Use up that sourdough starter discard in this delicious and flavorful sourdough pizza crust. Mix the dough in the morning and it’s ready to bake into pizzas at dinnertime.
Should you decide to tackle the art of baking with sourdough, then you’re going to want to make a few things besides bread. I know I did.
A few years ago, I set myself to the task of learning to bake with natural yeast, that is sourdough. Previously, I had thought of sourdough starter as a flavor enhancer. I didn’t realize that it alone could be the leavening in your bread.
Proof that there’s always something new to learn in the kitchen. Sourdough pizza being one to add to the top of your list!
If you’ve ever fed a starter, you know that it quickly doubles and triples and explodes all over your counter. Conventional wisdom says to discard half of your starter prior to feeding it in order to control this rapid growth.
But, my friends, there’s a reason there’s a cheap in the name, Good Cheap Eats. I really don’t like wasting things, particularly food. And since I use good quality flour, the idea of throwing away half my starter seemed wasteful.
So, I hunted down recipes that used sourdough discard.
During that first year of sourdough bread baking, when The Blob was a common sight on my kitchen counters, I tried a lot of different discard recipes: pancakes, waffles, flatbread, focaccia, crumpets, and pizza.
The only two that we really enjoyed — all the others were way too sour — were the crumpets and the sourdough pizza.
My cousin Laurie first clued me into the idea of making sourdough pizza on the grill, for which my entire family is eternally grateful. Over my Year of Sourdough, I played with the recipe she shared and fiddled with it until I was really happy with it.
In order to get the texture and flavor that we liked best, I added a sweetener and olive oil, both ingredients that are present in my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. While I love sour sourdough bread, I do not love sour pizza. These additions seem to round out the sourness.
If you prefer, you can omit the honey and oil, just keeping an eye on the moisture of the dough and adding a bit more water if need be.
Is sourdough pizza better?
My husband certainly thinks so! Grilling pizza is a highlight of his week, and he prefers the sourdough crust.
Some say that sourdough is healthier for you than dough made with commercial yeast. They claim it’s more easily digestible. I’m not sure about that, but we do like the flavor.
What is the best flour for pizza dough?
We’ve made this dough with both unbleached, all-purpose flour and bread flour. My daughters actually did a science experiment, determining the amount of gluten in both kinds that we use, Wheat Montana and Bob’s Red Mill, respectively.
There isn’t a huge difference in the gluten development of the two. Both are good and we didn’t see much difference in texture in the finished product.
Can you freeze sourdough pizza crust?
Yes, you can freeze pizza dough, but you do run the risk of the dough not rising as well after thawing as it might when freshly made. I’ve found that sometimes the yeast doesn’t kick into gear. I prefer to make my dough the day before or the day of baking.
How do you make sourdough pizza?
Mixing up a batch of sourdough pizza dough is a regular Friday morning activity at this house. The process is pretty simple, especially if you have a stand mixer.
- Weigh out the sourdough starter discard into a mixing bowl.
- Add the hot water.
- Add the olive oil and honey.
- Next add the flour, salt, and additional yeast, if using.
- Knead the dough with a dough hook until smooth and elastic, adding a bit of water if needed to make a smooth, stretchy dough.
- Place the dough ball in a greased bowl and allow to rise 8 to 1o hours, or until doubled in bulk.
- Divide the dough into equal portions. Form each into a dough ball and allow to rest for a few minutes.
- Form each dough ball into a large round.
- Place each round on a greased pizza pan. Add toppings and bake.
Do you need to use commercial yeast in sourdough pizza?
I find that if my starter “discard” is still bubbly and I’m starting my dough before lunchtime, I usually don’t need to add any additional yeast to the dough, to have it rise by dinnertime.
If the starter has been refrigerated or I start the dough late in the day, I add a teaspoon of SAF yeast to guarantee a good rise.
How to make homemade pizza inexpensively
All of my recipes are affordable to begin with but there are some things you can do to make sure you’re spending well. Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. It’s a great way to save money on your groceries without clipping a single coupon. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. In this case, keep an eye on mozzarella cheese as it’s one of the ingredients that can range.
