Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust: A Step-by-Step Guide
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Here is my guide for making sourdough pizza crust at home. As far as sourdough pizza recipes are concerned, this one is as simple as it gets — it’s made with all-purpose flour and there is no autolyse or preferment. Everything gets mixed together at once and you are on your way! Ready? Wake up your starter! Let’s do this 🍕🍕🍕
One of the most frequently asked questions I’ve received these past few weeks is: “Have you ever replaced the yeast in “X” bread recipe with sourdough starter?”
And specifically: “Could I use sourdough starter in your pizza dough recipe?”
Yes! And today, I’m going to show you how. The process is very similar to how I make yeast-leavened pizza, and the resulting pies are similar: ballooned and blistered edges with crisp but pliable crusts. In the recipe below, there are instructions for making three favorite pizzas 🍕🍕🍕:
- Classic Margherita
- Kale and Crème Fraîche
- Naked Pizza with Spicy Scallion (or Ramp!) Oil … made this on Instagram over the weekend
Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust: The details
This sourdough pizza crust is …
- Basic! Given supply constraints, I didn’t get creative with the flour mix here. This dough is made with 100% all-purpose flour. You absolutely can use bread flour or tipo 00 flour (read more about tipo 00 flour here) if you can get your hands on either. If you have been having a hard time finding flour, Baker’s Authority is a great option — great prices, too, even with shipping tacked on.
- 75% hydration. This is a classic sourdough formula: 375 g water, 500 g flour. (Note: This calculation is not quite accurate, because I am not including the weight of the water and flour of the sourdough starter in the calculation.)
- Simple! As with all of the sourdough recipes on this site, there is no autolyse or preferment or levain. I do call for some stretches and folds, which build strength in the dough. I like to do 4 stretch and folds, but even if you can only perform one stretch and fold, your dough will benefit.
Can you Freeze Sourdough Pizza Dough?
Yes. But, in my experience, the pizzas made from frozen dough do not spring as high upon being baked, but they still taste delicious as long as the time spent in the freezer is relatively short: the more time sourdough spends in the freezer, the more air bubbles it loses. After 1 week in the freezer, my dough will bake up fairly well. After 3 weeks in the freezer, my dough will be less bubbly and will bake into a thinner and crisper crust.
To freeze sourdough pizza dough: make it through step 4 in the recipe below or until after you transfer the portioned rounds to quart containers. At this point, transfer the quart containers to the freezer. To thaw, remove a container (or more) and let thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day or thaw at room temperature for 8 hours. Then, proceed with the recipe.
5 Keys to Excellent Pizza Every Time
Regardless if you are using yeast or sourdough, these (for me) are the keys to making excellent pizza at home every time.
- High-hydration Dough: When handled properly, doughs with a high proportion of water relative to the flour bake into beautiful, ballooned-pocketed crusts.
- Refrigerator time: After the first rise, time (at least 6 hours, but up to 3 days) in the fridge further develops flavor and improves the texture of the pizza dough.
- 1 hour at room temperature: If time permits, letting the dough come to room temperature an hour before baking, allows for easier shaping — room temperature dough will more easily stretch into a round than cold dough.
- Minimal handling of dough: Using a delicate hand to shape the dough, preserves the air pockets created during the fermentation process. I learned this from Jim Lahey:
“As soon as I began really paying attention to how I shaped my pizza rounds by taking care to use a gentle hand, I noticed a difference in the finished product. The air pockets pervading the unbaked round really affect the texture of the baked pizza.”
- Baking Steel: As you might know, I am a huge fan of the Baking Steel. In sum: steel is a better conductor of heat than stone — i.e. it transfers heat to the dough faster — which promotes great oven spring which translates to glorious bubbles throughout the dough. (Read more about the Baking Steel here.)
To be clear, I do not think you need to use a sourdough starter to make excellent pizza at home. A high hydration dough + leavening of choice + proper handling will give you excellent pizza every time, including that baked in a skillet: How to Make Excellent Skillet Pizza.
What is a Pizza Peel?
