We are serious pizza eaters at our house. This airy, perfectly chewy, full-of-flavor sourdough pizza dough recipe was an instant favorite at our house. I’m sure it will be quickly consumed at your place too. This recipe, as with most sourdough recipes takes a bit more “plan ahead” timing, but it is oh so worth it.

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Whenever I cook pizza for other families or at larger events, I ALWAYS have people raving about the crust, and asking me for the recipe. If you also want my “secret” sourdough pizza dough recipe that never was a secret, keep reading. When I have something good, I naturally want to share it with others, so here you go!

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We cook our pizzas on a portable pizza oven with amazing results. Don’t think you need to invest in a pizza oven for great tasting sourdough pizza. This recipe works perfectly fine on the grill or in the oven.

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Why you’ll love this recipe

Chewy crust – The texture and flavor of this crust makes you WANT to eat the crust, if you don’t already

Rich flavor – Sourdough has such a richer flavor profile than a regular white flour or even a wheat dough. Anyone who has baked sourdough bread knows this.

Make Ahead – make the dough a few days ahead of time, or freeze it until you are ready to use it. No mad dash the night of dinner to get something made. I’ll come home after a busy day of work and 15 minutes later we are cooking pizzas.

Works with and Pizza Oven, Grill, or Conventional Oven – This sourdough pizza dough cooks best at high temperatures(700-850 degrees). The high heat helps with the airy-ness and develops the chewy crust everyone desires. If you don’t have a pizza oven, use a pre-heated pizza stone in your oven or a pizza pan for better crust results.

Tips & Tricks

Take your time to stretch the dough after the dough is mixed. I have skipped this step in a pinch and always regretted it. When the gluten does not develop, it tends to tear, stay flat, and is almost impossible to stretch into a good pizza round.
Plan ahead. This dough does take a bit more time than a typical white flour dough. Plan accordingly so you are not rushed or accidentally forget something.
For best results, use a pizza oven! Sam’s Club sells a fantastic one right now for an incredible price($299 for a 16” pizza oven with rotating stone) find it HERE. This is the one we use and love. If you are ready to invest a bit more, Ooni, Gozney and Solostove also make great backyard pizza ovens that produce incredible pizzas.
In case you were tempted to try a 16” pizza, don’t. I’d make twenty 12” pizzas before making one 16” pizza. There are larger pizza ovens out there that accommodate 16” pizzas, but 12” are way more popular, for good reason. Trust me on this one.
Be ok messing up a time or two. A sourdough pizza dough with an accidental tear in it just means you’re making breadsticks or a calzone out of that one 😊

Ingredients

Active Sourdough Starter – This is sourdough starter that has been fed within the last 12 hours. The starter should be active and bubbly, indicating that the yeast is ready to work its magic.

Flour – I typically use 85% “00” flour and 15% whole wheat. At our house it’s hard for us NOT to use at least a bit of wheat in any bread recipe, plus it’s healthier. I’ve tested dough using regular white flour and seen minimal differences from “00” flour. The “00” flour just aids a bit in the airy-ness and smoothness of the dough.

Water – I usually divide this into two parts. One part to mix with the sourdough starter, and one part to dissolve the salt.

Salt – This adds flavor to the dough.

Olive oil – optional, but helps the dough to be softer and a bit more stretchy.

Tools Needed

Stand Mixer, or a mixing bowl and wooden spoon (Wooden spoon because mixing with it is softer on the hands than a metal spoon)

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Sample Baking Schedule

8pm -10pm Wednesday – Mix the dough, then every 30 minutes for the next two hours stretch the dough again for a few minutes each time. Cover and put in the fridge overnight

10am Thursday – Take out dough, divide into smaller dough balls. Cover airtight and put back in fridge until tomorrow

Noon Friday – Take pizza balls out to warm to room temperature.

5pm Friday – Start shaping dough into pizzas, cook, eat, and plan next pizza party.

How to make

One or two nights before pizza night, mix all the ingredients in a stand mixer or mixing bowl for approximately 5 minutes. The dough will likely be sticky to the touch after the initial mixing, this is ok.

2. Place this in a floured bowl and cover. Let sit for 30 minutes. At 30 minute intervals for the next two hours, uncover the bowl and stretch and fold the dough for a minute or two. This helps develops the gluten, which adds structure and elasticity to the dough. This also adds air to the dough, ensuring a light and airy pizza crust. Once all the stretching is done, cover airtight and place in the fridge overnight.

3. In the morning, take the dough out, separate into 290g dough balls, and place in individual airtight containers, or in a proofing container with a lid. Put these formed balls back in the fridge for 24-48 hours.

4. A few hours before you plan on cooking the pizza, take the dough out of the fridge to allow it to get too room temperature. The dough will be easier to work with.

Using floured hands, take a dough ball, and begin to rotate it to form it into a pizza. Let gravity help you here. When the dough is formed into a 6-8 inch round, gently place it onto a wooden pizza peel that has been dusted with flour or cornmeal. Continue with the last bit of stretching and shaping until you have a 12” pizza. This step definitely takes some art and finesse. After a few “not so pretty pizzas”, you’ll develop a good feel for what works for you to best get the desired pizza dough shape and size.

Spread on desired sauce, then cheese, then toppings. Cook, and enjoy.

Pizza Variations (a.k.a – a few of the Porterhouse favorites)

Proscuitto and Pear Pizza – Olive oil and crushed garlic as the base, then add half mozzarella/half parmesan cheese. Top with pieces of thin sliced prosciutto and thin sliced pears. After cooking, add a few leaves of basil on top, or our family staple, fresh arugula. Devour.
Nutella and Strawberry Dessert pizza!! Do a blind cook(cook the crust only), and add all the toppings once the crust is almost cooled down. Like Goldilocks, you want this crust to be just right. Warm enough to melt the Nutella spread, but not so hot that it turns it into a chocolate soup 😊
Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza – Do another blind cook. After the crust cools a bit add a pre-prepared caramel icing, and a lot of sliced apples. This is sure to be a hit with anyone who thinks fruit doesn’t belong on pizza, lol