I’ve made a lot of homemade pizzas over the years, but this Sourdough Pizza is hands-down my favorite. After testing and tweaking it countless times in my own kitchen, I can confidently say this dough bakes up with that perfect chewy crust and crisp edges every time. The best part? It’s made with just 4 simple ingredients you likely already have on hand. Whether it’s Friday pizza night or a weekend bake with the family, this is the go-to sourdough pizza dough recipe you’ll turn to again and again.
For a long time my go to pizza dough recipe with my sourdough discard pizza recipe. It has yeast in it, and I never ventured to try to use my sourdough starter instead of relying on yeast.
One day over the Summer I decided to try, and I've never gone back! I still love the original recipe, but when I have the time, this is the recipe I use.
The sourdough starter gives this dough a ton of airy bubbles, making it light but still chewy. Its perfect to hold all of your pizza toppings!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love this Cast Iron Sourdough Pizza
- What is Sourdough Pizza?
- Ingredients Needed for Cast Iron Sourdough Pizza
- What Type of Flour is Best?
- How to Make Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Best Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe Substitutions & Variations
- Sourdough Pizza Cast Iron Tips and Tricks
- Sample Baker's Schedule
- Best Sourdough Pizza Toppings
- How to Store Sourdough Pizza Dough
- Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe FAQs
- More Sourdough Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
Why You'll Love this Cast Iron Sourdough Pizza
- It produces an airy crust! The sourdough starter gives this crust an airy texture. It also has a slight tangy flavor from the fermentation of the dough during the bulk fermentation.
- It is easy to make! All you have to do is mix the ingredients together and let the sourdough starter do it's thing. With a little patience, you'll have the best pizza dough your family ever had!
- It's a great make ahead dinner! This dough can be made up to 24 hours in advance and kept in the refrigerator. When you are ready to bake it, just take it out of the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes, shape it, and bake.
What is Sourdough Pizza?
Sourdough pizza is pizza made with a naturally leavened dough using active sourdough starter instead of regular commercial yeast. This gives the crust a light, chewy texture with a slightly tangy flavor that’s a little different than regular pizza crust.
Ingredients Needed for Cast Iron Sourdough Pizza
- Sourdough starter. Your sourdough starter should be fed, active, and bubbly. It's best to feed it the day before you want to make the pizza. If you are new to sourdough, you can make your own homemade sourdough starter, buy one, or get one from a fellow sourdough friend.
- Flour. Bread flour gives this pizza dough a really chewy crust.
- Water. The water should be slightly warm. Too cold and it will take a really long time for the wild yeast in the starter to grow.
- Salt. Salt adds both flavor to the dough as well as controlling the overgrowth of the yeast and helps reduce over proofing.
See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.
What Type of Flour is Best?
When making pizza, people have a lot of different opinions on the best type of flour to use. Let me explain the difference and why you might choose one flour over another flour.
Bread flour. When thinking bread flour vs all purpose flour, bread flour has a much high gluten content, leading to a chewier crust. This is ideal for those who enjoy a hearty, robust crust with a good chew.
All Purpose Flour. The flour we all have in our house. Make sure it is always unbleached all purpose flour and you can basically use it for any baked good.
Tipo 00 Flour. This finely milled Italian flour is traditionally used for pizza and pasta. It results in a thin, crispy crust with a tender interior. This flour is great for Neapolitan-style pizzas because it is light and airy.
Whole wheat flour. I love using whole wheat flour in things like whole wheat sourdough bagels and whole wheat waffles, but in pizza it can make the dough very heavy. If you are going to use it to make pizza, mix it in with another type of flour to lighten the dough. Be aware of hydration levels though, whole wheat flour tends to absorb more water than your standard white flour.
Semolina Flour. Semolina flour is a very course flour and is used to make sure the pizza does not stick to the pizza peel. It gives the pizza that signature crunch on the bottom. It's not an absolutely necessary ingredient, but it's helpful to have.
Recommended equipment:
When it comes to making sourdough pizza, you don’t need fancy equipment, but having the right tools definitely helps you get that perfect chewy, golden crust.
