Oh man, I take a looong time to write a blog post… But, do you know what DOESN’T take a long time? Making this super easy and delicious sourdough pizza crust!
I love that I can get home from work and make fresh homemade pizza in less than an hour.
The key is to have sourdough starter ready – whether in the fridge or at room temperature – add a few quick ingredients, mix and allow the dough to ‘rest’ (a.k.a. autolyze) while you prep your pizza toppings.
Autolysis occurs when enzymes break down gluten into smaller, more digestible pieces, allowing dough to become softer and more extensible. This process usually takes a minimum of 15-30 minutes. Of course, if you have more time, your dough will be able to pre-digest gluten and ferment longer. But, when time is tight, you can still have a fantastic homemade pizza in short order!
Another awesome thing about this recipe is that you can make your dough ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer till you’re ready to use it (for those nights when you are REALLY crunched for time …. or those nights when you straight-up don’t feel like cooking). You can even roll out the dough and freeze it directly on pizza pans (ready for the addition of sauce and toppings when you are!) OR freeze it in ready-to-go-format (sauce, toppings, the works!) so you can just shove it in the oven, et voila!
- 1.5 cups sourdough starter, recently fed and bubbly is best
- 1½ - 1¾* cups flour (This may be regular wheat-flour, barley flour, chickpea flour or any combination that makes you happy!), *quantity depends on the consistency/moisture content of your starter; I suggest starting with 1¼ cups and add more until a good 'dough consistency' is reached 🙂
- 1 Tbsp oil (olive, grapeseed, coconut all work well)
- 1 tsp sea salt, non-iodized
- Optional dough add-in: mixed herbs, approximately 1-2 tsp
- Optional pan coating: corn meal, chickpea flour or some other coarse flour, approximately 1-2 tsp
- Quantities above will yield a single 12" medium-crust pizza, or four 7" personal pizzas. Double recipe as needed.
- Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Let dough sit for a minimum of 15-30 minutes* (this allows enzymes in the starter to break down gluten, creating a softer and more digestible dough). *You can also cover the dough at this point and store it in the fridge for up to 8 hours, to be rolled out later.
- Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Optional: lightly dust pan(s) with corn meal, chickpea flour or some other coarse flour (Depending on the type of pan(s) you're using, this can act as a coating/barrier to prevent sticking; however, many types of pans do not require it).
- Roll dough out onto pizza pan(s). We typically stretch the dough in our hands, then press it outwards on the pan till it reaches the edges.
- Optional: If you're going to be using a particularly runny sauce, you may want to brush a small amount (approximately 1 Tbsp) of oil over the crust prior to baking. This will create a barrier between the crust and sauce, so the crust is less likely to get soggy. If, however, you use a thicker sauce (we like thick tomato paste), ignore this step.
- Bake crust in 500 F oven for 7-10 minutes.
- Remove crust from oven and add desired sauce and toppings.
- Reduce temperature to 450 F.
- Bake until cheese is melted or toppings are warmed, approximately 10-15 minutes (test for done-ness by sliding a spatula under the crust to see if it suits your desired crust texture).
- Slide pizza(s) onto a large cutting board and slice with a pizza cutter or knife.
- ENJOY!
Add whatever toppings you like. Some of our family favourites include olives, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, fresh herbs (like basil and sorrel), homemade sundried tomatoes, and avocado. Sometimes we even throw on a few sardines!
What do you like to put on your pizza?
Eat well. Cook with your kids. Embrace natural movement. Reduce waste. Be well. 
I feel like you wrote this “jusr for me”. I have been thinking about sourdough pizza crust, can’t wait to try it! Will report back when I do. Thank you!
Awesome! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Doubled this recipe and made 6 small pizza this evening for a pizza bar dinner. Fantastic! It was quick and easy to make the dough and fun to build different pizzas with the kids.
Fantastic! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed it 🙂
Fantastic recipe! I doubled it and made 6 different small crusts for a pizza bar dinner. The dough was simple and quick to make. I made it in the morning and put it in the fridge until it was time to build our masterpieces!
Have you tried freezing these after baking 7-10 minutes?
Yes, I have – with or without toppings already on and it works great when you need to make ahead 🙂 Happy pizza making!