A pizza peel is a long-handled tool used to transfer pies into and out of the oven. Simply shape your pizza dough on the peel, then slide it onto your preheated baking steel. I prefer wooden peels to metal because they tend to be more nonstick and easier to use, and my favorite peel is the Epicurean Pizza Peel, which is lightweight, incredibly nonstick, and easy to maneuver. It sells for around $46.
Here’s my guide to making yeast-leavened pizza dough at home: How to Make Pizza
Pizza Night
My cookbook, Pizza Night, which includes 52 pizza and 52 salad recipes, one pair for every week of the year, as well as five simple desserts is here 🍕🍕🍕
It’s organized seasonally and includes recipes for the home oven, outdoor oven, the grill, Sicilian-style, Detroit-style, grandma-style, skillet pizzas, gluten-free, and more. There are both yeast and sourdough recipes for every style of pizza in the book.
Get your copy here: Pizza Night.
New to Sourdough?
If you are intimidated by sourdough bread baking, I have a free email course that covers the basics: Sourdough: Demystified.
And if you are looking for other easy sourdough bread recipes, this simple sourdough focaccia recipe, as well as this simple sourdough bread recipe, are the recipes I suggest attempting first, both for their simplicity and flavor. Another great beginner’s bread recipe to try is this overnight, refrigerator focaccia, which requires minimal effort but yields spectacular results.
PS: Easy, Homemade Pita Bread Recipe
PPS: My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Every Make
Here’s the simple sourdough pizza crust play-by-play: As always, a scale is essential for best results. You need water, flour, salt, and a sourdough starter. I am a proponent of buying a starter (see recipe box for sources), but if you are up for it, you can build a starter from scratch in just about 1 week.
Combine 375 g water, 100 g sourdough starter, and 10 g salt in a bowl. (See notes in recipe box about using less water if you live in a humid environment.)
Stir to combine; then add …
… 500 g all-purpose flour.
Stir until you have a sticky dough ball.
Transfer to a straight-sided vessel (if possible) and let rest for 30 minutes. Then, “stretch and fold” the dough (see video for guidance) 4 times at 30 minute intervals. Cover the vessel. Let it rest for 6 to 12 hours (see recipe notes for timing) or until the dough…
… has about doubled in volume. (Note: This is a little bit more than double. Ideally you don’t want your dough to rise much beyond double. More recently, in fact, I stop the bulk fermentation when the dough has increased in volume by 50%.)
Turn dough out onto a work surface. Use flour here as needed.
Portion into 4 equal pieces, again using flour as needed.
Ball up and transfer to quart (or other similar-sized) containers (I love these deli quart containers). Transfer to the fridge, ideally for at least 6 hours and up to 3 days.
An hour prior to baking, remove a round (or more) of pizza dough, and place it on a floured work surface. If you have a Baking Steel, place it in the upper third of your oven, and heat the oven to 550ºF. (See recipe for other options.)
Delicately stretch the dough into a round, trying as best you can to preserve those air pockets.
Top as you wish. This one is spread with tomato sauce and topped with fresh mozzarella, parmesan, olive oil, and sea salt.
Transfer pizza, parchment paper and all to a preheated Baking Steel or stone in a 550ºF oven. Bake 5 to 6 minutes or until cooked to your liking.
Slice and serve.
A little fresh basil is always nice.
This is the beauty of the Baking Steel: oven spring!
Another favorite: kale + crème fraîche:
Another favorite: “naked” + spicy scallion (or ramp) oil:
Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Total Time: 1 day + 1 hour
- Yield: 4 pizzas
Description
**Attention Pizza Fans**: My pizza cookbook, Pizza Night, is now available everywhere books are sold. Get your copy here: Pizza Night
What you need to make this recipe…:
- …a sourdough starter. Ideally, you want to use your starter 4 to 6 hours after you feed it, when it has doubled in volume and is very bubbly and active. You can build a starter from scratch in just about 1 week. Or you can buy one. Here are three sources:
- …time. Once your starter is ready to go, this recipe requires an initial 6 – 18 hour rise, followed by at least 6 hours in the fridge or up to 3 days.