Tools I use to make grilled pizza easier:
- a bread machine or Kitchenaid mixer to make the dough
- a bench knife to cut the dough into portions
- a large cutting board to roll dough out on
- pizza screens for easier and more effective baking
- pizza cutter to cut it easily after baking
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Sourdough Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard
- 3/4 cup water heated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey or sugar
- 3 3/4 cup bread flour or unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp active dry yeast optional
Instructions
To mix in a stand mixer:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sourdough starter discard, hot water, olive oil, and honey. Add the flour, salt, and yeast, if using.
- Using a bread hook, knead the dough until a smooth, elastic dough forms. If the dough doesn't mix easily, add a few more tablespoons of water to achieve this.
To mix by hand:
- Combine the ingredients in the order listed in a large mixing bowl. Stir until the dough starts to form a shaggy ball.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms.
- Transfer the dough ball to a greased bowl. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about six to eight hours.
- Move the dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal portions and form each into a round dough ball.
- Stretch each dough ball into a large round and place on a greased pizza screen.
- Add your toppings and bake on the grill or in the oven at 475 until the crust is crisp and the toppings are cooked, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Cate says
Hi Jessica, I’m new to your site and really loving it. Made me give another try at sourdough starter from scratch. It was finally doubling so I decided to try the pizza dough. I let it sit and it double but the dough is very wet. Did I not add enough flour? I used my Bosch mixer and it was nice and elastic and not sticking to the sides/formed a nice ball. I let it rise in oven with light on since my house is very drafty.
I’m going to generously flour the counter and attempt shaping and grilling the pizza anyway. Fingers crossed.
Jessica Fisher says
Mine is a wet dough, but still holds its shape. I’m guessing the difference may be in how wet your starter was to begin with and/or how you measure flour. Head here for my recommendation for flour. Hoping it all works out well for you, Cate. Let me know if you’d like to troubleshoot further.
Cate says
It was amazing! Best homemade pizza we ever had. Wish we could make on our usually pizza Friday but I’m not home until about 630/7 so assembling and grilling at that time isn’t ideal. That’s a takeout day for us…
May make a weekend rotation when hubby can grill because it’s so good!
I’m so happy I found your site! Been following since the Pantry Challenge started this year and continued it into February to see if I can do better!
Jessica Fisher says
So glad to hear it!
Taryn says
Make the night before and refrigerate. Weve made this 3 times now and refrigerate overnight or up to a week. It gets a stronger sourdough taste the longer you let it refrigerate. I really like it 24-48 hours after making.
Jessica Fisher says
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Taryn.
Sara Hoyt says
First time making this and this pizza crust tasted great! So yummy! I’d say trust the amount of time in the oven that the recipe says. I thought mine looked way under done at only 8 mins in the oven, so I kept in for another 5 mins maybe. But the crust hardens up while cooling on the counter. Next time I’ll pull it earlier like you call for! Also I had a hard time stretching the dough out enough I think because the middle of my pizza crust was pretty thick. Any tips on rolling/stretching the dough enough?
Jessica Fisher says
So glad you enjoyed the pizza, Sara! Have you seen this video? If that method doesn’t work for you, you can try a rolling pin. If it springs back too easily with the roller, use less flour so it will stick a bit to the work surface.
Rachel says
Very tasty and easy recipe! I subbed molasses for the sugar/honey and didn’t use any extra yeast with my sourdough starter discard. I actually found I needed to parbake the crust before adding toppings though – I don’t have a grill pan and was using a pizza stone (preheated the oven for ~45 min to get it nice and hot) but had issues transferring the raw crust + toppings from my pizza peel (aka cookie sheet) to the stone because my sauce was too warm and it made the crust too soft. So, I chilled the dough + toppings in the fridge while I parbaked the second crust (~ 5 min). Then I added toppings and it transferred super smoothly. I baked it for another 5 minutes, and the crust was super crispy with a bit of chew in the middle – delicious! The first crust went onto the baking stone after chilling for about 20 minutes without too much hassle, but had to cook longer.
Overall, would definitely recommend as it is very simple and a great way to use leftover sourdough starter.
