Cora's Cottage

The toppings to a pizza are the simple part, but finding a good crust can be a challenge. This sourdough pizza crust is a family favorite and it is even great for homemade frozen pizzas!

With a long ferment, this dough is more digestible and nutritious than a typical pizza crust.  While it does have a long ferment, the vast majority of the time it takes for this dough to be ready for making pizza crusts is spent resting. Perfect for an on the go family!

This dough can be made with starter or discard,  but whichever one you chose will effect the final product.  Using discard makes the pizza crust thicker and more dense while starter will result in a lighter, fluffier, thinner crust (though not thin crust necessarily).

Since this recipe is intended to be used for batch preparing homemade frozen pizzas, a single batch will make 4-6 pizza crusts depending on what size of pizza you are making. Therefore, it is best to either plan to make freezer pizzas or to freeze pizza dough balls for future use.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Bulk: As mentioned before, this recipe makes 4-6 crusts, so it is great for batching some homemade frozen pizzas or frozen pizza dough for the future.

Nutrition: Because this recipe is sourdough using proper sourdough techniques, you will reap the benefits of a long fermented dough meaning that the nutrients that are available in the dough will be more easily digested and absorbed.

Easier Digestion: Again, because this recipe is sourdough using proper techniques, this crust will be easier to digest than a traditional pizza crust.

Versatility of Pizzas: This pizza crust can be used to make any type of pizza from supreme to pineapple and dessert to breakfast pizza.  Not only are the toppings versatile, the pizza sizes can be versatile as well.  If you want 8-inch pizzas divide the dough into sixths but if you want 12-inch pizzas divide the dough into fourths.

Tips and Tricks

Sourdough Starter: Use sourdough starter in the recipe if you want a thinner but lighter crust.

Sourdough Discard: Use sourdough discard  in the recipe if you want a thicker, more dense crust.

Flour is Your Friend: When rolling out the pizza dough into crusts before frying, it is best to use lots of flour.  The crust should be able to be moved once placed into the cast iron skillet.

Oil: It is best to use a high quality avocado oil  or olive oil.

Tools

• Mixing Bowl
• Kitchen Scale
• Rolling Pin
• Cast Iron Frying Pan (8-inch or 12-inch)
• Spatula
• Tea Towels

Ingredients

• Sourdough Starter/Discard
• Salt
• Oil
• Whole Wheat Flour
• All-Purpose Flour
• Water

How To Make Sourdough Pizza Crust

To allow for the amount of time needed for the bulk ferment, mix the sourdough starter (or discard), salt, high quality oil, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and water together at least 12 hours before you plan to make pizzas. 

It is best to mix the ingredients manually, even using your hands especially as the ingredients begin to meld into a dough.

When all the ingredients are mixed together well, cover the bowl with a damp cloth, such as a tea towel, and allow it to ferment at room temperature overnight.

The next morning perform a set of stretch and folds.  Set the bowl of dough on the counter and gently pull one side of the dough up and over to fold in on itself. 

You might need to gently scrap the dough from the edge of the bowl to be able to pull on an edge.

Turn the bowl slight, about a quarter turn, and repeat the stretch and folds until you have rotated the bowl a full rotation.

It can be helpful to wet your hands before beginning your stretch folds to help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.

The dough can be used at this time, or it can be placed in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours covered with a damp cloth like a tea towel. However, if the dough is placed in the refrigerator it will need to rest on the counter for 30 minutes before shaping it into pizza crusts.

When you are ready to make pizza crusts, divide the dough into fourths for 12-inch pizzas or sixths for 8-inch pizzas.

On a well floured surface, shape each portion of dough into a ball before placing them to rest under a damp cloth like a tea towel for 30 minutes. 

While the dough is resting heat a cast iron skillet over low to medium-low heat.

After the dough has rested for 30 minutes.  Take one of the balls of dough and roll it out on a well floured surface into an 8-inch or 12-inch circle. 

Making sure the cast iron skillet is well oiled, place the dough into the pan and lightly brown each side until it forms a thin crust.  Remove the pizza crust from the skillet and place it to cool on a tea towel before repeating the process for the rest of the balls of dough. 

If you do not wish to make pizzas for the freezer the dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the freezer before frying.

Once the pizza crusts are fried, they are ready to have toppings added before being baked for 30 minutes at 350*F.