Simple Sourdough Pizza Dough Crust (Freezer Friendly!)
Elevate Pizza Night with this simple sourdough crust! Easy, delicious, and utterly satisfying. You won’t go back to store-bought! Bonus, it’s freezer friendly too.
You would not believe how easy, simple and DELICIOUS this crust is. My husband said it was even better than delivery pizza! And it’s way more affordable too. Pizza night Friday’s are going to a new tradition in this house!
The dough is also freezer friendly, so feel free to make a few in one batch, so that your pizza night is easy faster (freezer instructions later on in this post).
Sourdough Pizza Dough Ingredients:
- 110 g sourdough starter, active and bubbly
- 350 g water
- 550 g flour (all purpose, or pizza flour)
- 10 g salt
- 25 g olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried italian herb blend (optional)
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder (optional)
Sourdough Pizza Crust Instructions:
Step 1:
Using a kitchen scale, add the starter, salt, and water into a large mixing bowl and stir gently to combine. Then add the flour, olive oil and optional italian herb blend and garlic powder.
Knead for a couple minutes, until it is completely incorporated and smooth (you can do this by hand for about 5 minutes, or in a KitchenAid machine with dough hook attachment for about 2 minutes).
Step 2:
Cover bowl with a damp tea towel, bowl cover or cling wrap and let stand 30 minutes.
Step 3:
After 30 minutes have passed, perform a set of stretch and folds. To do this, reach into the bowl and pull one edge of the dough up and into the centre. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and continue this pulling 4 to 6 times.
Step 4:
Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes; then repeat the stretching and folding. If possible, repeat this cycle twice more for a total of 4 stretch and folds. By the 4th cycle, you will notice a huge difference in the texture of the dough: it will be smoother, stronger, and more elastic.
(Note: You really only HAVE to do one set of stretch and folds. I promise, the dough will still be delicious. So no worries if you’re short on time.)
Step 5:
Bulk fermentation: Cover bowl and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen) or until the dough has roughly doubled in volume.
(In my home right now, this takes about 12 hours, from 7pm to 7am).
Step 6:
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a rough ball.
Step 7:
Using a bench scraper or knife, divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Sprinkle portions with flour and roll each portion into a ball.
Step 8:
Cover each round of dough with plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or place in a covered bowl. Store in fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. (You can also freeze the dough here, see note at bottom.)
Step 9:
Make the pizzas: Remove dough from the fridge one hour before you plan on baking.
Step 10:
Preheat oven to 475F.
Step 11:
After 1 hour, dust dough with flour and roll out on a floured work surface into a 10-inch (roughly) circle. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on top of a pizza tray and transfer the dough round to this.
Step 12:
To make a classic Margherita-style pizza: Spread 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over the surface of the dough. Top with mozzarella and parmesan to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Step 13:
Bake pizza until top is blistered and cheese is melted, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Sprinkle with basil. Cut and serve. Enjoy!
Freezer Option #1: How To Freeze Pizza Dough
At step 8, after shaping the dough balls, you can easily freeze them.
Simply place in a airtight bag or container and drizzle with some olive oil, or wrap in cling wrap and then place into freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
When ready to use, let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and then continue with the next steps as normal. So go ahead — double this recipe for quick and easy pizza nights all month long!
Freezer Option #2: How To Freeze Homemade Pizza
You can also prepare the pizzas ahead of time and freeze them for up to two months! This makes a fantastic alternative to store-bought freezer pizzas and is ideal for postpartum meals or effortless dinners.
The secret is to pre-bake the crust before adding the toppings so it doesn’t get soggy. Simply roll out the crust as normal, place on a lined pizza tray and bake the crust for 5 minutes at 450F. Let cool, then add toppings, wrap tightly in plastic wrap (best to do a second layer) and freeze up to 2 months.
To bake from frozen: Remove plastic wrap and place pizza in oven on lined tray at 500F for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Sourdough Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 110 g sourdough starter active and bubbly
- 350 g water
- 550 g flour all purpose, or pizza flour
- 10 g salt
- 25 g olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried italian herb blend optional
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder optional
Instructions
- Using a kitchen scale, add the starter, salt, and water into a large mixing bowl and stir gently to combine. Then add the flour, olive oil and optional italian herb blend and garlic powder.
- Knead for a couple minutes, until it is completely incorporated and smooth (you can do this by hand for about 5 minutes, or in a KitchenAid machine with dough hook attachment for about 2 minutes).
- Cover bowl with a damp tea towel, bowl cover or cling wrap and let stand 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes have passed, perform a set of stretch and folds. To do this, reach into the bowl and pull one edge of the dough up and into the centre. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and continue this pulling 4 to 6 times.
- Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes; then repeat the stretching and folding. If possible, repeat this cycle twice more for a total of 4 stretch and folds. By the 4th cycle, you will notice a huge difference in the texture of the dough: it will be smoother, stronger, and more elastic. (Note: You really only HAVE to do one set of stretch and folds. I promise, the dough will still be delicious. So no worries if you’re short on time.)
- Bulk fermentation: Cover bowl and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen) or until the dough has roughly doubled in volume. (In my home right now, this takes about 12 hours, from 7pm to 7am).
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a rough ball.
- Using a bench scraper or knife, divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Sprinkle portions with flour and roll each portion into a ball.
- Cover each round of dough with plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or place in a covered bowl. Store in fridge for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. (You can also freeze the dough here, see note at bottom.)
- Make the pizzas: Remove dough from the fridge one hour before you plan on baking.
- Preheat oven to 475F.
- After 1 hour, dust dough with flour and roll out on a floured work surface into a 10-inch (roughly) circle. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on top of a pizza tray and transfer the dough round to this.
- To make a classic Margherita-style pizza: Spread 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over the surface of the dough. Top with mozzarella and parmesan to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Bake pizza until top is blistered and cheese is melted, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Sprinkle with basil. Cut and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
At step 8, after shaping the dough balls, you can easily freeze them.
Simply place in a airtight bag or container and drizzle with some olive oil. Then freeze for up to 2 months.
When ready to use, let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and then continue with the next steps as normal. So go ahead — double this recipe for quick and easy pizza nights all month long!
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to see it! Tag me on instagram @gwenthemilkmaid.