Jessica Fisher says
Glad you were able to make it work for you, Rachel! I’ve never had success with pizza stones, so the pizza screens work really well for me.
Lynnette Dillen says
Can I freeze this dough?
Jessica Fisher says
I have frozen pizza dough in the past, but not this one, so I can’t vouch for the results. If you want to try it, I would place each dough ball in an oiled bag or container, seal it, and place in the freezer right away. To thaw, remove from the bag and place in an oiled bowl to thaw and rise.
Joana says
Hello!
I really enjoyed this dough. It’s just me in the household, so I froze most of it, in individual balls placed in oiled bags. I took one of the balls out of the freezer in the morning to bake it for dinner. It thawed in the bag, and when it came to shape it, I added a bit of flour and placed close to the warming oven. I found that using the rolling pin combined with hand stretching worked best for the thawed dough. Other than it being a bit harder to handle, I found no major differences between the fresh and the frozen dough.
Since there are some comments here asking about whether the dough can be frozen, I thought it might be helpful to share my experience. 🙂
Jessica Fisher says
Yes! Thank you for chiming in, Joana. I’m glad to hear it worked fairly well.
Lorraine says
Do you feed the starter before using in pizza dough recipe? New to using sour dough starter – or is the adding flour water in recipe the ‘feeding’?
Jessica Fisher says
I feed it the night before I mix up the pizza dough.
Connie says
I so thankful I found your recipe. I have 2 hours to go with rising. I was hoping once it is finished that I could form the dough balls and hold for Saturday night pizza.
Jessica Fisher says
I have never held them for that long, but keep them chilled, and let me know how it goes!
Janet Oresick says
Looks like a GREAT recipe! Do you think this would work in my bread machine? This is not 100% necessary, but I was just wondering what you thought.
Jessica Fisher says
Sure, assemble liquids, then dry ingredients. Set to dough. It may need longer to rise than the dough cycle, though. Let me know how it goes!
Janet Oresick says
I came up with another question. Could I partially cook this crust and then freeze it? Once I was ready to use it, would I thaw it first…then put the toppings on and bake, or just put the toppings on the frozen pizza and bake?
Jessica Fisher says
I’ve parbaked crusts before, just not this one. Bake it plain, part of the way, cool completely, wrap and freeze. When you’re ready to bake, it should thaw quickly so you can top and bake until the toppings are cooking.
Brianna Rettig says
Hey there! I followed the recipe pretty perfect except for the yeast. My starter was on fire when I used it because I was just about ready to make some sourdough bread so the dough rose no problem. I did let it sit for an extra hour so it was out for about nine hours total. It developed a sort of skin over the top and made it kind of hard to work with. Is that OK? Also, I’m not sure if I have the proper pizza stretching technique. Any tips as far as that’s concerned? I ended up cooking it in the cast-iron skillet in the oven and the dough was a bit thicker because I didn’t get it out 12 inches exactly. It was pretty good but definitely seemed like it was missing something.
Jessica Fisher says
The texture you describe on the top could be from it not being covered. I usually cover with a lid that keeps air out of the bowl or with plastic wrap. It’s also possible that there wasn’t enough moisture in the dough. You can add a few tablespoons extra to achieve a smooth, elastic dough during kneading.
Have you just started with sourdough? Happy to help, just not sure where you’re at. Let me know and we can keep chatting.
Brianna Rettig says
Yes! I just started with sourdough and I’m really enjoying the process. I managed to kill about seven starters this month (accidentally turning the oven on ?) but have been able to keep 3 alive for the last week and a half. I just finished making my leaven and dough around 3 AM last night for my first two loaves of sourdough. I used the discard from that batch for my sourdough crust. After the pizza dough was mixed, I had it in a bowl and covered with some linen so I definitely think you’re right about the air getting in. I should’ve had it in an airtight container or wrapped it in plastic. I’ll give it another go. Can I use this recipe with leftover leaven or does it have to be the starter?
Jessica Fisher says
I am not experienced with leaven as you’re describing. I’ve only used recipes that call for starter or discard. I have made this with active starter, so I’m guessing leaven might work. What’s in it?