You’ll want a mixing bowl for combining your ingredients, a kitchen scale for accurate measurements, and a bench scraper to make shaping the dough easier. A pizza stone or baking steel is ideal for achieving that crisp bottom crust, but a sturdy baking sheet works too. If you have one, a pizza peel makes transferring your pizza in and out of the oven a breeze. And don’t forget a sharp knife or pizza cutter for slicing up your pizza once it’s baked.
How to Make Sourdough Pizza Crust
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add the water and sourdough starter. Make sure the sourdough starter floats, that means it is active and ready. Mix well to dissolve the starter.
Step 2: Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix well until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. Perform a stretch and fold 30 minutes in and then another 30 minutes after that. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 8-10 hours.
Step 3: After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut it in half and form the dough into two balls. Let them rest on the bench for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Working with one dough ball at a time, stretch the dough into a pizza shape. Place the dough on your baking device. I like to use a cast iron skillet or pizza pan.
Lynn's Tip!
To prevent the dough from sticking to the baking stone, cast iron skillet, or baking sheet, use semolina flour or a fine cornmeal under the pizza dough. You can also grease the baking pan with olive oil or cooking spray too.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the dough into the cast iron skillet or baking pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and prepare your toppings.
Step 7: Spread the sauce over the par-baked pizza dough. Make sure to evenly distribute the sauce over the dough.
Step 8: Sprinkle with your cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and melted.
How to Make Sourdough Pan Pizza Ahead of Time
Refrigerating the dough: Once the dough has bulk fermented and doubled in size at room temperature, separate the dough into two balls. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and use them whenever you are ready. You can keep them refrigerated for up to three days as long as they are covered.
The longer you keep the dough in the refrigerator, the more sour the dough will be and you might not get quite as many air bubbles as you would with a freshly proofed dough.
Freezing the sourdough pizza dough: Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, separate the dough into two dough balls. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze them for a few hours until they are completely frozen. Once frozen, take them off the baking sheet and place them in their own gallon sized freezer bags.
You can even freeze the par-baked crusts. Bake for crusts for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool to room temperature. Once cooled, place them in a freezer safe bag or wrap them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They will be great to grab and make on any pizza night!
Best Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe Substitutions & Variations
Change the toppings! We like to load up our pizzas, and that this dough is perfect for that! You can even experiment with stuffed crust pizza if you are feeling daring!
Extend the fermentation time! This pizza dough is fermented for about 8 hours and then baked or placed in the refrigerator for a few hours. To extend the fermentation time for a more sour crust, typical of your standard sourdough bread, allow the bread to ferment in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.
Add flavors to the dough! Add ¼ cup of olive oil, ground garlic, or Italian seasoning for some extra flavor in the dough.
Add some yeast! If you are short on time but still want a sourdough pizza crust, add a teaspoon of active dry yeast to the dough to make the rising process faster.
Sourdough Pizza Cast Iron Tips and Tricks
- There are many ways that you can bake this pizza at home. We have an Ooni that we love, but you don't need a pizza oven to make amazing pizza! You can preheat a pizza stone in your oven and place the pizza on the stone to bake. A cast iron skillet works great as does a circle pizza pan or a deep rectangle pan.
- Make sure to use a scale to measure the ingredients. That is the most accurate way to measure ingredients when baking. I've compiled an essential list of sourdough tools to help you on your sourdough journey.
- It might be tempting to roll out the pizza dough, but I recommend against it. We've spent a lot of time trying to get those bubbles in the pizza dough, you don't want to break them by rolling the pizza dough with a rolling pin. With your hands simply stretch the dough to the sides of the pan.
- Keep in mind your kitchen temperature! If you are proofing the dough in your kitchen during the Summer, it will likely rise quickly because your kitchen is warmer. In the Winter, it might take a little longer for the dough to double in size. Don't rush the process! Just keep an eye on the dough as it rises, once doubled, pop it in the refrigerator or start your pizza party!
Sample Baker's Schedule
- 8pm- Mix all the ingredients together.
- 8:30pm- Do a stretch and fold.
