Sourdough Pizza Base | Feast at home

Tried once Sourdough pizza base, there is no turning back! Chewy, crunchy and super flavorful, it’s the perfect base for all of your favorite toppings. Here we’ve added a secret ingredient!

Looking for more sourdough recipes? Try our no-knead sourdough bread!

Pizza is all about the crust, in my humble opinion, and once you’ve tried sourdough pizza crust, you won’t want anything else. Not only does it taste better, but it’s also much easier to digest, with more nutrients from the fermentation process.

This sourdough pizza dough is incredibly easy to make with simple ingredients. It takes about 10 minutes of hands-on time, with a highly customizable proofing time ranging from 10 to 48 hours depending on your schedule.

We’re using the exact same recipe as our sourdough bread recipe, but with a Optional supplement that really uplifts; rice flour! With a little rice flour, the pizza crust becomes fluffy and crispy! Give it a try – or leave it entirely to yourself!

what you will need

1. sourdough starter – Use an active, hungry appetizer. Make your own sourdough from scratch or buy a starter.
2. Flour– Pizza flour (00′ flour), bread flour or bread flour will work here. FYI- 00′ flour (double zero flour) is the finest flour you can get, typical of Italy, made from durum wheat and used in Naples to give pizza its characteristic airy pockets, crispy crust and the perfect to lend chewing quantity .
3. rice flour– optional to create amazing texture (a lighter, crispier crust)!
4. Salt– Sea salt, Himalayan salt
5. Water
6. olive oil

*See detailed ingredient list in recipe card below.

Ways to plan pizza dough

Depending on your schedule, the pizza dough can rise in different ways. Personally, I like a little chilling time to slow down fermentation, which enhances the flavor of the dough (2nd or 3rd option). But in a pinch, option 1 works too.

See the recipe notes for another shortcut.

1. As fast as possible: Prepare the dough in the morning, let it rise on the counter during the day, use it in the evening. (10-12 hours.)
2. Middle: Prepare the dough in the evening, leave to rise overnight, refrigerate until evening and use up overnight. (24 hours.)
3. The slowest: Prepare the dough anytime, refrigerate and use 36-48 hours later. Ideal for preparing meals.

How to make sourdough pizza crust

Step one: In a large bowl, weigh out 385 grams of water (1 3/4 cups).

Step two: Zero the bowl and add 90 grams (1/3 cup) of active starter.

Step three: Mix well and add the salt (2 teaspoons) while stirring.

Step four: Empty the bowl and add 520 grams of total flour, including the optional rice flour (about 1/3 cup) or 4 cups of flour total (spoonfuls and leveled).

I added 1/3 cup rice flour, then I added the remaining 00′ pizza flour until the total weight was 520 grams. Or omit the rice flour and use just 520 grams of 00′ pizza flour.

This is about 4 cups of flour, spooned and leveled.

Step five: Knead the dough and shape into a shaggy ball.

The pizza dough should just come together.

Step six: Let this sit for 10 minutes, then do 1-2 sets of “stretches and folds” 10-15 minutes apart (like our sourdough bread method), see video below.

Stretching and Folding Technique | 40 second video

Step seven: Pour into a 2 liter high sided measuring container brushed with olive oil – and proof on your schedule – see the 3 options above.

This container comes in very handy if you want to keep it in the fridge for the longer proofing time – this way you can easily gauge the increase.

I put this in the fridge for 2 days.

Step eight: Once doubled or nearly doubled (1.75) it is ready to use. On a floured surface, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (about 220 grams each).

Each pizza dough ball makes a 10-12 inch pizza.

step nine: Keep the leftover batter back in the fridge (I just use the same container) or just use individual containers.

*The dough can also be frozen individually at this point – see recipe notes.

Step ten: Make your pizza. Let the dough rest on floured parchment paper or a floured pizza peel for 45-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500F with a pizza steel or pizza stone inside. You can also use a sheet pan. If you have convection, use it.

Step Eleven: Dust the dough with flour. Stretch out your dough to resist any urge to flatten it. You want to keep the air bubbles, so gently pull the edges out from the center.

An easy way to do this is to pick it up by one end, let it hang, and spin it so gravity pulls and stretches it as you spin it, like a wheel. Kind of like Italy, but without it to throw it.

Aim for a 12 inch crust. Place it back on the well-floured surface. Stretch into shape. Try to get thinner in the middle and thicker towards the edges.

Add pizza sauce (or pesto) and fresh mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with pecorino. Now you have a base for other toppings.

Use whatever toppings you like. Here I’ve added shiitake mushrooms, red onions, oregano, Calabrian chilies, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Step twelve: Bake! Push the pizza onto the hot stone. If using parchment, simply leave the pizza on the parchment and bake it on the parchment on the stone.

Depending on your oven and the thickness of your pizza dough, the pizza will be ready between 6 and 8 minutes – if you are 10 to 12 inches in diameter.

Feel free to grill the top for a minute or two.

Slide onto a cutting board and cut into 6-8 pieces. This is the perfect amount of pizza for 2, with a leafy green salad, although I’m guilty of having more.

More recipes to try!

Enjoy this recipe – can’t wait to hear about all the different pizzas you create! Leave a comment and a ⭐️ rating below. Have a nice weekend!

Sylvia