My Go-To Homemade Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much sourdough starter to use in pizza dough? ›

The amount of sourdough starter you need to make pizza dough can vary based on the flour used and the fermentation schedule. Typically, I like to have between 10 to 20% sourdough starter in my pizza dough.

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.

The most common issue is not kneading enough between rises. The yeast cannot float through the dough, so it has to just eat the flour near it. If it exhausts that supply, it's stuck. Kneading the dough a bit - and it doesn't take much - puts the yeast and bacteria back in touch with fresh food.

Why is my sourdough pizza crust chewy? Using high-protein white flour (13-14% protein) in your sourdough pizza dough can lead to a chewier pizza.

The most common feeding ratio is 1:1:1 (sourdough starter: flour: water). This is also known as a 100% hydration starter. For example, let's say you have 40 g of sourdough starter in a jar. To feed it, you'll add 40 g of flour + 40 g of water.

If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.

Sourdough bakers are always on the lookout for creative ways to put unfed starter to use. In the case of this pizza crust, the open crumb and distinctive hearty taste of sourdough are well suited to bold toppings and well-aged cheeses.

Yes. Sometimes a small pinch of IDY added to SD gives a nice lift, and can get you a tasty same day dough without all the superfluous yeast that is often recommended in straight up dry yeast recipes. I especially like to add it to Cold Fermented bread, and have used it in thicker pizza styles as well.

If you don't let pizza dough rise, then it will not be able to trap the air bubbles that make for a light and airy crust. This will result in flat and dense bread that won't have much flavor or texture.

Most commonly, the issue here has to do with temperature (which is very important). If your sourdough starter is kept at a low temp, even 70°F (21°C), it will slow fermentation activity and appear to be sluggish, taking longer to rise and progress through the typical signs of fermentation. The solution: keep it warm.

How do I make my sourdough crust crispy? ›

You can even stick it under the broiler to really crisp it up. To Make Sourdough Pizza (later): Transfer the par-baked pizza crust to a wire rack to cool. You want to aerate the underside so the crust doesn't get soggy. Once completely cool, cover tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 6 hours.

The easiest way to stop sourdough crust going soft after cooling is to turn the oven off and return the bread to the rack (out of the Dutch Oven if using) and let the bread sit in the turned off oven with the door slightly ajar. Allow the bread to sit there until the oven is cold.

For Crispy and Chewy Pizza Crust, Use 00 Flour

00 flour is finely ground Italian flour that contains about 12% protein, or 12% gluten. It's the traditional flour used to make Neapolitan-style pizza. Since its gluten content is similar to bread flour, it also produces a pizza crust with chew.

How much of my starter should I use for a sourdough loaf? As a general rule, I like to use a 20% innoculation of active sourdough, at 100% hydration. This means that my sourdough has equal weights of flour and water, and for a dough containung 1000 grams of flour for two loaves, I will use 200 grams of starter.

You might see some people use a 1:2:2 or a 1:3:3 or even a 1:4:4 or 1:5:5. Again, these ratios represent the amount of food you give the amount of starter that you keep. I typically use a 1:3:3 ratio meaning that however much starter I keep I feed it 3xs the amount of flour and water.

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

The more starter you use, the faster your dough will ferment - resulting in a less sour loaf. Of course the amount of starter is actually a ratio in relation to the flour - so 50g of starter to 500g of flour will ferment at a much slower rate than 200g of starter to 500g of flour.