As far as sourdough pizza recipes go, this one is as simple as it gets: it’s made with all-purpose or bread flour, and there is no autolyse or preferment — everything gets mixed together at once. Ready? Wake up your starter! Read on to learn 5 secrets to sourdough pizza success.🍕🍕🍕

Just baked sourdough pizza crust topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella.

This sourdough pizza recipe produces a pizza with a ballooned, blistered edge and a crisp but pliable crust. The secret to achieving this texture in a home oven is to use a high-hydration dough (75%), proper fermentation (long and slow) at each phase, gentle handling of the dough, and a screaming hot oven (ideally outfitted with a Baking steel or pizza stone).

Let’s explore each in more detail:

5 Keys to Sourdough Pizza Success

  • Use a high-hydration dough: Because home ovens rarely reach above 550ºF, it takes longer for pizzas to cook. In contrast, a 900ºF oven will cook a pizza in 60 seconds. To prevent pizza dough from drying out in a home oven, it is important that the dough has a lot of water in it — i.e., it is high-hydration. In contrast, outdoor oven pizza doughs can be much lower hydration.
  • Ferment sufficiently: After the first long, slow rise, transfer the dough to the fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. Time further develops flavor, helps with browning, and improves the texture of the pizza dough.
  • Proof sufficiently: If time permits, allow the dough to come to room temperature for at least an hour before baking (and up to 2), which makes it easier to shape — room-temperature dough stretches into a round more easily than cold dough.
  • Handle the dough minimally: Using a delicate hand when shaping the dough preserves the air pockets created during fermentation.
  • Invest in a Baking Steel: Steel is a better conductor of heat than stone — i.e., it transfers heat to the dough faster — which promotes great oven spring, which translates to glorious bubbles throughout the dough.

How to Make Sourdough Pizza, Step by Step

As always, a scale is essential for the best results. You need water, flour, salt, and a sourdough starter:

Ingredients for sourdough pizza dough.

Combine 375 g water, 100 g sourdough starter, and 10 g salt in a bowl. (See notes in recipe box about using less water if you live in a humid environment.)

A bowl filled with water, sourdough starter, and salt on a scale.

Stir to combine; then add …

A bowl on a scale with a spatula and water, sourdough starter, and salt.

… 500 g all-purpose flour.

A bowl of unmixed sourdough dough.

Stir until you have a sticky dough ball.

Sourdough pizza dough, just mixed, in a glass bowl with a spatula.

Transfer to a straight-sided vessel (if possible) and let rest for 30 minutes. Then, “stretch and fold” the dough (see video for guidance) 4 times at 30-minute intervals. Cover the vessel. Let it rest for 6 to 12 hours (see recipe notes for timing) or until the dough…

Sourdough pizza dough just mixed.

… has about doubled in volume. (Note: This is a little bit more than double. Ideally, you don’t want your dough to rise much beyond double. More recently, in fact, I stop the bulk fermentation when the dough has increased in volume by 50%.)

Sourdough pizza dough after bulk fermentation.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Use flour here as needed.

Sourdough pizza dough on the bench.

Portion into 4 equal pieces, again using flour as needed.

Portioned sourdough pizza dough aside a bench scraper.

Ball up the dough, transfer the balls to storage containers, and stick them in the fridge. These Kevjes Dough Storage Vessels have become my favorite storage vessels for pizza dough balls:

An hour prior to baking, remove a round (or more) of pizza dough from the fridge, and transfer it to a lidded vessel such as a DoughMate or a 9×13-inch baking dish covered with plastic wrap (to prevent the dough from drying out). If you have a Baking Steel, place it in the upper third of your oven, and heat the oven to 550ºF convection roast. (See recipe for other options.)

When the dough has proofed, delicately stretch it into a round, trying as best you can to preserve those air pockets.

Stretched round of sourdough pizza on parchment paper.

Top as you wish. This one is spread with tomato sauce and topped with fresh mozzarella, parmesan, olive oil, and sea salt.

Stretched and topped sourdough pizza round.

Transfer pizza, parchment paper and all, to a preheated Baking Steel or stone, using a peel — my favorite peel is the Epicurean Pizza Peel. Bake 5 to 6 minutes or until cooked to your liking.

Just baked sourdough pizza crust on a cutting board.

Slice and serve.

Just baked sourdough pizza crust cut into slices.

A little fresh basil is always nice.

Just baked sourdough pizza crust, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil, and cut into slices.

