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.
I know, I know. The audacity that I post a sourdough pizza dough when I’ve been devoted to this recipe for so long.
But hear me out. My sister was having a dinner party at her farm recently, and she purchased a pizza oven. Naturally, I offered to make some delicious sourdough pizza crust to take the wood fired pizza up another notch.
The crust turned out absolutely delicious. It was soft and chewy and bubbly. All the good things you want in pizza.
But you don’t have to have a pizza oven to get amazing results. This will work just fine in a standard oven or even on the grill.
Top with your favorite ingredients for your next pizza night.
Why you will love this recipe:
Tasty: The sourdough in this recipe adds so much flavor and tanginess.
Chewy: These crusts have the best chewy consistency.
Perfect for a pizza oven or grilling: I love this recipe to make delicious, grilled pizza or wood fired pizza.
Make ahead: Make these days or weeks ahead and have pizza dough ready for a quick and easy meal.
Tips:
- Be careful not to over-ferment the dough. This will leave you with a sloppy mess. Ask me how I know.
- 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 air tight container until ready to use. You can also freeze for later.
- This recipe is great for baking in the oven, a pizza oven, or even on a grill.
Pizza dough Ingredients:
Active sourdough starter: This 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.
Flour: All purpose flour will work just fine.
Water
Salt: This adds a lot of flavor to the dough so it doesn’t taste bland.
Olive oil: This helps the dough to be softer and stretchier.
Tools:
Stand mixer
Measuring cups and spoons or scale
FAQ
Is sourdough good for pizza?
Yes. Sourdough starter and the fermentation process adds another layer of flavor.
Is pizza dough the same as sourdough?
Most pizza dough uses conventional yeast to give it rise. You will have to find a specific sourdough pizza dough recipe like this one to ensure it is sourdough or look on the ingredient list of a pre-made dough.
Why is my sourdough pizza hard?
This could be caused by a few different things, such as overbaking, overworking the dough, or adding too much flour.
How To Make Sourdough Pizza Dough:
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. (This is when you are able to stretch a small amount of dough so thin, you can see through it.)
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 on sauce and top with 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. Our vintage oven has a bottom drawer for broiling and it made the most beautiful pizzas.
Another option is to cook it in an outdoor pizza oven. We had a pizza party at my sister’s house and enjoyed the dough with this method as well! She has an Ooni, and now I’m thinking about getting one for our home. It makes for an easy night of entertaining guests!
How to Store:
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.
Baking Schedule:
9 AM: Create dough.
5 PM: Split the dough and allow to rest before baking.
5:15-5:30: Bake the pizzas.
Pizza Variations:
Pesto pizza: Skip the pizza sauce and use pesto as the base. Top with cheese and your other favorite toppings.
Olive oil, goat cheese, and date sauce pizza.
Chicken Alfredo pizza: Replace pizza sauce with Alfredo sauce and top with chicken, cheese, and any veggies you like.
Meat lovers: Pepperoni, cooked sausage, and bacon work amazingly for this one.
How To Make A Margherita Pizza:
Create dough according to the instructions above.
Preheat oven to 475.
Roll out into circles and create a ridge around the edge.
Spread pizza sauce over all the crust.
Top with freshly sliced mozzarella and very thinly sliced tomatoes.
Bake for 13-15 minutes until pizza is bubbly.
Top with fresh basil and enjoy. You can also sprinkle it with parmesan.
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
- Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
- Easy Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Sourdough Cheese Bread
- Sourdough Cornbread
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Also, tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup starter, 113g
- 4 cups flour, 600g
- 1.5 cups water, 354g
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, 26.6
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
- Be careful not to over-ferment the dough. This will leave you with a sloppy mess. If you can’t bake it after 8 hours of fermentation, you can place it in the fridge to bake a later time.
- 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 air tight container until ready to use. Freeze the dough after rising for up to 2-3 months.
- This recipe is great for baking in the oven, a pizza oven, or even on a grill.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this dough and my 20 something kids loved it. They never want regular pizza dough again!
I just finished cooking/eating the pizza dough recipe. It was so fluffy and chewy, loved it! I will add salt to my base sauce before putting in the oven next time. I felt the salt was a little too little . I am afraid to mess with the salt ratio in the dough though.
PS I use Caputo Red bag flour, and also think that makes a huge difference in the dough.
Is this with active starter or discard? Thanks!
Active!
is the oil supposed to be in the dough or for the oiled bowl?
In the dough.
Absolutely love this recipe! Always a hit and perfect for the pizza oven. If I want to make a day ahead, do I make the dough and immediately put it into the fridge and let it rise for 8 hours when I take it out to use? Or do I let it rise then put it in the fridge and then just let it get to room temp when I take it out to bake?
Usually, the first rise you want to do at room temperature then you can shape and transfer into the fridge. Let it come to room temperature to roll out.
Can I leave it for longer?
Say about 24 hours?
I would recommend sticking it in the fridge if you want to wait longer before baking. If left at room temperature you run the risk of over fermentation. I will usually let it ferment the first rise and room temp, then shape into balls and stick in the fridge wrapped in plastic.
Does this make 4 individual pizzas? Generally, what size pizza does a 1/4 of the dough make? I dont want to make it too thin. 🙂
About 10″. Sometimes I make them into three larger pizzas!
Made this dough so good! I made a taco pizza because I had leftovers. I topped it with cheddar cheese, of course. I also threw on some kale, which became quite crunchy. Kinda like a tortilla chip. Anyway, it was so good and the crust was tender but crunchy and I made it kind of thin period
That sounds amazing!
Trying this recipe tomorrow, but have a question. It says rise for about 8 hours, it what % rise am I looking for? Should be doubled in size? I live in a warm climate so my rise times tend to be different, I don’t want to over proof.
Yes, it should about double in size.
Haven’t baked it yet, but the dough never came together. I had to add at least another cup, maybe 2, of flour. It’s a thick mess but resembles dough. Will let it rest and hopefully it rises. Any thoughts as to why it never came together? It was soup.
Oh no! That doesn’t sound right at all. My guess is either too much water was added or possibly your starter is a very different consistency than mine. It’s hard to tell without me seeing it.
Hey😀, I’ve had a similar issue. I live in a warmer climate, so, I am going to let it rise for less than 8 hours just in case I’m letting it ferment for too long with it being a more humid climate where I live.
I can let you know how it goes!
Our family loves this pizza crust recipe! I see other comments stating that it was too thick or that there wasn’t enough air in it, but I did not have that problem at all. It was also super easy to spread out. I cut the recipe in half to make 1 large pizza, but it turned out fluffy and a little crispy but still where my 16 month old could bite into it! This is definitely going to be a staple in our family.
Thank you so much. I’m so glad your family enjoyed it.