Easy Sourdough Pizza Bases

These delicious sourdough pizza bases are light and airy with the best chewy bite.

Sourdough pizza bases have great texture and flavour, so a simple topping is best. The sourdough pizza dough itself is the star.

This sourdough pizza recipe crust is really quite simple, but you do still need time to let the dough ferment.

A good sourdough starter is the basis of any good sourdough bread and the same goes for this pizza dough. Once you've got that sorted your on your way to pizza perfection!

Sourdough Pizza Recipe Break Down

Here's a break down of the recipe and what it needs so you can see how to work it around your schedule.

• Sourdough starter, it can be fed the night before or in the morning
• An autolyse period of at least half an hour (this is the mixing of the flour and water you use in your dough. Letting is sit helps activate the gluten).
• The addition of the starter and salt to the dough, then a brisk but brutal kneading for 6 minutes (the slap and fold kneading method is best for this.)
• One set of coil folds 15 minutes later to help create a smooth ball of dough.
• A bench proof for 4 hours, before it is pe-shaped into two rounds
• A fridge proof for at least 4 hours but up to 24. (This cold proof is optional but it creates the best flavour and texture.

If I fed my starter the night before, I can start the autolyse at 7am, knead the dough at 7:30 and leave it to bench proof until midday.

After that I can pre-shape the dough balls, pop them in the refrigerator until I'm ready to roll them out and bake them that night.

If I feed my starter in the morning, (say 9am) then I usually start the autolyse at around 1pm, knead at 1:30pm and leave it to proof on the bench until around 5pm.

Then I pre-shape and refrigerate the dough balls and keep them cold until until I'm ready to roll them out and bake them the following evening.

Kneading and Fermenting Sourdough Pizza Crust

The pizza dough has only one coil fold, unlike my bread, and instead has a rougher slap and fold knead. This is because creating those delicate gluten structures isn't quite as important in a flatter pizza dough as it is in a bread loaf.

A 6 minute rough knead creates the structure that's required.

A slap and fold is literally when you slap the dough down hard on a clean bench and fold it over. Slap, and fold and repeat. Speed is key, especially if you're working with sticky dough.

It may stick to your fingers but sheer force and speed will rip if off your hands as you slap it down. After a while you'll feel the dough strengthen and become more elastic.

Then place the dough in a glass or ceramic tray, let it sit for 15 minutes and then give it one round of gentle coil folds, just to give the dough some tension and create a smooth top.

Bulk Fermenting The Dough

Then, leave the dough to sit and bulk ferment on the bench for four hours. Then it will be pre shaped into rounds before moving it to the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

The cold ferment helps bring the flavour and texture to the dough and the preshape will help with rolling out the pizza bases later on.

Shaping the Sourdough Pizza Bases

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured bench and cut it into two even sized pieces.

Lay a piece flat on the bench and stretch it out into a rectangle. Take a side of the rectangle and bring it into the middle. Continue with all the sides of the dough until you have created a little dough parcel.

Flip it upside down so the smooth side is showing. With the palms of your hands, spin the dough parcel around to create a circle. Repeat with the second piece.

Place these pieces on a floured tray to pop in the refrigerator. Cover them with a damp tea towel to stop them drying out, or put them in an airtight container.

Rolling the Sourdough Pizza Crust

20 minutes before baking, remove the dough from the fridge and sit at room temperature. This will make it easier to roll out.

Roll each piece of dough out on some baking paper, into a 20cm circle. Once it has been rolled, starting from the middle, press the dough outwards so the inner circumference is thinner and there is a thicker crust around the pizza base.

Spoon on your favourite sauce and toppings. Our favourite is a simple balsamic tomato sauce, topped with cheese, olives and capers, and fresh basil at the end.

Balsamic Tomato Sauce

1 diced onion, 3 cloves garlic chopped, browned in a pan with a splash of oil, for 8 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.

Add in 1 can chopped tomatoes, ½ tbsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt and black pepper to taste. Simmer on medium heat for 5-8 minutes before blitzing into a sauce.

Bake the pizzas for 12-15 minutes until puffed and browned to your liking.

If you’re after a traditional sourdough bread, try my Basic Sourdough Loaf.

Looking for some other recipes to use sourdough starter? You could try these sourdough chocolate chip cookies or check out this full list of 12 creative ways to use sourdough starter.

Have you made these Sourdough pizza crusts? Tag me and let me know! @home_grown_happinessnz