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Sourdough Pizza Crust

closeup of the sourdough crust on a brussels sprouts pizza on a wooden board.
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If you've got an active sourdough starter, make this delicious, chewy sourdough pizza crust! The timing is flexible, so you can mix up the dough, let it ferment, and bake when you're ready.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 100 grams active sourdough starter
  • 350 grams room temperature water
  • 300 grams whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
  • 200 grams bread flour
  • 10 grams salt

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix the starter and water until combined.
  2. Stir in the flours and salt until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
  3. Perform 'stretch and folds' by grabbing one edge of the dough in the bowl and stretching it upward, then folding it back into the center of the dough. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you've stretched the edges all the way around the bowl (four times). This is on set. Do a set of 'stretch and folds' every 30 minutes for a total of 4 sets.
  4. Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in volume (anywhere from 4 to 10 hours). The time will depend on the strength of your starter and the temperature of your kitchen.
  5. Once dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Divide the ball into four equal pieces of dough and shape each into a small ball.
  6. Cover each ball individually (in containers or wrapped in plastic) and store in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or up to 3 days.
  7. Once you are ready to bake, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it stand 1 hour.
  8. Stretch the dough into a thin circle, trying to keep any bubbles intact, onto a piece of parchment.
  9. Top the dough with whatever toppings you'd like and bake at 500°F on a preheated pizza stone (if you have one) or a baking sheet until golden and crispy.

Notes

  • Make sure your sourdough starter is bubbly and active.
  • The flours are somewhat flexible. If you don't have whole wheat flour, you can use all purpose, but I've found that you do need some bread flour to strengthen the dough so that you can stretch it more easily.
  • The 'stretch and folds' don't have to be super accurate in timing. If you forget one, or if you only have time for 3 before doing the bulk fermentation, that's okay!
  • Rely on visual cues rather than the clock to determine when the bulk fermentation (the room temperature rest) is done. The dough should look inflated and be roughly doubled in size. You don't want to let it go too long.
  • When shaping and stretching the dough, do so gently. You want to keep as many air bubbles in the dough as possible for an airy crust.
  • If you don't have a pizza stone, you can bake your pizza on a baking sheet.
  • This dough freezes beautifully! After dividing the dough into individual portions, you can place it in the freezer for later use. Remove it from the freezer and let it thaw and come to room temperature before using it.

Keywords: sourdough pizza crust, whole wheat sourdough pizza dough, sourdough pizza dough

Find it online: https://livelytable.com/sourdough-pizza-crust/