Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe: From Starter to Blistered Crust in Your Home Oven
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If you’ve been baking bread with your sourdough starter and wondering what else it can do — pizza is the answer. Sourdough pizza dough is slower, more flavourful, and considerably more interesting than anything you’ll make with dried yeast. And yes, you can get genuinely great results from a standard home oven.
This is the method we use at Sourdough Flakes. It works with any active sourdough starter, and once you’ve made it a couple of times it becomes second nature.
What Makes Sourdough Pizza Dough Different?
Commercial yeast works fast — it ferments dough in an hour or two and does one thing: produce gas. A sourdough starter does the same job but over a longer window, and in doing so it produces organic acids that develop flavour, improve digestibility, and give the crust that characteristic chew and char.
The result is a base that’s crisp on the outside, open and airy in the crumb, with a slight tang that makes even a simple margherita taste like it came from a proper pizzeria.
Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients (makes 3 pizza bases)
- 500g bread flour (or 00 flour)
- 325g water (65% hydration)
- 100g active sourdough starter (fed and bubbly)
- 10g fine salt
- 10g olive oil
Using dehydrated starter? Activate your Sourdough Flakes starter first — it needs to be active and bubbly before you use it here.
Method
1. Mix — Combine flour and water, mix until no dry flour remains. Rest 30 minutes (autolyse).
2. Add starter and salt — Add your active starter and salt, mix thoroughly. Add olive oil and incorporate fully.
3. Bulk fermentation — Leave covered at room temperature (20–24°C) for 4–6 hours. Perform 3–4 sets of stretch and folds in the first 2 hours (every 30 minutes). The dough is ready when it’s grown by about 50% and feels airy.
4. Divide and shape — Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal balls (~300g each). Shape into smooth rounds, place in lightly oiled containers, and cover.
5. Cold proof — Refrigerate for 12–48 hours. The longer the cold proof, the more flavour development. 24 hours is our sweet spot.
6. Stretch and bake — Remove dough balls 1–2 hours before baking to temper. Stretch by hand (never use a rolling pin — it knocks out the air). Top and bake immediately.
Getting Wood-Fired Results from a Home Oven
The challenge with home ovens is temperature. A wood-fired oven runs at 400–500°C. Your home oven maxes out around 250°C — that’s a significant gap, but it’s bridgeable.
Three things close that gap:
- Preheat for longer than you think. At least 45–60 minutes with your baking steel or stone inside. The thermal mass is what cooks the base.
- Use the grill/broiler for the last 60–90 seconds. This is what creates the char and blister on the top.
- Bake on the lowest rack first, then move up. Base cooks from below, top from above.
This method — the full timing, rack positions, and the specific temperature sequence — is what George Musat covers in detail in The Sourdough Pizza Cookbook, adapted from his years running The Sourdough Crust Co. in Ipswich.
Fermentation Timing — The Most Important Variable
Sourdough pizza dough is more forgiving than bread but fermentation timing still matters. Under-fermented dough is dense and won’t stretch properly. Over-fermented dough is slack, tears easily, and loses structure.
Signs your bulk ferment is done:
- Dough has grown 40–60%
- Surface shows bubbles and the dough feels airy, not dense
- It passes the windowpane test — stretches thin without tearing
Temperature controls pace. In summer (26°C+) bulk ferment can be done in 3–4 hours. In winter (18°C) it may take 7–8 hours. Adjust by feel, not the clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze sourdough pizza dough balls?
Yes. After the cold proof, freeze individual balls in airtight containers. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then temper at room temperature for 2 hours before using.
What flour is best for sourdough pizza dough?
Italian 00 flour gives the most elastic, thin-stretch dough. Bread flour works well and is easier to find in Australia. A 50/50 mix of both is a great middle ground.
How do I know if my starter is strong enough to use?
Drop a teaspoon into a glass of water — it should float. If it sinks, give it another feed and 4–6 more hours before using.
Can I use this sourdough pizza dough for a thick-crust base?
Absolutely. Increase hydration to 70–72%, press into a 28cm oiled tin rather than stretching, and bake for 20–25 minutes.
Want the Full System?
This recipe gives you the foundation. But if you want George’s complete approach — the exact fermentation schedule, 26 topping combinations, the home oven sequence for blistered crusts, and the full flavour-building method from his pizzeria kitchen — it’s all in The Sourdough Pizza Cookbook.
26 pages. Instant PDF download. $9.95 AUD. One pizza night pays for it.