Sourdough Pizza Crust

Hi all! 

If you are like us you have staple recipes in your home. Or traditions in a way. We love to have pizza on Friday nights. 

There are SO many ways you can make your own pizza crust. We like to do a am-pm sourdough discard crust. Meaning, we make the crust in the morning and are able to use it that night for pizza. No overnight fermenting (as long as you get it going first thing in the morning). 

If you don't, this exact same recipe can be applied with an overnight ferment. No worries. The key with most baking and sourdough specifically is to not overthink it. I have never traveled with my dough because I need to fold it. It will be fine 9/10 times if you are an hour or two "late". Don't be afraid. 

Recipe and Steps:

-1 cup sourdough discard

- Roughly 3/4 cup lukewarm water. You might want to start with a little less and add more if needed. Add one tablespoon at a time. 

- 2 1/2 cups of All-Purpose flour. We use King Arthur most often. 

- 1/2 tsp instant or active dry yeast. NOW. I am aware that some might not want to use yeast. You *can use a very active fed starter instead of yeast, but your best results will come if your starter is ripe. And your ferment time might be longer than if you use yeast. I have done both and to be honest for ease I choose the small amount of yeast. 

- 1 heaping teaspoon salt

- Whatever pizza dough flavorings/herbs you want to add. We like Thyme and Oregano. Sometimes I will also add a bit of fresh garlic! 

Mix together either with a mixer or by hand. You are going to want to mix/knead this for at least 5-7 minutes. (a mixer is easier if you have one!) 

Move the mixed dough to a lightly oiled (olive oil or your choice) bowl, cover, and let it sit. We always place ours in a warm spot, by a fire, under kitchen lights, on top of the fridge to speed up the rise. This is going to be about 4 hours or so depending on the warmth in your home. If you keep a chilly home you can speed up the rise time by doubling the yeast if you so choose. 

Unless you are in a super hurry you shouldn't need to. But doubling the yeast is also an option if you *don't start this first thing in the morning. 

After the initial rise, we will gently fold our dough and let it rise again until close to dinner time. 

If you want a thin pizza you can split the dough as you please. I don't roll it out, rather gently stretch and shape ON the pizza stone. Let that sit for 15-20 minutes while the oven in heating and then you can do one final shape right before adding your toppings. 

Again, this dough can make two thin pizzas or one super thick crust. It also freezes well so if you want to split it and freeze some- go for it. The size of your baking vessel will determine how much you have leftover and use in the first place. 

Bake on 450

Bake times will vary- but roughly 18-22 minutes depending on the thickness of your crust. You can also bake the crust, sauce, and toppings MINUS the cheese for half the time and then add the cheese. This helps the crust get more crispy vs kind of soft and more chewy. 

YUM. ENJOY. CHEERS.