Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe

Maria Baradell

The best sourdough pizza dough recipe with step-by-step instructions to achieve perfectly delicious pizza at home.

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Prep Time 2

Cook Time 16

Resting Time 12

Cuisine Italian

Yield 4 12" pizzas

370 milliliters (1½ cups + 2 teaspoons) filtered water room temperature
112 grams (½ cup) active sourdough starter 100% hydration, at peak
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) olive oil extra virgin + more for oiling the containers
560 grams (about 4 ½ cups + 3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour protein under 12% or use OO flour
14 grams (2¼ teaspoons) sea salt
semolina flour for dusting the counter and pizza peel

240–320 grams (1–1⅓ cups) tomato sauce or any other sauce you would like
340–460 grams (12–16 ounces) low-moisture mozzarella or any other cheese you would like If using fresh mozzarella, pat dry 30 minutes before assembling
any other toppings you might like

10-12 hours before mixing, feed a portion of your starter at a 1:6:6 ratio: 9 grams starter, 54 milliliters (about 3 ½ tablespoons) water, and 54 grams (about ½ cup) flour. Leave at room temperature, and use it after it has reached peak activity.

In a large bowl, use a dough whisk or fork to mix the water, sourdough starter at peak, and olive oil until bubbly.
Add the flour and salt. Mix using a dough whisk and then your hands until no dry spots remain. The dough should feel shaggy at first. Continue mixing using your hands until it becomes smooth and have a temperature of around 78°F (26°C).
Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and keep it in a warm spot, such as the oven off, with the light turned on, to maintain about 78°F (26°C).
Every 30 minutes, perform one set of stretch and folds. To do this, wet your hands and grab one edge of the dough, stretch it upward, and fold it back over the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat on all four sides.
Cover with the damp towel after each set and keep the dough at 78°F (26°C).
Perform a total of 3 sets over 1½ hours.
After the third set, cover again with the damp towel and let the dough rest at 78°F (26°C) for 1½ hours.
Gently turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 4 pieces of about 267 grams each.
Shape each piece into a ball by bringing the edges toward the center, pinching them together, and then gently rounding the dough with your hands, being careful not to degas.

Lightly oil four 2-cup containers with olive oil.
Lightly oil the dough balls and place one dough ball in each container.
Cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours at 35–37°F (2–3°C).
Remove the dough from the fridge about 3 hours before baking and let it come to room temperature, nearly doubling in size.

Move an oven rack to the highest position and place a baking steel (or stone) on it. Then set the next rack just below and place a baking sheet on that rack.
Preheat the oven to 550°F (290°C) or as hot as your oven allows for the full hour before baking. Switch to broil for the last 10 minutes of preheat.

If you are using fresh mozzarella, slice or tear it, then lay it on a plate lined with paper towels so it can drain while the oven heats.
Have your sauce and any other toppings prepped and within reach.
Prepare a plate with a layer of fine semolina so you can coat each dough ball before shaping, and can lightly flour the counter and pizza peel.

When ready to bake your pizza, gently dump one dough ball from its container onto the plate with semolina and coat both sides with it.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop. Using your fingertips, press gently from the center toward the edge, about half an inch from the rim, to flatten the center into a small disc and create a defined crust.
Pick up the flattened disc by the edge with both hands and let the rest of the dough hang down, allowing gravity to begin stretching it naturally.
As it hangs, work the perimeter by passing the edge from one hand to the other, rotating the dough in a slow, continuous circle. This motion, similar to turning a steering wheel, helps the dough stretch evenly.
Hold the dough up to the light occasionally. For a thin-crust pizza, it should appear slightly translucent. Focus your stretching on areas that still look thicker, using your fingertips to gently pinch or pull as needed.
Handle the dough delicately to avoid tearing, especially around the center.
Once the dough reaches the desired size, lay it on a floured pizza peel or on a floured parchment paper resting on the back of a baking sheet.
Make any final small adjustments to the shape, gently stretching or evening out the edges until you have a 12-inch round ready to top.

Spread about ⅓ cup tomato sauce in a thin, even layer, leaving the rim bare.
Top with roughly chopped low-moisture mozzarella.
Launch the pizza onto the hot steel.
Bake for 2 minutes, until the rim is spotty brown.
Remove the pizza from the baking steel and place it on the baking sheet underneath.
Switch oven mode back to regular bake at 550°F (290°C) or as hot as your oven allows.
Bake 2-3 minutes more.
Remove from oven and cool on a rack 1 to 2 minutes so steam escapes.
Slice with pizza scissors or a wheel.
Repeat with remaining dough balls.
Switch oven back to the broil setting for at least 10 minutes before launching a new pizza.

Spread about ⅓ cup tomato sauce in a thin, even layer, leaving the rim bare.
Launch the pizza onto the hot steel.
Bake for 2 minutes, until the rim is spotty brown.
Remove from oven and top with roughly chopped low-moisture mozzarella.
Place the pizza back in the oven, on the baking sheet underneath the baking steel.
Switch oven mode back to regular bake at 550°F (290°C) or as hot as your oven allows.
Bake 2-3 minutes more.
Remove from oven and cool on a rack 1 to 2 minutes so steam escapes.
Slice with pizza scissors or a wheel.
Repeat with remaining dough balls.
Switch oven back to the broil setting for at least 10 minutes before launching a new pizza.

Keyword sourdough pizza, sourdough pizza dough, sourdough pizza dough recipe

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