining 00′ Pizza flour until the combined weight equaled 520 grams. Or skip the rice flour, using only 520 grams of 00′ Pizza flour.

This is roughly 4 cups of total flour, spooned and leveled.

Step five: mix the dough and form a shaggy ball.

The pizza dough should just come together. If it is very dry, add a little more water, just enough to incorporate the flour.

Step Six: Let this rest 10 minutes, then do 1-2 sets of “stretch and folds” 10-15 minutes apart, (same as our sourdough bread method) see the video below.

Step seven: Place in a tall-sided, 2-quart measuring container coated with olive oil – and let this rise according to your schedule -see the 3 options above.

This container is very handy if you want to refrigerate it for the longer proofing period- this way you can easily gauge the rise.

Here I have placed this directly in the fridge for 2 days.

Step eight: Once doubled or almost doubled (1.75) it is ready to use. Divide the dough, on a floured surface, into 4 equal pieces (roughly 220 grams each).

Each pizza dough ball will yield a 10 to 12-inch pizza.

Step nine: Store any remaining dough back in the fridge ( I just use the same container) or feel free to use individual containers.

*The dough can also be frozen individually at this point- see recipe notes.

Step ten: Make your pizza. Let dough rest 45-60 minutes on floured parchment paper or a floured pizza peel.

Preheat oven to 500F with a pizza steel or pizza stone inside. You can also use a sheet pan. If you have convection, use it.

Step eleven: Sprinkle the dough with flour. Stretch out your dough, resisting any urge to flatten it. You want to preserve the air bubbles- so carefully pull out the edges from the middle.

An easy way to do this is to pick it up on one end, let it hang, and turn it letting gravity pull and stretch it down as you turn it, like a wheel. Kind of like how they do in Italy, but without throwing it.

Aim for a 12-inch crust. Place it back on the well-floured surface. Stretch into shape. Aim for thinner in the middle and thicker towards the edges.

Add pizza sauce (or pesto) and fresh mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with pecorino. Now you have a base for other toppings.

Use any toppings you like. Here I’ve added shiitake mushrooms, red onions, oregano, Calabrian chilies and a drizzle of olive oil.

Step twelve: Bake! Slide the pizza onto the hot stone. If using parchment just leave the pizza on the parchment, baking it on the parchment, on top of the stone.

Depending on your oven, and the thickness of your pizza dough, the pizza will be ready anywhere from 6-8 minutes- if you are in the 10-12 inch diameter range.

Feel free to broil the top for a minute or two.

Slide it onto a cutting board and cut it into 6-8 pieces. This is the perfect amount of pizza for 2 people, with a leafy green salad, although I’m guilty of having more.

More recipes to try!

Simple Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Biscuits

Quick Sourdough Buns

Sourdough English Muffins

Enjoy this recipe- I can’t wait to hear about all the different pizzas you create! Leave a comment and ⭐️ rating below. Happy Weekend!

Sylvia

Sourdough Pizza Video