Timing/Schedule:
The more I make sourdough, the more I realize that the timing of each bake depends so much on the time of year and the temperature of my kitchen. In the summer, because it is warm and humid, the first rise (bulk fermentation) of all my sourdoughs takes between 6 – 8 hours; in the winter it will take longer, 10 to 12 hours.
It is best to rely on visual cues. For the bulk fermentation, you want the dough to double or less than double: I now end my bulk fermentation when the dough has risen by 50% to 75% in volume. This is why I cannot recommend using a straight-sided vessel (as opposed to a bowl) enough. It makes gauging the first rise easier.
If at any point you are worried the dough will over-ferment — say, for example, the bulk fermentation is nearly complete but you are tired and want to go to bed — stick the vessel in the fridge and pick up the process in the morning. (Note: If your dough rises above double, don’t despair … my dough has tripled in volume during an overnight rise, and the resulting dough still had plenty of strength and spring.)
Schedule: I like mixing this dough in the evening, performing 4 stretch and folds before I go to bed (if time permits), then letting the dough complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature (68ºF) overnight or in the refrigerator (especially in the summer, when my kitchen is much warmer). In the morning, it’s typically ready to be portioned (if it rose at room temperature), transferred to quart containers, and stashed in the fridge. If I had let my dough spend time in the fridge for the bulk fermentation, I remove it in the morning, and let it complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature. Once complete, I portion the dough and stash it in the fridge. Sometimes I’ll use the dough that same evening; sometimes I’ll use it the following day or the next. I encourage using the dough within 3 days.
In short: If you want pizza for the weekend, mix your dough on either Wednesday or Thursday.
Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes.
Water: If you live in a humid environment or if you are making this on a particularly humid day, consider starting with less water, such as 335 grams of water, which will bring the hydration down to 70%. This amount of water will still produce a light airy crust but the dough will be more manageable.
Flour choice:
- Due to supply issues, I’ve been making this recipe with all-purpose flour, and it works beautifully. You absolutely can use bread flour or tipo 00 flour if you can get your hands on either. If you can’t, know that all-purpose (unbleached) flour works great here. If you use 00 flour, you’ll likely need to reduce the amount of water. I would start with 350 g, and adjust moving forward based on your results.
Favorite Pizza-Making Tools:
- Baking Steel
- Pizza Peel
- Parchment Paper: I bake my pizzas on parchment paper on my Baking Steel. Parchment allows for easy transfer from peel to steel.
- Cast Iron Skillet: If you do not have a Steel or stone, you can use a cast iron skillet. Rub a half teaspoon of oil over its surface, transfer a stretched dough round to the skillet. Top as desired. Bake at 450ºF for about 15 minutes.
- Quart Containers for storing dough
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 375 g water (or less, see notes above)
- 100 g sourdough starter, active and bubbly, see notes above
- 10 g salt
- 500 g all-purpose or bread flour
For each Margherita pizza:
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 1 to 2 oz mozzarella
- handful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano (less than an ounce)
- drizzle olive oil
- pinch sea salt
For each kale and crème fraiche pizza:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- a couple handfuls of baby or Tuscan kale
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic
- Sea salt, such as Maldon
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup
For each naked pizza with ramp or scallion oil:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced scallions or ramps
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 to 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- handful grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- sea salt
Instructions
- Mix the dough. Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated. Transfer to a straight-sided vessel (if you have one.) Cover vessel with tea towel or cloth bowl cover and let stand 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold: after 30 minutes have passed, reach into the vessel and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the vessel quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times. See video for guidance. Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes; then repeat the stretching and folding. If possible, repeat this cycle twice more for a total of 4 stretch and folds. By the 4th cycle, you will notice a huge difference in the texture of the dough: it will be smoother, stronger, and more elastic.
- Bulk fermentation: Cover vessel with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen; see notes above) or until the dough has roughly doubled in volume. (UPDATE: In the past I have recommended letting the dough rise until it doubles in volume. If you’ve had success with this, continue to let the dough double. Recently, I have been stopping the bulk fermentation when the dough increases by 50% in volume, and I feel my dough is even stronger in the end.) Note: Do not use your oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it is too warm for the dough. When determining when the bulk fermentation is done, it is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.
