You know of my love for all things sourdough.
Sourdough is versatile (you can use it in pretty much anything that uses yeast), healthy (studies show it can reduce/break down gluten and anti-nutrients in wheat to make the finished product more digestible), and considering that I’ve had my starter in the same jar for the past several years, it’s almost like having another pet.
Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust
The most recent endeavor was a sourdough pizza crust.
The recipe is about the same as any other pizza crust recipe, just using the sourdough starter instead of yeast, which gives the crust just a little of that nice tang.
The only downside, if you consider it one, is that it takes a little longer to rise. Not a big deal if you plan ahead (start the dough in the morning and it will be ready for lunch or dinner), but something to keep in mind.
To make your own sourdough pizza crust, start with about a cup of starter, stir in a little water, then add a couple cups of flour and a pinch of salt (we also like to add some oregano and basil for an extra flavor boost). Knead on the counter for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth. Since starter consistencies may vary, you might need to add more flour – the dough should be moderately sticky, but not too goopy.
Let the dough rise in a greased bowl for several hours (or longer, if necessary), roughly until it’s doubled in size.
When you’re ready to eat, dump it onto a pizza stone or other baking sheet and gently stretch to your desired size and shape, then let it rest for a few minutes. This should make two round crusts, or a large rectangle if you want sheet style.
From personal experience, I’ll recommend that you may want to pre-bake (400ish is fine) for a few minutes before you add your toppings (my first batch was a little raw in the middle after baking; I also used some pretty wet ingredients, so that may have been a factor).
Add the toppings, then bake at 450 F for 8-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the crust.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- Additional seasonings, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the starter and water.
- Add in the flour and salt (and seasonings, if desired). Mix until combined, then knead on a flat surface for several minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Add more flour or liquid if needed, depending on how wet your starter is.
- Put the dough back into a greased bowl, then cover and let rise for several hours or longer, until roughly doubled.
- Dump onto a baking sheet and stretch to desired size and thickness.
- Optional (recommended, if the crust is on the thick side): bake the crust for a few minutes at 450 F before adding toppings.
- Add toppings then bake for another 8 or 10 minutes at 450.
- Let cool, slice, and eat.
We use our sourdough for pizza dough too, and I find it to be a total pain to stretch (sooo springy) but since any other kind of wheat bread product makes my husband and MiL sick, I soldier on. It’s usually a thicker crust than I like, but it’s still good. And I do pre-bake mine. I read somewhere that the pizza place in Arizona that consistently gets rated best pizza in the country actually lets their dough more or less ferment overnight before using it, so it’s partially sourdough, I guess. I thought that was interesting.
Can you freeze this dough?
You should be able to freeze it, just allow for some extra time for everything to wake up and start rising again!
Hi Gabe, if freezing can it already be rolled out into pizza shape or kept in a dough ball?
I can’t imagine that there would be any problems if it was already rolled out, as long as you let it go through some of the rise process first. If you mix it up and then roll it out immediately, then you’ll want to let it ‘wake up’ and rise for a while after it thaws and before you bake it. You could probably also let it rise, then roll it out, bake it, and freeze the baked crust (similar to the stuff you can get in a store).
is the starter you use fed or unfed?
I generally store my starter in the fridge, but I try to get it out at least a few hours before using to warm up and feed it. I find that it really doesn’t make much difference if it’s fed or unfed – it just might take a little longer to get going if it’s unfed and straight out of the fridge.
Made this crust with dear meat with taco seasoning, spinach, tomatoes, pineapple, black olives, cheese, and pizza sauce….. Oh my! Thank you for sharing this!!!!
That’s quite the combo! 🙂
Looks delicious!!! Thanks for sharing.
I would like to use this dough for a breakfast pizza. Can it go into the fridge with plastic wrap over night after rising?
Yep – I’d get it out a half hour or so before you plan on baking with it so the bacteria can warm up a bit, but even that’s not totally necessary if you’re in a rush.
Your recipe doesn’t mention how many pizzas this makes? I’d like to make this for dinner tonight how many have you gotten out of one recipe?
Looks super easy, does it matter what kind of flour, all purpose or bread?
I rarely ever have bread flour – all-purpose works great for me!
Thank you. Looking forward to trying it tomorrow.
I opted for one pie, ferment time was about 9 hours. Had a boatload of topping. Pre cooked the crust for 10 minutes then 14 more with toppings. One thing I did off recipe was perf the crust before the bake, fear of a balloon in the oven I guess, do you think it was necassary?
I’ve never run into the balloon problem, but baking seems to have a mind of its own sometimes, so better safe than sorry!
Made it again, wonderful. I am making a single 17″ pie as that is the sheet I have, seems to make the crust a big thicker than I would like, but went well, 10 minutes w/o toppings, 10 minutes with. Not nearly as many topping, pepperoni and sausage, eh.
Thank you for this recipe…I have been making it every Saturday night for a year now! It is something we all look forward to! I make 4 individuals, and par bake the crusts first. If any family members are gone that week, I wrap any extra crusts (before toppings are added) in plastic wrap & foil & put them in the freezer. Works super well!