Quick Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough [no yeast]
This post may contain affiliate links.
Quick sourdough discard pizza dough that you can make with your eyes closed! This sourdough pizza dough is so simple and there's lots of ways you can make it fit exactly what you need.
You can easily use sourdough discard for this recipes, but it works just as well with an active, bubbly starter. I've explained how to decide what to use further down.
You'll also discover that this delicious quick sourdough pizza dough is really easy to freeze. You'll never need to order pizza in again!
We love this quick sourdough discard pizza served with this delicious sourdough garlic bread or as sourdough pizza bianca! And don't forget to make this delicious homemade pizza sauce to take your sourdough pizza to the next level! Or for something different, try this white pizza sauce made with sourdough starter.
Using Sourdough Discard In Pizza Dough
This recipe has been made using sourdough discard but I do want to explain why and how you should use discard in this recipe so you have the most success possible!
Basically, the success of this discard pizza dough will depend on the age and strength of your sourdough starter, so here's a quick chart so you know what to use and when.
| Sourdough Starter Age | How To Use It In Pizza Dough |
|---|---|
| Sourdough Discard [no yeast] | If your sourdough starter is mature and doubling regularly, you can use your unfed discard with no yeast. It will just take a bit longer to double than if it was active. |
| Sourdough Discard + 4g yeast | If your sourdough starter is only young and not doubling consistently, add 4g of yeast to help it along. If you want super fast pizza dough, add 7g of yeast. |
| Active Fed Sourdough Starter | If you have a mature sourdough starter, this recipe works perfectly with an active, bubbly starter. It will take less time to double than discard will. |
As real life examples of how you could use your discard in this sourdough pizza dough:
- Your starter is two weeks old. You have 200g of discard in a jar in the fridge from the last week of feeding your sourdough starter. You use 200g of sourdough discard from the fridge with an additional 4g of instant yeast in your dough.
- Your starter is 6 months old. You haven't fed the starter in the fridge for a week but you want to make pizza. Take 200g of starter from your jar and use that for your bake (no yeast needed). Then feed your sourdough starter before you put it back into the fridge.
- Your starter is mature and has been around for a few years. Use 200g of fed, active starter to make this delicious sourdough pizza dough.
How To Make Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
This sourdough discard pizza dough is described as quick because it is really easy to pull together - you can literally throw it in a bowl and you're half way there.
You can of course make it super fast by adding a little commercial yeast, but it's definitely not essential.
And if you're looking for the best sourdough pizza toppings, check out this extensive list!
Here's how to make sourdough discard pizza dough:
- Measure out the sourdough starter, water and honey (and yeast if you want to add it). Stir together until the sourdough starter and honey are dissolved into the water.
- Now, add the oil, flour and salt into the bowl and gently stir together with a dough whisk or knife. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to sit for around 30 minutes.
- Now, tip the dough out onto the counter and knead it really well using your hands. This is a lovely dough to work with and with the right kneading, it will become soft and silky. I find it takes around 10 minutes to come together when kneading by hand.
- Once the dough is silky and elastic, pop it into a warm bowl (I warm a bowl with water and then dry it - this speeds up the rising). Cover with a plastic cover and leave to rise until it has doubled.
- Once the dough has doubled, separate the dough into smaller balls so they are ready to be rolled out. I use 200g per pizza (this fits my pizza oven perfectly) but anywhere from 200g to 300g is good for a pizza. Leave the balls on your counter top, covered with a tea towel, for around 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
- Once you're ready to make your bases, use your fingers to press your dough into a pizza round. If you need to stretch the dough, pick it up and move your hands around the edges, allowing the dough's own weight to stretch it out into a round. Avoid using a rolling pin if you can to maintain your dough's sourdough character and give it good structure when baked.
- Place your pizza dough onto pizza peels ready to top with your favorite toppings.
- When you are ready to bake, pre heat your oven to 230C/450F and make sure it's HOT!!
- Place your pizzas into the hot oven for around 15 minutes or until toppings are cooked and bases are crispy on the bottom. These bases are especially good baked in a wood fired or gas pizza oven. I bake them for 2 minutes at 350C - 400C (662F - 752F)
Kneading Sourdough Pizza Dough
This versatile sourdough pizza discard dough can be made using your hands or using a stand mixer.
Kneading by hand is really easy - you just need to knead it until the dough becomes soft and supple. It will be quite elastic and stretchy. Don't be tempted to add flour to the surface you're kneading on. Use a metal dough scraper to bring the dough together if you need to (this can be handy to scrape up sticky dough while you build gluten).
You can easily make this recipe in a stand mixer or Thermomix. I've included the instructions here. You might also like to make sourdough focaccia or sourdough fougasse.
Baker's Timeline for Sourdough Pizza
One of the questions I get asked the most is around sourdough timelines. If you would like to know more about building a sourdough timeline, you might be interested in my book "Scheduling Sourdough".
Here's the timeline I use when making this sourdough discard pizza dough with no commercial yeast - sourdough discard only.
7.00am Mix pizza dough with sourdough discard.