- Portion and shape: Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a rough ball, using as much flour as needed — the dough will be sticky. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Sprinkle portions with flour. With floured hands, roll each portion into a ball, using the pinkie-edges of your hands to pinch the dough underneath each ball. Transfer each round of dough to a plastic quart container, cover, and store in fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days or transfer to the freezer for up to 1 week. (To thaw, remove a container (or more) and let thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day or thaw at room temperature for 8 hours. Then, proceed with the recipe.)
- Make the pizzas: Pull out a round (or more) of dough from the fridge one hour before you plan on baking. Dust dough with flour and place on a floured work surface. Let sit untouched for about an hour (a little longer or shorter is fine). Place a Baking Steel or pizza stone in the top third of your oven. Set oven to 550ºF. Heat oven for at least 45 minutes but ideally 1 hour prior to baking.
- Shape the dough: Gently shape dough into a 10-inch (roughly) round handling it as minimally as possible. (See video for guidance.) Lay a sheet of parchment paper on top of a pizza peel. Transfer the dough round to the parchment-lined peel.
Top and Bake
- To make a classic Margherita-style pizza: Spread 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over the surface of the dough. Top with mozzarella to taste. Sprinkle with parmesan to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. Bake pizza until top is blistered, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Sprinkle with basil, if you have it. Cut and serve. Discard parchment paper.
- To make a kale and crème fraîche pizza: Place the kale in a small bowl, drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt, and toss. Spoon crème fraîche over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border or so—I use about a tablespoon per pizza. Sprinkle with minced garlic and a handful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Top with the kale. Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. Bake pizza until top is blistered, about 5 – 6 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Cut and serve. Discard parchment paper.
- To make a naked pizza with scallion oil: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet with 1/4 cup of minced scallions (or ramps!) and 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. Keep it over low heat while you make the pizza. Spoon crème fraîche over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border or so—I use about a tablespoon per pizza. Sprinkle with a handful of grated parmesan. Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. Bake pizza until top is blistered, about 5 – 6 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. At this point, the scallions should be starting to “frizzle”. If they aren’t, crank up the heat until the oil is sizzling. Spoon a few tablespoons of the hot oil over the pizza (you’ll have extra oil). Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Cut and serve.
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 5 to 6 minutes
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American, Italian
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
1,260 Comments on “Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust: A Step-by-Step Guide”
How many people will this recipe feed?
It makes 4 pizzas, so I’d count on each pizza feeding 1-2 people. So probably 6-8 people? More or less depending on the size of the appetites 🙂
Delicious! I made a double portion for a pizza party. Those rested 24 hours in fridge before being pulled out to sit at room temp two hours ahead. One extra sat in the fridge for 6 days, then at room temp 3 hours. It was even better! I did up the salt(15g), add 12 g sugar and 12g olive oil.
Nice! Great to read all of this. Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes!
Did you double the recipe in one bowl or make the recipe twice? I’m planning to make this for a party and want to make sure!
You can definitely double the recipe in one bowl if you have a bowl large enough and specifically/ideally a large enough straight-sided vessel for the bulk fermentation.
Hi Ali! Can this dough be frozen and then thawed and worked?
Hi! I actually do not recommend freezing sourdough dough… it just doesn’t hold up well even for brief periods in the freezer. You can parbake the rounds for 60-90 seconds — they’ll be completely pale with some light spotting when you remove them — and freeze those parbaked crusts.
Can you freeze this dough?
The dough is fantastic!
Hi! I actually do not recommend freezing sourdough dough… it just doesn’t hold up well even for brief periods in the freezer. You can parbake the rounds for 60-90 seconds — they’ll be completely pale with some light spotting when you remove them — and freeze those parbaked crusts.
Why is the temp for cooking in an iron skillet 450 degrees and the normal temp 550degreed
You need to cook the pizza longer in the skillet, so it needs a lower temperature. At 550 on a baking steel, it should cook in about 5 minutes. In a skillet, the crust won’t be done in that amount of time.
