Sourdough Pizza Crust

This sourdough pizza crust is naturally leavened with sourdough starter for a perfectly crispy, chewy crust! I've also included instructions for how to cook homemade pizza in your conventional oven and an outdoor pizza oven! This sourdough pizza dough recipe is designed to make two personal 10 inch pizzas but super easy to double or even triple the recipe!

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2

Rising Time 18

Total Time 18 32

Servings 10 inch pizzas

Calories 611kcal

Author Kyleigh Sage

Equipment

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

75 grams ripe sourdough starter
160 grams water lukewarm
270 grams Italian style "00" flour substitute all purpose flour
30 grams whole wheat flour substitute all purpose four
1 tablespoon pizza dough flavor optional
8 grams extra virgin olive oil
6 grams kosher salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make Pizza Dough

In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all of the dough ingredients and knead until the dough comes together in a cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (5-10 minutes). It should be somewhat smooth but still a little wet and tacky. If the dough doesn't come together, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it does.
Cover the bowl and let the dough bulk ferment at room temperature for 3 hours. Perform a set of stretches and folds every 30 minutes (3 sets is plenty) and let the dough rest for the remainder of the 3 hours. [If you want more an in depth explanation of how to do stretch and folds, check out my homemade sourdough bread recipe for instructions and photos!]
After the dough is done bulk fermenting, divide in half. Shape each half into a tight ball and place in a lightly oiled proofing container. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then transfer to the fridge to let rise overnight or until roughly doubled in size and puffy (at least 12-18 hours).
If you're making multiple batches of dough or planning to keep it in the fridge for more than 24 hours, I recommend proofing the pizza dough balls in individual air tight containers like these quart sized deli containers!
The sourdough pizza dough is best used within 48 hours after shaping, but I've kept it in the fridge for up to 5 days and it still bakes up well!

Prep Pizza

When you're ready to bake, remove the dough balls from the oven about 30 minutes before shaping so they can come up to room temperature. I also like to preheat the pizza oven for at least 30 minutes too!
Generously dust your work surface with semolina flour (this helps ensure the bottom of the pizza dough doesn't stick while baking).
Place one of the dough balls on your floured work surface and gently start pressing into a large circle, starting out from the middle and pressing out to the edges. The dough will be very elastic at first but will continue to relax as you keep stretching it. To continue to stretch the dough even thinner pick it up by the edge and let the dough droop downward with gravity, then gently rotate the dough as if you're turning a stirring wheel. Continue to stretch the dough until it's about 10 inches across. [If you're struggling with hand shaping your pizza dough, this is a great post on how to hand stretch pizza dough with visuals and everything!]
Generously sprinkle the pizza peel with semolina flour as well. When the dough is stretched to about 10 inches, gently transfer it to the pizza peel.
Then spread a very thin layer of sauce on top of the dough and then top with cheese and whatever toppings you prefer! It's always best to go with less toppings as opposed to piling them high so that everything cooks evenly and the crust isn't too weighed down.
After topping, give the pizza a little shake on the pizza peel to make sure it isn't stuck, then immediately transfer it to the oven.
Then repeat with the second pizza once the first is done cooking.

Outdoor Pizza Oven Instructions

Be sure to consult the manufacturer instructions of your pizza oven before cooking! Below is how I like to cook with my Ooni Koda 12, but best practices will vary based on your specific oven. I recommend trying a few different methods to find what works best for you.
Preheat to pizza oven to 900°F (typically the highest setting) for 20-30 minutes. You can use an infrared thermometer to confirm the temperature.
Before you slide the pizza into the oven, double check that it isn't sticking at all to the pizza peel (if it is, add more semolina to the bottom). Then carefully launch the pizza from the peel into the pizza oven with a quick thrust of the peel.
Immediately after putting the pizza in the oven, I like to turn the heat all the way down to the lowest setting (usually around 500°F). This allows the pizza to still puff up from the initial shock of heat, but helps keep the crust from burning.
Rotate the pizza using your pizza peel roughly every 30 seconds to make sure the crust cooks evenly and doesn't burn. It should only take about 2 minutes to fully cook.
Once the sourdough pizza is fully cooked, the cheese is bubbly, and the crust is nice and browned, remove and transfer to a cutting board. Let the pizza cool for a minute or two before slicing and serving. After cooling, top with fresh herbs or pesto if desired.
Turn the temperature back up to high for about 10 minutes while you prep the next pizza and repeat.

Conventional Oven Instructions

To make pizza in your home oven, I highly recommend using either a pizza stone or baking steel to ensure the bottom of the pizza crust is able to get perfectly crispy!
Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500°F for at least 30 minutes.
Then slide the pizza onto the preheated baking stone and then bake the pizza for 5-7 minutes. Then switch the oven to broil on high for 2-4 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
Top with fresh herbs and enjoy that perfectly crispy crust!

Notes

The sourdough pizza dough is best used within 48 hours after shaping, but I've kept it in the fridge for up to 5 days and it still bakes up well!

Nutrition