- 9pm- Do one more stretch and fold.
- 8am- Shape the dough into a boule shape and refrigerate. How to shape a boule is a simple but important step in most sourdough recipes.
- 5pm- Place the dough on the baking device. Par-bake the pizza dough for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F and then top the pizza with your favorite toppings. Finish baking the pizza.
Best Sourdough Pizza Toppings
There are so many variations of pizza, the possibilities are endless! Here are just a few popular ways to top pizza:
- Homemade marinara sauce
- Bolognese sauce
- Your favorite pesto sauce
- Mozzarella
- Pepperoni
- Mushrooms
- Black Olives
- Green Peppers
- Sliced Onions
- Fresh Basil, olive oil, and fresh tomatoes for a classic Neapolitan style pizza.
How to Store Sourdough Pizza Dough
Sourdough pizza dough can be stored in the fridge or freezer to make pizza night easier and more flexible. The key is to keep it in an airtight container or tightly wrapped so it doesn’t dry out or over-ferment.
How long is sourdough pizza dough good for in the fridge?
Sourdough pizza dough will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container. After that, it may start to lose its rise and become overly sour.
Can you freeze sourdough pizza dough?
Yes, sourdough pizza dough freezes beautifully and is a great way to save extra dough for later. Freezing slows fermentation, so you can make a big batch and enjoy homemade pizza any time.
How to freeze sourdough pizza dough
Lightly coat the dough with oil, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and then place it in a freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. When ready to use, thaw overnight in the fridge, then let it come to room temperature before shaping and baking.
Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe FAQs
You would need to use a gluten free sourdough starter as well as gluten free flour. A lot of time you will need to add xanthan gum to make sure the pizza has the correct consistency.
Yes! Make sure you sourdough starter is active and bubbly and that is enough to make the sourdough pizza dough rise.
You can use a pizza oven, your grill, or even your oven. It's more important the vessel that you are baking the pizza on. You can find pizza stones in the stores or on Amazon, but you can use a standard baking sheet too if that is what you have.
Sourdough pizza typically bakes in a hot oven (475–500°F) for about 10–12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the crust and toppings. You’ll know it’s ready when the edges are golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
More Sourdough Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Cast Iron Sourdough Pizza
Ingredients
- 350 g Warm Water
- 115 g Sourdough Starter Active and Bubbly
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 15 g Salt Kosher Salt, not table salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the water and sourdough starter. Make sure the sourdough starter floats, that means it is active and ready. Mix well to dissolve the starter.
- Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix well until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. Perform a stretch and fold 30 minutes in and then another 30 minutes after that.
- Let the dough rise at room temperature for 8-10 hours covered with a damp kitchen towel.
- After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut it in half and form the dough into two balls. Let them rest on the bench for 15 minutes.
- Working with one dough ball at a time, stretch the dough into a pizza shape. Place the dough on your baking vessel. I like to use a cast iron skillet or pizza pan.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the dough into the cast iron skillet or baking pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and prepare your toppings.
- Spread the sauce over the par-baked pizza dough. Make sure to evenly distribute the sauce over the dough.
- Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and melted.
Notes
- A kitchen scale makes sure that all the ingredients are measured properly.
- Bake this pizza on a cast iron skillet, pizza stone, or baking sheet.
- To prevent the dough from sticking to the baking stone, cast iron skillet, or baking sheet, use semolina flour or a fine cornmeal under the pizza dough. You can also grease the baking pan with olive oil or cooking spray too.
- It may be tempting to roll out the dough, but it's best to stretch the dough. We spent a long time making those bubbles, so you don't want to pop them with a rolling pin.
- Once the dough has risen, you can cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before cutting and shaping, then bake it.
valerie Eyckmans says
I've tried several pizza dough recipes and they were all a failure. This one is amazing. I'll definitely be making a lot more.
Liv says
We have been making our own pizza dough for years, but never sourdough. This turned out so much more flavorful!
Courtney says
I’ve always used a baking stone for our pizza, but I’m excited to try this recipe in a cast iron skillet!