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.
How would you suggest making this without a stand mixer? Knead by hand? Or do a certain number of stretch and folds? Thanks!
You can knead it by hand for about 20 minutes.
I put this in my zojirushi bread maker on the dough setting and left it in there for 8 hours came out prefect. I have made this multiple times in the oven with great success every time. However this time I made it in my pellet smoker too hot to turn the oven on. Used my cast iron flat pan and a pizza stone. Came out amazing!!!
Directions on using frozen dough? Do you put olive oil on the dough balls before freezing? Thawing instructions woulsd be so helpful. I keep messing it up.
I don’t add olive oil! Just freeze. When ready to use, let warm up and thaw on the counter. Roll out when it is pliable and let the dough rise anymore if needed.
If you plan to make the dough for later in the week, do you still let it rise for 8hrs and then refrigerate? Can you make the dough and put in the refrigerator without the 8hr rise?
Yes!
If I double recipe, do I need to double the time the dough rests at room temp (bulk ferments) as well? Thank you!
No, you don’t!
In your recipe, you start with a half cup starter. Is this fed and active starter or unfed? Thank you!
Fed and Active!
This is such an awesome recipe. I was using another popular blogger’s pizza crust recipe for the longest time, and tried this one today because I didn’t have the bread flour called for the other one and needed to use all-purpose. I ended up using 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose. I found this recipe to be very easy, quick and mess-free to put together, proofed in about 6 hours (it was a warm July day) and I also found the dough much easier and more forgiving to stretch/form into crust than the other recipe. For the other recipe, you had to cook on stovetop first, then add toppings, then place in oven, so I loved the simplified steps of this recipe too and the cooking process was quicker. It turned out perfectly puffy and crispy, especially the ones we cooked on the pizza stone vs. cast iron. Delicious and stood up well to the toppings. This will be my new go-to!
Do you know if there is a way to get my sourdough less glutinous with using wheat flour? I’ve heard to let it set longer might help.
I found your recipe from my little sister who uses it.
Yes. I would let it long ferment in your fridge for up to three days. That helps to break down the gluten.
Hi! I had a similar question about removing most of the gluten – would you skip the room temp rise for 8hrs and just place in the fridge to long ferment for 3 days?
Thank you! Looking so forward to making this for my family!
Still keep the room temp rise. That helps the bread to actually rise. In the fridge, it does not rise as much, but works to break down the gluten.
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try this, this week!
If frozen,what is the process for thawing and using it?
Thaw on the counter and roll it out to let it rise again. Then bake like normal.
Is the dough supposed to rise during its resting period? Mine seems to have a minimal rise. I made the mistake of rubbing a little of the olive oil from the bowl coating on top of the dough. Will that mess up the rising process if it is supposed to rise?
It will rise some, but not as much as a bread dough.