Katherine Riolo says
I have tried so many sourdough pizza recipes and found the dough impossible to work with because it was just terribly sticky. This is finally a recipe that works! It is super workable and super tasty. I am so grateful to have found this website. Thank you!
Jessica Fisher says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your feedback!
Melissa says
Hi there.
I’ve made this twice and it is excellent. I have been substituting 1.25 cup of all purpose flour for the bread flour just so I can stretch my bread flour supply (it’s hard to come by during these Covid times). I am wondering if you have ever frozen the dough? It makes a little too much for just me and my husband. I would be very interested in your experience with this? I am thinking on dividing and freezing after mixing and before the rise as this would be better for freezer space. Otherwise I was also considering after my 5 min pre-bake on a pizza stone.
Thoughts??
Jessica Fisher says
I have frozen pizza dough before, just not this particular dough. But yours is the second question about this, so it sounds like I should test it out. I would do what you’re suggesting if I do. Let me know how it goes? Thanks!
Melissa says
Thanks Jessica! I will the next time I make it for sure
Thanks
M
Melissa says
Hi Jessica
Me again… just wanted to report back. The last time I made the dough after mixing and before rise I split it in two and froze one half. I wrapped it in cling film, then tin foil, then placed in a ziploc freezer bag. Yesterday we made pizza from the frozen dough and it was PERFECT! Exactly the same. I simply took it out of the freezer the morning we weee making dough and let it thaw and rise in a. oiled container. So happy it worked!
Cheers
M
Jessica Fisher says
Thanks for letting me know, Melissa. It’s testers like you that make this place shine!
Shirley Kennedy says
Hi Jessica,
First time making any type of dough. No problems with sourdough starter and ingredients mixed well. I started mixing with regular blade then switched to dough hook for kneading.
My dough stuck to the hook and creeped up the attachment, not kneading at all.
I wound up taking out an kneading by hand. Also, is bowl to be covered? on counter or refrigerator. Looking for 5-6 hr rise and then using for dinner tonight.
Thank you in advance.
Jessica Fisher says
Yes, cover it. Hope it works well for you!
Teresa Wright says
This is my first adventure with sourdough starter, and my first time making pizza crust from my discard. I only had one cup of discard, so I adjusted the recipe to make 2/3 of it. Everything worked great and my dough is now covered and in hour 2 of waiting for it to double. HoWeVeR, I just realized that, instead of 1 teaspoon of salt (2/3 of 1.5 tsp), I used 1 tablespoon of salt! I thought it was an awful lot of salt at the time, but stupidly went ahead. Do you think there’s any way to salvage this dough? I sure hate to waste all that flour. I do have one packet of yeast available and more flour, but no more discard. Thank you for any help you might offer!
Jessica Fisher says
I wish I had experiential answers, but I found this: https://www.quora.com/If-I-accidentally-add-too-much-salt-will-it-ruin-bread-dough
Teresa Wright says
Thank you so much.
Kate says
I have used this recipe a few times now and we love it! Thank you! Question I keep wondering though is- 791 calories for the entire recipe of the dough or 791 calories for each of the 3 servings? Thank you!
Jessica Fisher says
That info is approximate, but it refers to an entire pizza. The recipes makes three pizzas, each around 791. About 100 calories per slice (toppings not included) which is close to a slice of bread.
Leigh says
Hi! I just made my ball of dough. Does it rise on the counter or in the fridge? Is it possible to update the recipe with that? I did a google search and it seems like people do both.
Thank you!
Jessica Fisher says
Thanks for the suggestion, Leigh. I added the specifics of covering the dough and letting rise at room temperature. So sorry for the confusion.
Leigh says
This was my first time making crust with starter. I will only make it this way with this recipe! It was Awesome!
Jessica Fisher says
So glad to hear it was a winner for you!
Rachael says
This is hands down the best pizza we have ever had! I was so skeptical while making this. Could this really be that good. I’m not a huge fan of sour dough, I know I know.
I have one recipe book that gets the most amazing recipes written down in it… this made the book!
Jessica Fisher says
Woohoo! Glad to hear it.
Ella says
I made this for the first time the other day and it was amazing! Tried making it again with the discard straight from the fridge as I was in a rush, so it doesnt seem to be rising at all (after four hours). Is there any hope? Should I just bake it anyway? Thanks for a great recipe!