If you’re using a pizza pan rather than a baking steel or stone, do you bake at the same temp for the same amount of time?
Hi! Are you preheating the pizza pan? Or is it like a sheet pan?
If you have a pan you can preheat that will give you best results; if you don’t I’d consider lowering the temperature to 450F and baking it longer — it might take 10 minutes or more… just rely on the visual cues: crust browning nicely, cheese melting, etc.
If you bake it on an unpreheated pan at 550F, you may find that the top of the pizza looks completely done while the crust (the underside of the crust) is still soft and underdone.
This is the second recipe I have tried from your site and it was perfect! I will be making this at least once a week for the rest of time. Thanks so much for sharing this gem.
Great to hear, Lisa! Thanks for writing 🙂
After many failed pizza dough attempts from other websites this was an easy overnight HIT!
None of our stones were approved for over 450 degrees so we used a non pre heated pan. It took about 8 minutes and we learned after the first pizza to make sure the rack was on the top shelf for a crispy crust.
I can’t wait to make this again!
Great to hear, Natalie! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. You could try using your stone at 450 and cooking for 8 minutes and see how it compares. But I’m glad your method works!
Made this recipe several times over 5 months with tweaks here and there and have arrived at a wonderful scaled version using 2/3rd 00 flour and 1/3rd AP flour plus 2T. Olive oil. Now we make this in batches enough for 24 dough balls and freeze them, thawing in the fridge for 24 hours and then at room temp 30 mins. Baking 10 mins on the parchment/steel set at the 2nd rack from the top(where the flame is.)
We use the frozen dough balls over a period of up to 8 weeks. Thin, crispy yet tender crust every time. Perfect pizza point tips with no wilt! Less bubbles in the crust as weeks pass, but still amazing. Take care not to overdo sauce or toppings.
Great to read all of this, Michelle! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
Thanks for the detailed notes, Michelle. Thanks for the recipe, Alexandra. Follow-up question on freezing: Before freezing the dough do you wrap it in plastic wrap (one or two layers?), use a ziplock bag, freeze it in a container, or do you use some other method? I am having a freezer meal making day with my family and would love to include this recipe.
I recently got into making my own sourdough and boy has this journey been trying and rewarding!!
I desperately want to make some pizza dough with all this starter I have.
I see that you don’t recommend freezing the dough, but would it be possible to shape the dough into a pizza pie and then bake for a few minutes, allow it to cool completely and then freeze it if stored in a vacuum sealed package?
Yes! I recommend freezing the parbaked rounds: baked the stretched out rounds without any toppings for 90 seconds; let cool completely; then freeze.
Came out delicious. Definitely a print out and make again and again type of recipe. Thanks ❤️
Came out delicious. Definitely a print out and make again and again type of recipe. Thanks ❤️
Great to hear, Sky! Thanks for writing 🙂
We made several variations. One chicken garlic basil with a stuffed crust, one chicken garlic spinach and a pepperoni, sausage, olive. We used a warmed cast iron skillet and parchment paper and baked at 425 for 15-18 minutes just watching for the golden brown crust. Outstanding and fun to do! This will be a common addition for dinner.
Great to hear, Kristi! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
can I half the recipe
can I make one large pizza with half the recipe and what size would the pizza round be?
Sure! I’d guess 18-20 inches?
Just made this for the umpteenth time; my hands-down favorite sourdough crust recipe! Looking forward to trying the new baking steel that just arrived.
Also, recently picked up a copy of Pizza Nights and cannot recommend this book highly enough! Some fun, funky pizza recipes, and the salad suggestions and dressing recipes are fabulous. Thanks so much
Awww it’s so nice to read this, Mark! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this. And yay for getting a Steel… it’s game changing!!
Looks delicious! Is it possible to make this dough in a stand mixer?
Are you hoping to replace the stretches and folds by using a stand mixer?
hmm. Yes! I have never made pizza dough before – I have however made a failed very flat slightly stodgy sourdough- so kneading and stretching makes me very nervous. Hence the mixer q ! Is it better to just practice and practice; what’s your advice in this area?