This is the beauty of the Baking Steel: oven spring!

A crumb shot of sourdough pizza crust, just baked.
Two crumb shots of sourdough pizza crusts, freshly baked.
A crumb shot of a sliced sourdough pizza crust.

Another favorite: kale + crème fraîche:

Sourdough kale and creme fraiche pizza on a board, cut into pieces.

Another favorite: “naked” + spicy scallion (or ramp) oil:

A just-baked sourdough pizza crust topped with sizzling ramp oil.

Looking for more pizza inspo? My cookbook, ​Pizza Night​ includes 52 pizza and 52 salad recipes, one pair for every week of the year, as well as five simple desserts 🍕🍕🍕

Pizza Night cookbook.
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Just baked sourdough pizza.

Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust

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Description

Here is my guide for making sourdough pizza crust at home. Made with all-purpose or bread flour and no autolyse or preferment, the dough comes together simply: everything gets mixed together at once, and you are on your way! 🍕🍕🍕

**Attention Pizza Fans**: My pizza cookbook, Pizza Night, is now available everywhere books are sold. Get your copy here: Pizza Night 

What you need to make this recipe…:

  1. …a sourdough starter. Ideally, you want to use your starter 4 to 6 hours after you feed it, when it has doubled in volume and is very bubbly and active. You can build a starter from scratch in just about 1 week. Or you can buy one. Here are two sources:
  2. …time. Once your starter is ready to go, this recipe requires an initial 6 – 18 hour rise, followed by at least 6 hours in the fridge or up to 3 days. 

Timing/Schedule:

The timing will depend heavily on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen. In the summer, because it is warm and humid, the first rise (bulk fermentation) of all my sourdoughs takes between 6 – 8 hours; in the winter it will take longer, 10 to 12 hours.

It is best to rely on visual cues. For the bulk fermentation, you want the dough to double or less than double: I now end my bulk fermentation when the dough has risen by 50% to 75% in volume. This is why I cannot recommend using a straight-sided vessel  (as opposed to a bowl) enough. It makes gauging the first rise easier.

If at any point you are worried the dough will over-ferment — say, for example, the bulk fermentation is nearly complete but you are tired and want to go to bed — stick the vessel in the fridge and pick up the process in the morning. (Note: If your dough rises above double, don’t despair … my dough has tripled in volume during an overnight rise, and the resulting dough still had plenty of strength and spring.)

Schedule: I like mixing this dough in the evening, performing 4 stretch and folds before I go to bed (if time permits), then letting the dough complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature (68ºF) overnight or in the refrigerator (especially in the summer, when my kitchen is much warmer). In the morning, it’s typically ready to be portioned (if it rose at room temperature), transferred to storage vessels, and stashed in the fridge. If I had let my dough spend time in the fridge for the bulk fermentation, I remove it in the morning, and let it complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature. Once complete, I portion the dough and stash it in the fridge. Sometimes I’ll use the dough that same evening; sometimes I’ll use it the following day or the next. I encourage using the dough within 3 days. 

In short: If you want pizza for the weekend, mix your dough on either Wednesday or Thursday. 

Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes.

Water: If you live in a humid environment or if you are making this on a particularly humid day, consider starting with less water, such as 335 grams of water, which will bring the hydration down to 70%. This amount of water will still produce a light airy crust but the dough will be more manageable. 

Flour choice: 

  • You can make this dough with all-purpose flour or bread flour, and it works beautifully. You can use Tipo 00 flour if you want, but you’ll likely need to reduce the amount of water. Start with 350 grams and adjust moving forward based on your results. 

Can You Freeze Sourdough Pizza Dough?

Yes. But, in my experience, the pizzas made from frozen dough do not spring as high upon being baked. They will still taste delicious as long as the time spent in the freezer is relatively short: the more time sourdough spends in the freezer, the more air bubbles it loses. After 1 week in the freezer, my dough will bake up fairly well. After 3 weeks in the freezer, my dough will be less bubbly and will bake into a thinner and crisper crust.

To freeze sourdough pizza dough: make it through step 4 in the recipe below or until after you transfer the portioned rounds to quart containers. At this point, transfer the quart containers to the freezer. To thaw, remove a container (or more) and let thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day or thaw at room temperature for 8 hours. Then, proceed with the recipe.