Jessica Fisher says
It will likely rise, but take much longer. If you didn’t use the yeast assist, it could be up to 8 hours. You can make it without the big rise, it will be more like a cracker crust.
You must be south of the equator? Just guessing based on the time stamp of your comment. I’m just now getting started on the day. How did it go?
Ella says
Yep! South of the equator so its getting chilly – I was letting my dough rise in the oven (heat off of course). It ended up not rising much at all but I cooked it anyway on it’s own and it puffed up a lot!
Jessica Fisher says
Glad it still puffed for you.
Alyson says
I have a couple of questions. First, after the rise when you’re preparing crust to stretch and bake, are you dividing the dough and stretching immediately, or are you kneading a bit first, and perhaps allowing a few minutes’ rest? Second, when you make the dough ahead and refrigerate or freeze, are you dividing, bagging and storing it BEFORE or AFTER the 6-8 hour rise? Thanks for the answers, and for developing and sharing your process.
Jessica Fisher says
You can absolutely let it rest if it’s finicky while you’re stretching.
As for freeze, I’ve not frozen this dough myself, so you’ll need to check the comments where someone has shared his/her experience.
Re: refrigeration, it really doesn’t matter. It will rise while refrigerated, just slowly. You’ll need to let it get close to room temperature to be able to stretch it well.
Erin says
My dough tripled in size in 3-4 hours, granted, I did use both a strong starter and yeast (just in case). I split the dough into 3 balls and stored it in the fridge in separate zip locks coated with olive oil, until it was closer to dinnertime. The rack worked great on the grill! Excellent recipe – the taste was great!
Jessica Fisher says
Yes, sometimes with active starter the wait time is very short. In fact, you probably won’t need a yeast assist if you’ve got bubbly starter.
So glad you enjoyed it. It’s a regular thing for us.
Lily L. Lee says
So I tried using a pretty old starter discard to make this recipe. I followed the steps to make four balls of dough. I used the dry instant yeast since the old starter probably needed help. I followed all the steps and let it rise in the oven with light on and it doubled in size when I checked it in 4 hours. When I try to get it out of the bowl to divide into 4 balls, I noticed the dough formed a skin on top and the poke test revealed the dough has no gluten structure. It smelled fine but the bowl is pretty warm. Did I killed the yeast and over proofed the dough? How can I salvage it now? I hate to throw all that dough away.
Jessica Fisher says
Hi Lily, I’m not sure what happened, but I’ve had an off batch or two that didn’t do what I expected. I’ve always baked it anyway. In those instances, it was just a crisper, more cracker like crust. We liked it fine. Hope that helps!
Debbie says
Love your recipe! After trying many, this recipe is the best! You mention to weigh out the sourdough discard, but didn’t say the weight? Could you please let me know what that weight would be? I appreciate that you talk about weighing flour on your site. It is so much easier, and I think less messy to weigh ingredients. Thanks for the recipe!
Jessica Fisher says
This is one of my quirks. I weigh the starter in grams, so it shows up in the recipe card when you toggle to metric. Sorry for being weird!
Marie Moor says
Oh my goodness, My niece gave me a sourdough starter that I kept feeding and feeding and feeding. Before I knew it, I had this monstocity of sour-dough. Your pictures of overflowing sour dough most certainly captured my immediate attention. So, I had the King Arthur sourdough bread recipe which I was super excited to try and it turned out as hard as a rock, and I tossed both loaves of brick straight into the trash. I was highly discouraged and tempted to throw out the massive amounts of sourdough starter. I thought, prior to doing that, I would try one more recipe and yours is the one I picked for pizza dough, since we own a pizza dough oven. I was absolutely elated. I followed your recipe using a mixer with dough hook and it was fabulous. I will now be up all night making a million or so batches which I intend to freeze, but I did want to take a moment to thank you for the great recipe and tips. ( Your recipe made it to my personal favorite pins board )
Marie Moore/ Pinterest Magazine.
Jessica Fisher says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it — and have something to do with the starter. lol The King Arthur Crumpets recipe is one of our favorites.