8.00am Place kneaded dough into a warm bowl, cover with plastic cover. Pop the bowl into the microwave with the door ajar.
5.00pm Turn the risen pizza dough out onto the counter and divide into balls. Allow them to rest for 30 minutes.
5.30pm Shape pizza bases and place onto the pizza peels. Allow to rest while pizza oven heats up.
6.00pm Top pizzas and take to pizza oven to bake.
Pizza dough is really forgiving, so I could let it sit for a few extra hours and not shape until 7pm for example. It's not as time sensitive as sourdough bread.
Can You Put Sourdough Pizza Dough In The Fridge?
The great thing about sourdough discard pizza dough is that it's really forgiving.
If you want to make sourdough pizza dough in advance and store it in the fridge until you're ready to shape, place the dough in the fridge once its doubled.
It will last for up to 24 hours like this.
If you've used commercial yeast with your discard, you can leave it in the fridge for up to 3 days after doubling.
How To Cook Sourdough Pizza For Best Crust
I have cooked a lot of sourdough pizza crusts. We have pizza every single Friday night (and sometimes we have it during the week and on a Saturday too!). And that adds up to a LOT of sourdough pizza!
I have cooked sourdough pizza in an oven on a pizza stone, on perforated pizza trays, baking trays with parchment paper, in a wood fired pizza oven and in a gas fuelled pizza oven.
I have gotten the best results with our gas fuelled pizza oven. It's small and easy to fire up, it holds a constant temperature and pumps out a perfectly cooked pizza in just a few minutes.
If you don't have access to a gas fuelled pizza oven, I find the next best result on a pizza stone in the oven. If you bake a lot of pizza, it's well worth investing in a pizza or baking stone for your oven. The trick is to make sure the pizza stone is super hot before you put the pizza in. You want the crust to cook almost instantly on the searing hot stone!
If you do want to invest in a gas fuelled pizza oven, I recommend this one. It's the most similar to what I have at home. I also recommend getting yourself a few accessories to make life easier. I use a perforated pizza peel and a pizza turner.
Using Semolina Flour for Sourdough Pizza
I highly recommend using semolina flour when you are shaping sourdough pizza bases.
I use semolina on all of my pizza peels to ensure that the pizza bases are easy to slide into the pizza oven. It makes the pizza peels non stick and allow you to move the pizza bases with no issues.
You can read more about the best flour for sourdough pizza dough here.
My 3 year old loves playing with this pizza dough ... and pushing the semolina around the counter top with his toy digger! You can find my best tips for getting kids baking sourdough here!
Can You Freeze Sourdough Pizza Dough?
Yes! Sourdough pizza dough is so simple to freeze and it can free up so much time! I've got two options for freezing your pizza dough, depending on what you'd prefer:
Freeze Sourdough Pizza Dough Balls
If you want to have some pizza dough in the freezer at all time, you can divide the pizza dough into balls after it's doubled. Place each ball into a zip loc bag and then place into the freezer.
When you want to make a pizza, a bag of dough out of the freezer and allow it to defrost at room temperature. Once the dough is at room temp, shape it into a pizza base as you normally would.
Freeze Sourdough Pizza Bases
For an even faster frozen sourdough pizza, shape your dough into pizza bases. Place each pizza base onto a piece of parchment paper and then onto a pizza peel. Snap freeze the base by allow the base to freeze uncovered in the freezer for around an hour. Once all the bases are frozen, stack them (ensuring you leave the parchment paper between them) and then wrap the stack in aluminium foil or place into a large zip loc bag.
When you want to use one, take out a base and top it with whatever you like - you don't even have to let it defrost, it will defrost as you add the topping!
You'll never have to order pizza in again!
What To Do With Leftover Sourdough Pizza Dough?
I often have portions of sourdough pizza dough leftover, so I've created a few recipes to make sure we don't have any food waste!
- Easy Sourdough Pizza Rolls
- Fried Sourdough Pizza Dough
- Sourdough Pizza Pockets
- Sourdough Zucchini Pizza
Equipment for Sourdough Pizza Dough
You don't need a lot of specialised equipment for pizza dough, however there are a few things which can make it easier for you - and give you better tasting pizza! These are the things that I use every week when making sourdough pizza crust.
Glass Mixing Bowl - allows you to see what's happening as your sourdough pizza dough is rising.
Silicone Dough Scraper/Metal Dough Scraper - these make getting the dough out of the bowl much easier and dividing the dough a breeze!
Pizza Peel - I have 5 of these in my kitchen and we use them for so much more than just pizza! But they make pizza night a breeze and are a great alternative to parchment paper.
Pizza Stone - a good pizza stone is essential in any home sourdough baker's kitchen - it's not just useful for pizza, but can help you make amazing sourdough bread without a Dutch Oven too!
Pizza Rocker - makes slicing through molten mozzarella and crispy sourdough a breeze! I love the black blade and wooden handles on this one!
I've also put together a fully illustrated guide to the best equipment for sourdough pizza dough.