Thanks! I’ll let you know how it works. Today I had to use my flopped bread dough for pizza. Not perfect, but pretty good and better than wasting it.
Yes, please keep me posted! And hooray for bonus pizza 😉 Glad you made the most of it!
I’m afraid I don’t understand your recipe. I used 350g of starter with 170g of flour but my dough is very dry.
I’m not sure of the hydration of your starter, but if your dough seems dry, just add a bit of water or some oil. It’s more about getting a nice doughy texture, rather than sticking to specific measurements. Good luck!
My dough is very dry also. I didn’t even add the whole cup and 1/4. Since it is my first time, I thought it must be supposed to be that way and it is in the resting period. I don’t know if we will be eating dinner…
Hi Renee, I’m not sure of the hydration of your starter, but you can always just add a bit of extra water or oil to get your dough to the right consistency. Hopefully you’ll give it another go as it is really wonderful and easy once you get the feel for the dough!
Thank you! It wasn’t as bad as it looked/felt. It tasted great in the end!
Oh phewf! So glad to hear you enjoyed it (even if it wasn’t the prettiest 😉 Haha – thanks for letting me know!
Hi,
Haven’t make pizza in a long time, but remember kneading the dough a lot. The instructions don’t asking for any kneading, is that correct?
Hi Catherine! No real kneading required, I simply mix lazily with my hands and let sit for about 30 min while I prep toppings. You may need to add extra flour or water depending on the consistency of your starter, but otherwise, easy peezy! Would love to hear how it goes 🙂
Wow!! Just WOW!! I was looking for something to do with discard and this was amazing. My regular (yeast) crust never gets this crispy! Thank you!!!
Wonderful! So glad you liked it Tanya! 🙂 Enjoy!
Hello Jackie – I am just new to sour dough bread making (like so many others at this time) and was thrilled to find your Ottawa, Canada website as I live in Hamilton, On. I have my bread rising right now and have lots of starter so thought I would make a sour dough pizza crust. You mention at the top of your recipe that the dough can be frozen is that right after the 30 minutes of resting? That is what I presume. When I take it out of the freezer do I let it defrost on the counter or in the refrigerator, and once it is defrosted roll it out immediately, top and bake or after following out and putting on the pizza pan should it sit for —– minutes.
As I mentioned I am just new at this and would appreciate any help or suggestions to make this pizza a success!
Thank you!
Janice
Hi Janice! I’m so glad you found me too 🙂 Yes, you can freeze the dough in a ball after resting, or you can roll it out and freeze it in pizza-form. If you freeze it in a ball, you can defrost at room temp or in fridge and then roll out immediately. Once defrosted, there is no need for further resting time – just roll out, pre-bake for a few min, add sauce and toppings and bake till done. Happy to answer any other questions you have, and would love to hear how it turns out! Happy sourdoughing!
Delicious crust!! This will be my new go to.
So glad you liked it, Katie! 🙂
Stuck this in the refrigerator after kneading & promptly forgot about it for 2 days. When I did put it all together & make 4 medium sized pizzas everyone in the house said this was the best pizza yet!!
Thank you for this very forgiving recipe.
Hi Anne! So glad it was a hit 🙂 I’m definitely a fan of forgiving, flexible recipes!
Your page is fantastic and full of tips I desperately need! I’m brand new to sourdough starter (as in: this is day 4 and I’m supposed to discard something…but don’t want to waste). ?♀️ Can I use the discard for your pizza dough recipe?
Yay! Welcome to sourdough life Carrie! Absolutely you can use sourdough ‘discard’ for the pizza dough. Other ‘discard’ favourites are crackers and crepes – I have posted recipes for both. Super easy – we make the crackers weekly as they’re so quick, versatile and handy for kids’ lunches 🙂 Happy sourdough-ing! Jackie
Trying this for the 1st time, Looks good so far. Seems better than my old Sourdough Recipe. Ill let you know how it came out.. Thanks
Thanks Larry, I hope it turned out well and you enjoyed your sourdough pizza 🙂
Thankyou so much for this recipe, it is amazing and I certainly will be doing it again!
So glad you enjoyed it 🙂