Favorite Pizza-Making Tools:

  • Baking Steel
  • Pizza Peel
  • Parchment Paper: I bake my pizzas on parchment paper on my Baking Steel. Parchment allows for easy transfer from peel to steel. 
  • Cast Iron Skillet: If you do not have a Steel or stone, you can use a cast iron skillet. Rub a half teaspoon of oil over its surface, transfer a stretched dough round to the skillet. Top as desired. Bake at 450ºF for about 15 minutes. 
  • I love these Kevjes containers. 

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 375 g water (or less, see notes above)
  • 100 g sourdough starter, active and bubbly, see notes above
  • 10 g salt
  • 500 g all-purpose or bread flour

For each Margherita pizza:

  • 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
  • 1 to 2 oz mozzarella
  • handful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano (less than an ounce)
  • drizzle olive oil
  • pinch sea salt

For each kale and crème fraiche pizza:

  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • a couple handfuls of baby or Tuscan kale
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic
  • Sea salt, such as Maldon
  • 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
  • grated Parmigiano Reggiano, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup

For each naked pizza with ramp or scallion oil:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup minced scallions or ramps
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
  • handful grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • sea salt

Instructions

  1. Mix the dough. Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated. Transfer to a straight-sided vessel (if you have one.) Cover vessel with tea towel or cloth bowl cover and let stand 30 minutes.
  2. Stretch and fold: after 30 minutes have passed, reach into the vessel and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the vessel quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times. See video for guidance. Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes; then repeat the stretching and folding. If possible, repeat this cycle twice more for a total of 4 stretch and folds. By the 4th cycle, you will notice a huge difference in the texture of the dough: it will be smoother, stronger, and more elastic.
  3. Bulk fermentation: Cover vessel with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen; see notes above) or until the dough has roughly doubled in volume. (UPDATE: In the past I have recommended letting the dough rise until it doubles in volume. If you’ve had success with this, continue to let the dough double. Recently, I have been stopping the bulk fermentation when the dough increases by 50% in volume, and I feel my dough is even stronger in the end.) Note: Do not use your oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it is too warm for the dough. When determining when the bulk fermentation is done, it is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.
  4. Portion and shape: Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a rough ball, using as much flour as needed — the dough will be sticky. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Sprinkle portions with flour. With floured hands, roll each portion into a ball, using the pinkie-edges of your hands to pinch the dough underneath each ball. Transfer each round of dough to a plastic quart container, cover, and store in fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days or transfer to the freezer for up to 1 week. (To thaw, remove a container (or more) and let thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day or thaw at room temperature for 8 hours. Then, proceed with the recipe.)
  5. Make the pizzas: Pull out a round (or more) of dough from the fridge one hour before you plan on baking. Dust dough with flour and place on a floured work surface. Let sit untouched for about an hour (a little longer or shorter is fine). Place a Baking Steel or pizza stone in the top third of your oven. Set oven to 550ºF. Heat oven for at least 45 minutes but ideally 1 hour prior to baking. 
  6. Shape the dough: Gently shape dough into a 10-inch (roughly) round handling it as minimally as possible. (See video for guidance.) Lay a sheet of parchment paper on top of a pizza peel. Transfer the dough round to the parchment-lined peel.

Top and Bake

  • To make a classic Margherita-style pizza: Spread 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over the surface of the dough. Top with mozzarella to taste. Sprinkle with parmesan to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. Bake pizza until top is blistered, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Sprinkle with basil, if you have it. Cut and serve. Discard parchment paper.
  • To make a kale and crème fraîche pizza: Place the kale in a small bowl, drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt, and toss. Spoon crème fraîche over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border or so—I use about a tablespoon per pizza. Sprinkle with minced garlic and a handful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Top with the kale. Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. Bake pizza until top is blistered, about 5 – 6 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Cut and serve. Discard parchment paper.
  • To make a naked pizza with scallion oil: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet with 1/4 cup of minced scallions (or ramps!) and 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. Keep it over low heat while you make the pizza. Spoon crème fraîche over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border or so—I use about a tablespoon per pizza. Sprinkle with a handful of grated parmesan. Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. Bake pizza until top is blistered, about 5 – 6 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. At this point, the scallions should be starting to “frizzle”. If they aren’t, crank up the heat until the oil is sizzling. Spoon a few tablespoons of the hot oil over the pizza (you’ll have extra oil). Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Cut and serve. 
  • Prep Time: 24 hours
  • Cook Time: 5 to 6 minutes
  • Category: Pizza
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American, Italian