Sourdough Pizza Crust

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My Sourdough Pizza Crust recipe makes a thin, crispy, and oh-so-flavorful crust that will make any pizza taste like an artisan pizza. It’s great for preparing in advance, freezes well and makes enough for the whole family. Recipe includes a how-to video!

Pizza made from a sourdough pizza crust that has been cut into slices for serving.

The BEST Sourdough Pizza Crust

Grab your sourdough starter because today we’re making sourdough pizza crust! My recipe ferments overnight (or longer) for the most nutritional benefits and BEST flavor.

While today’s recipe isn’t particularly complicated, there are quite a few steps and it does require some patience (it’s quite different from my quick & easy homemade pizza dough that way). However, the time it takes is largely hands-off and most of the time spent making it is just waiting (patiently or impatiently–you decide 😉).

The best part of today’s recipe is that it’s a choose-your-own-ending type of recipe. Use your favorite toppings, I am pretty classic, usually using my homemade pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and sometimes(ooh, I’m going to get some hate for this) pineapple, but feel free to go wild with the toppings, though, or even use the toppings from my dessert pizza! The sourdough complements so many different flavor combinations (and I’d love to hear what you come up with in the comments!).

Why you’ll love it:

No yeast required!
Incredible flavor and crisp texture.
Just a bit of hands-on time.
Freezes nicely for grab-and-go dinners!

What You Need

As with my sourdough bread, you only need a few (6, to be exact!) basic ingredients to make today’s recipe. In addition to the ingredients discussed below, you’ll also need any toppings you’d like. Pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil are common toppings, but we make everything from margherita pizza to bbq chicken pizza with ours!

Overhead view of ingredients including bread flour, olive oil, honey, sourdough starter, and more.

Sourdough starter. Your starter should be active and bubbly–if it isn’t yet, don’t use it! Don’t have a starter already? Check out my post on how to make a sourdough starter! It breaks down every step (with photos) so you can make your own at home. It’s surprisingly very easy!
Olive oil. This keeps the pizza dough nice and chewy. Even though we are only using a small amount, I recommend using extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
Honey. Pizza dough has a reputation for being bland, but between the sourdough flavor and a bit of honey for sweetness, this dough is super flavorful.
Warm water. Make sure your water is between 90-100F before adding it. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, I highly recommend this one.
Bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose, which makes it ideal for pizza dough. The extra protein creates more gluten and yields a chewier crust than its all-purpose counterpart. All-purpose flour could work in a pinch, but it will yield fluffier results.
Salt. Salt is critical for flavor, especially in this recipe with so few ingredients.

SAM’S TIP: You can increase the hydration in this dough by bumping the water up another ⅓ cup. If you do this, you will get a thicker dough that is a bit easier to form a crust on; however, it will be very crisp. Personally, I like using amounts listed in the recipe because it strikes the perfect balance between crispness and chew (and all of my taste testers agreed).

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Sourdough Pizza Crust

Making the Dough

Collage of four photos showing dough being formed in a bowl.

Stir together the wet ingredients until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and stir until the dough clings together (the dough will be shaggy, don’t overdo it).
Autolyse. Cover the dough and let it sit for 30-60 minutes. This lets our flour hydrate and our starter begins breaking down the starches in the dough.
Form the dough into a ball using your hands.

Stretch & Fold

Stretching and folding is commonly used in sourdough recipes. It’s an alternative to kneading (which is common with classic yeast recipes, like my homemade bread, but would be difficult with such a high-hydration dough as this one). It improves the structure of the crust and helps the gluten develop.

Collage of four photos showing dough being stretched and folded before being separated into two bowls.

Run your hands under cool water before stretching the top of the dough up and over the bottom. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat this process a total of four times.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes, repeating the stretch and fold process every 30 minutes until the dough increases in size by about 50%.
Divide the dough into two pieces and place in lightly oiled bowls (the dough will need a bit of room to rise).
Cover with plastic and let rest in the fridge overnight or up to 3 days. Bring the dough out of the fridge to sit at room temperature at least half an hour before using (cold dough is more difficult to shape, it can sit at room temperature for up to several hours before you use it).

SAM’S TIP: Give your oven at least 30 minutes to preheat to 500F! My oven notoriously tells me it’s ready when the temperature is not actually at 500F, so give it time and if you have an oven thermometer, use it! You want your oven to be nice and HOT for crispy results.

Baking the Crust

Collage of four photos showing pizza dough being stretched and poked with a fork before being parbaked and topped with sauce/cheese.

Place the dough onto a lightly oiled pizza pan and form it into a 10-12″ circle.
Form a crust with your hands, then brush the pizza with olive oil and pierce all over the bottom with a fork.
Bake in a 500F oven for 8-9 minutes, then remove and brush with more olive oil.
Add your toppings and bake for an additional 8-11 minutes (depends on your oven; look for a golden crust and melty, bubbly cheese!).

SAM’S TIP: I like to make my sourdough pizza crust in bulk, typically 3 batches at a time (giving me 6 pizzas). I’ll then par-bake them and freeze them for later. This makes for convenient last-minute or weekday meals!

Overhead view of a homemade cheese pizza cut into slices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people does this feed?

This recipe makes two 10-12” pizzas. The crust is thin and the pizzas are not huge, so I’d say each pizza could feed 4 people depending on their appetite and the sides you serve with it (homemade garlic knots are always a good idea!).

Can sourdough pizza dough be frozen?

Yes! To do this, follow the recipe through the par-baking step, then cool, wrap in plastic, and freeze for several months. When ready to enjoy, let the crust thaw at room temperature, brush with olive oil (at least in a perfect world you should brush with olive oil again — I always forget!), add your toppings, and bake.

Is sourdough pizza crust healthy?

Sourdough pizza is easier to digest and has more nutrients, vitamins, and good bacteria than regular pizza crust. Keep in mind, sourdough pizza is still NOT considered health food when topped with lots of cheese or other indulgent toppings (just like my sourdough pancakes).

Pizza slice positioned to show the interior structure of the crust made with sourdough.

How do you like this sourdough pizza crust vs my traditional homemade pizza dough? Let me know in the comments!

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

Sourdough Pizza Crust