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
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
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.
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.