Honestly, I think it’s easier to do the stretches and folds by hand! You really see how the dough transforms with each set of stretches and folds, and I promise you it’s not hard… watch the video for reference 🙂
Good to know! Thank you so much for your help 🙂
This was the best pizza dough I have ever made. I followed the directions up to step 4. I allowed the dough to sit out at room temperature and then placed it in the fridge at night without dividing or shaping. I left it in the fridge for 2 days and took it out around 11am. I made 1 large pizza stretching out the dough be hand (no rolling pin). Baked it on a pizza stone at 5:30pm. The crust was unbelievable. Everyone said it was the best pizza they have ever had. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Fantastic! It’s so nice to read all of this. Thank you for writing and sharing these notes! I’m so intrigued by the one large pizza… will try!
In the comments section, I keep seeing, “don’t freeze’ but in the recipe it says “Transfer each round of dough to a plastic quart container, cover, and store in fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days or transfer to the freezer ” What am I missing? OK to freeze or not?
In the comments section, I keep seeing, “don’t freeze’ but in the recipe it says “Transfer each round of dough to a plastic quart container, cover, and store in fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days or transfer to the freezer ” What am I missing? OK to freeze or not?
Hi! And apologies for the confusion here. You can freeze sourdough but only for very brief periods — I wouldn’t recommend freezing the rounds for more than 1 week. They just lose a lot of their oomph. The flavor is still good, but the texture suffers. If you want to preserve your dough longer, I’d recommend parbaking the rounds without any toppings for 60-90 seconds, letting them cool; then freezing them. Let me know if this makes sense.
Can you freeze this dough and use another day?
Yes, but only for 1 week — sourdough really doesn’t do well in the freezer for long periods of time.
I made this recipe for the first time last week and my husband said this is the only pizza we eat now. 🤣 Thank you for a winner!!
I’m making it again this week, but last time it was super sticky. I reduced the water but it’s still sticky (I just finished the stretch and folds). The recipe says to add flour as needed when dividing it, but I assumed that meant to keep it from sticking to my hands. Can I add more flour when I divide it to make it less sticky? To be clear, the final product was amazing so I’m not complaining. 😁 Thanks for any feedback and for sharing such a yummy recipe!!
Disregard my question–I missed the water reduction when using all purpose flour. It turned out even more perfect tonight!
Great to hear! Thanks for reporting back… catching up on comments now 🙂
Yay 🙂 🙂 🙂 Great to hear! And yes: use as much flour as needed when dividing and balling up the portions.
Hi Ali, I got my signed pizza book from my friend that went to Rizzoli. We just got the steel and tried our first pizza last night. The final product was delicious. It took a bit longer to cook which I attribute to the oven. My question is regarding the dough. Stored the 4 balls in fridge and used on the 3rd day. They rose (used those plastic deli containers) to fill 3/4 of the container, which i have not had happen before. When I took the dough out 1 hr prior to bake it just layer there as a blob, didn’t hold its shape as a ball. It was thin when I stretched it and I had a lot of holes. I am at 9500 altitude but my other sodo projects haven’t been affected. It was the first time I used bread flour. I think i need to go back and read thru your notes in case I should have made adjustments. In reading a lot of the comments it seems like ppl take all kinds of liberties and it still works out. What are the visual signs that are most important if I want to try fixing things by practice? Thank you for answering all our questions.
Hi! A few thoughts below:
They rose (used those plastic deli containers) to fill 3/4 of the container, which i have not had happen before. When I took the dough out 1 hr prior to bake it just layer there as a blob, didn’t hold its shape as a ball.
Deli containers are not my preferred storage vessel anymore due to the reasons you describe — when the dough grows too much vertically, it can get kind of mangled when you extract it. I prefer vessels with a slightly wider base. These vessels are my favorite. I wrote about storage vessels more extensively here.
It was thin when I stretched it and I had a lot of holes.
