Soft, chewy, and tangy, this sourdough pizza dough is the perfect recipe for those family pizza nights. Start the dough in the morning and it will be ready to bake up with your favorite toppings in the afternoon.
Pizza is so great because it is quick to throw together and it makes the perfect base to be topped with whatever you desire. This sourdough pizza crust recipe puts you just a few ingredients away from the most delicious bubbly pizza with a chewy crust. Whether you choose to cook it in an outdoor pizza oven, your home oven, or even a grill, it is sure to come out amazing!
Top your pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil for a classic taste, or skip the pizza sauce and use homemade pesto as the base. Make a chicken Alfredo pizza by topping your crust with Alfredo sauce, chicken, cheese and any veggies you like. You can also get a little fancy and try an olive oil, goat cheese, and date sauce pizza. Serve a fresh salad with homemade dressing on the side to round out the meal.
No matter how you choose to adorn your perfect pizza crust, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser next time you have a pizza party!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tasty – The sourdough in this recipe adds so much flavor and tanginess. This crust also has the best chewy consistency. There is just something about making your own pizza at home, it’s fun and tasty!
Crowd pleaser – Homemade pizza is so delicious, plus being able to customize it with your own topping preferences makes it great for picky eaters.
Make ahead – Make this dough days or weeks ahead and have pizza dough ready for a quick and easy meal.
Ingredients
Active sourdough starter – Active starter is sourdough starter that has been fed within 4-12 hours, and it’s active and bubbly. You want to use starter that is at the peak of its bubbling in order to give the dough the most rise.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
How to Make Sourdough Pizza Dough
Step 1: The morning of pizza night, add the ingredients to a stand mixer bowl, using a kitchen scale if you choose to weigh the ingredients.
Step 2: With a dough hook attachment, mix the dough on medium speed until the dough passes the windowpane test, which might take up to 10 minutes.
Step 3: Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a lid, plastic wrap or a plastic bag. Rest at room temperature for about 8 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 475. Divide dough into 4 equal portions and allow to rest while you prepare your toppings.
Step 5: Roll out on a lightly floured work surface with a rolling pin. I like to create a bit of a ridge around the outside for hand stretched thickness.
Step 6: Spread pizza sauce on top of the dough and top with your favorite toppings.
Step 7: Bake for 13-15 minutes. (I like to use a preheated pizza stone or cast iron skillet but you can also use a pizza pan). Finish off with a 3 minute broil to achieve the browning on top of the crust.
Tips
- Be careful not to over-ferment the dough. This will leave you with a sloppy mess.
- This dough can be made days or even weeks in advance. If you are planning to use it within a few days, place in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use. You can also freeze for later.
- Make sure that your dough is at room temperature before rolling. The correct dough temperature allows the dough to relax, and makes it easier to shape and roll.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Sourdough starter and the fermentation process adds another layer of flavor to pizza dough and makes it easier to digest
Most dough uses conventional yeast like instant yeast to give it rise. Sourdough is made with a sourdough starter, which uses wild yeast and bacteria to leaven the dough.
This could be caused by a few different things, such as over baking, over working the dough, or adding too much flour.
Store dough in the fridge up to a week, or place in the freezer after it has risen and has been divided. Wrap with plastic wrap and then store in a freezer plastic bag.
Pre bake crusts for about 8-10 minutes and then allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
- Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
- Easy Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Sourdough Cheese Bread
- Sourdough Cornbread
- Quick Sourdough Discard Pizza Crust
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Easy Homemade Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 Kitchen Scale optional
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup starter
- 4 cups flour
- 1.5 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- The morning of pizza night, add the ingredients to a stand mixer bowl.
- With a dough hook, mix the dough on medium speed until the dough passes the windowpane test, which might take up to 10 minutes.
- Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Rest at room temperature for about 8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 475.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal sections and allow to rest while you prepare your toppings.
- Roll out on a lightly floured surface. I like to create a bit of a ridge around the outside for hand stretched thickness.
- Spread pizza sauce and top with your favorite toppings.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes (I like to use a preheated pizza stone or cast iron skillet but you can also use a pizza pan.). Finish off with a 3 minute broil to achieve the browning on top of the crust.
Notes
- Active starter is sourdough starter that has been fed within 4-12 hours, and it’s active and bubbly. You want to use starter that is at the peak of its bubbling in order to give the dough the most rise.
- Be careful not to over-ferment the dough. This will leave you with a sloppy mess.
- This dough can be made days or even weeks in advance. If you are planning to use it within a few days, place in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use. You can also freeze for later.
- Make sure that your dough is at room temperature before rolling. The correct dough temperature allows the dough to relax, and makes it easier to shape and roll.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What can I do to get the bottom crispier (without the top getting scorched)? Mine came out very pale and a little underdone, but top was overdone. Should I have preheated the pizza stone longer?
Yes, you absolutely need to preheat your pizza stone longer! When the oven says it is preheated, only the air is hot—the stone is still cool, which causes the top to burn before the bottom cooks.
Here is how to get a perfectly crispy bottom crust:
Preheat the Stone Longer: Leave the stone in the oven at 475°F (245°C) for 45 to 60 minutes before baking so it absorbs enough heat to crisp the crust instantly.
Par-Bake the Crust: Bake the rolled-out, naked dough on the hot stone for 3 to 4 minutes first. Remove it, add your toppings, and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes. This prevents toppings from burning while the dough cooks through.
Try Cast Iron: You can also press the dough into a hot cast iron skillet on the stovetop for a few minutes to sear the bottom, add toppings, and finish baking it in the oven.
Excellent tips- thank you!
Amazing recipe! I use it all the time for my family
What type of flour works best in this recipe? AP or bread ?
Either will work just fine in this recipe.
Does the starter have to bubbly for this recipe or can it be more like discard?
Active sourdough starter – Active starter is sourdough starter that has been fed within 4-12 hours, and it’s active and bubbly. You want to use starter that is at the peak of its bubbling in order to give the dough the most rise. *this is from the recipe*. If you want, I do have a sourdough discard pizza dough recipe you can find here on the blog.
It has been an hour and I haven’t been able to pass the windowpane test. Should I keep mixing and resting it until it does? Thanks!
Is the dough super sticky or has it formed into a nice dough ball? If it is super sticky, you may need to add a little more flour.
Super easy and delicious. I doubled the recipe and make it into two large pizzas. Love this pizza recipe.
How can I make this and freeze it? At what point do you put it in the freeze?
You can freeze it after the fermentation. Some people like to roll it out into a crust shape already so it thaws faster.
Again, your recipes are always working.
I doubled the recipe and made 2 sheet pan pizzas. They were divine. 😍
I am in a hot and humid environment at the movies and the time I waited was 5 hours instead of 8 which worked perfectly.
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Hi! I am normally GF but can handle sourdough as long as it ferments as long as possible. (12+ hours). If I did an initial rise at room temp 8 hr and 12 hours in the fridge would that cause problems? Thanks!
No, you can actually leave it in the fridge for a slow fermentation for up to 3 days!
I’ve done this recipe twice and it turned out good, but I need some pointers. Still learning the art of sourdough. One, if I want to do a slow fermentation in the fridge how soon can I take it out of the fridge so I can use for like say dinner? I do know after I take it out of the fridge that it has to come to room temperature. Thanks, your book has been a game changer by the way!
This dough can be made days or even weeks in advance. If you are planning to use it within a few days, place in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use. You can also freeze for later.
Make sure that your dough is at room temperature before rolling. The correct dough temperature allows the dough to relax, and makes it easier to shape and roll. *so glad you are enjoying the book!