It sounds as though it overfermented. When you shaped the dough after the bulk fermentation, did it have strength and elasticity? If so, it’s possible that it overproofed during this time in the fridge. Sourdough is less forgiving than yeast. Yeast dough balls can last for a week in the fridge. Sourdough can, too, depending on your starter and other factors, but I find the ideal timing to be 2-3 days (which I know you did, but it’s still possible that 3 days was too long for you).
I am at 9500 altitude but my other sodo projects haven’t been affected. It was the first time I used bread flour.
Bread flour is great. Things that work well at altitude: High hydration doughs + long, slow fermentation. So, theoretically, this recipe should be fine.
I think i need to go back and read thru your notes in case I should have made adjustments. In reading a lot of the comments it seems like ppl take all kinds of liberties and it still works out. What are the visual signs that are most important if I want to try fixing things by practice? Thank you for answering all our questions.
My thoughts for you:
• Make sure you are feeding your starter at least twice before you are using it to ensure it is rising in a timely manner and is strong and active.
• Be sure to use a scale to measure.
• Use a straight-sided vessel for the bulk fermentation to really monitor how much it is growing.
• Consider shortening the bulk fermentation if you are letting the dough increase in volume by more than 75%
Can you use discard for this recipe and just increase the bulk fermentation time?
You could try that but if I were you, I’d add a pinch of yeast — 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon — to ensure you get a good rise and a light airy crust.
Hi, I only have a convection oven that goes up to 200° C (390 F). Would it come out ok if I baked this for longer? I do have a cast iron skillet.
Hi… not sure. I worry it will take so long to bake and to get any color on the crust before it dries out. Worth a shot I suppose!
I went ahead and tried it… It did dry out! 🙁 But I just wet the bread (literally under a tap) and popped it in the oven for a minute before serving and it came out great! Thanks for the response!
Can I use my le creuset cast iron skillet for this recipe and would I keep the parchment paper on the bottom?
Thank you
Are you going to preheat the skillet? And then shimmy the dough onto the hot skillet?
yes, I was going to attempt it using the parchment paper to help with the transfer. It’s a 9 inch pan
Yes! Go for it, and keep the parchment paper underneath.
Where are the notes about thawing? I’m the recipe it says you can put in the freezer, and thaw, but in comments you said you don’t recommend freezing? You are contradicting yourself. Please explain how to freeze amd that as directed in recipe.
They are in the body of the post above. See “Can You Freeze Sourdough Pizza Dough?” I’ll add them to the recipe now.
Your recipe says this recipe makes 4 pizza’s; what size are pizza’s?
Each pizza is roughly 11 to 12 inches.
Hi! I tried your recipe and the dough kept snapping back when I was trying to shape it. I had it in the fridge overnight and let it come to room temp for an hour. Any suggestions on how to improve or what may have went wrong?
Hi! When you say you had it in the fridge overnight, do you mean you had the dough balls in the fridge overnight?
If so, it’s possible you just need to let them proof longer at room temperature (in a lidded/sealed vessel so that they don’t dry out).
Are you using a scale to measure? What type of flour are you using?
I had the dough balls in lidded quart containers overnight. Yes, used a scale and AP flour.
OK, great to hear. Yeah, I think you just need to give the dough more time to proof at room temperature: again, be sure to let them proof in a lidded/sealed vessel so that they don’t dry out. A DoughMate is ideal. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen it may take 90 minutes to 2 hours for your dough balls to proof.
Just tried my first ever pizza dough. Tasted delicious 🙂 I had trouble transferring the uncooked pizza onto the pizza stone though, so the pizza’s kind of lost their circular shape before going into the oven. Is it OK to leave parchment paper in the oven at high broil? Any tips on transferring the pizza? Thank you!
Hi! Yes, you can use the parchment during the entire bake, but not on high broil — it will catch fire under the broiler. You can use it at 550 convection roast. I even use it in my tabletop pizza oven at 750F and it does not catch fire.
Regarding the trouble:
Are you using a scale to measure?
What type of flour are you using?
Do you live in a humid environment?
I have a regular oven. What temp do you recommend so I can still use the parchment paper?
I did use a scale. Using all purpose flour. It’s not too humid, but very hot, about 76 degrees. Thanks!