Step By Step Video for Sourdough Pizza
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you do not have to use honey in this recipe but it definitely adds flavor and color to the crust and it speeds up the doubling of the dough for a quicker pizza. If you don't want to use honey, you can substitute with a little sugar or leave it out entirely.
Sourdough pizza crust can become tough if you use too much flour. The dough should be silky and elastic (no wet and sticky) but never be tempted to add extra flour as you will risk a tough crust. Knead the dough until the gluten develops and stops it from being wet and sticky.
Absolutely! You can use sourdough starter fed or unfed. The wild yeast contained in sourdough starter is perfect for a pizza crust. It will give you an amazing bubbly pizza dough perfect for oven or wood fire baking.
There are many differences - and similarities between pizza and bread dough. You can find all the information in this comprehensive guide.
Further Reading
If you love this quick sourdough discard pizza dough recipe you might enjoy these articles:
- Easy Sourdough Focaccia Bread
- Sourdough Pasta Recipe
- Sourdough Flat Bread Recipe - perfect for tortillas!
Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
Equipment
- Digital Scales
- Mixing Bowl
- Pizza Trays
Ingredients
- 200 g Sourdough Starter DISCARD
- 7 g Instant Yeast OPTIONAL
- 280 g Water
- 20 g Honey
- 30 g Olive Oil
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 20 g Salt
Instructions
- Measure out the sourdough starter, water and honey (and yeast if you want to add it). Stir together until the sourdough starter and honey are dissolved into the water.
- Now, add the oil, flour and salt into the bowl and gently stir together with a dough whisk or knife. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to sit for around 30 minutes.The dough will seem a little dry and shaggy and that's ok! You can see photos of how the dough looks through the process in the recipe notes above.
- Now, tip the dough out onto the counter and knead it really well using your hands. This is a lovely dough to work with and with the right kneading, it will become soft and silky. I find it takes around 10 minutes to come together when kneading by hand.Note - you can do this using a stand mixer - you can see the instructions for how to do this here.
- Once the dough is silky and elastic, pop it into a warm bowl (I warm a bowl with water and then dry it - this speeds up the rising).Cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until it has doubled. See notes below for timing and how to judge it.
- Once the dough has doubled, separate the dough into smaller balls so they are ready to be rolled out. I use 200g per pizza (this fits my pizza oven perfectly) but anywhere from 200g to 300g is good for a pizza.Leave the balls on your counter top, covered with a tea towel, for around 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
- Once you're ready to make your bases, use your fingers to press your dough into a pizza round. If you need to stretch the dough, pick it up and move your hands around the edges, allowing the dough's own weight to stretch it out into a round. Avoid using a rolling pin if you can to maintain your dough's sourdough character and give it good structure when baked.
- Place your pizza dough onto pizza peels ready to top with your favorite toppings (see my notes in the article above for my best tips on using pizza peels).When you are ready to bake, pre heat your oven to 230C/450F and make sure it's HOT!! Place your pizzas into the hot oven for around 15 minutes or until toppings are cooked and bases are crispy on the bottom. These bases are especially good baked in a wood fired or gas pizza oven. I bake them for 2 minutes at 350C - 400C (662F - 752F)
Notes
Nutrition
Trick for super hot stones. Oven rack 8-inches below broiler element. Add stone. Preheat oven and stone to 450-500F.
When thoroughly heated, switch to broil for ten minutes and really heat the stone.
Switch back to 450-500. Bake pizza as desired on now very hot stone.
This dough was really a sicky mess for me, never carne together like silky, nice to work with. Also the pizza ended up being quite small and the dough made holes easily. Maybe my discard was too hungry? Maybe I didn't kneed it long enough? Maybe it's too humid at my house? It's only 44% today but it is like 85°. Anyway, popped one in the oven, we'll see in about 10 min or so. Oh my starter is a rye starter. Maybe they're just stickier?
I want to come in on this sticky dough convo. I made this the first time and it was perfect. The second time, the dough was sticky. The only difference was the flour I used. If your dough is sticky, what brand bread flour did you use? It’s probably not high protein enough.
can I substitute pizza flour 00 for the bread flour?
yes you can 🙂
Can I use all purpose flour instead of bread?
I'm a newbie and this is my 2nd attempt and my dough is still too wet & sticky. I even used 15 g less water since I'm in a humid climate. I am overwhelmed with all the articles on what I could have done wrong. I've also tried bread twice and failed. Getting very discouraged. Help 😩 PS. My pancakes, crackers, biscuits, pretzels come out very good
I’ve tried to make this dough twice now using a mature active starter, following the recipe exactly, but it’s been so sticky both times! Help!
Thank you for this recipe. I usually buy Trader Joe’s already made dough or make my own yeast pizza dough. I plan to try this with my discard. Wanted to ask…once balls of dough have been separated into the 5 dough balls and ready to use, can I refrigerate the dough balls and if so for how long?
Yes you can refrigerate the dough balls for at least a few days with no issues 🙂
Thanks for a great recipe, can't wait to eat! I am using a 15.5 x 10"x1" pan. Would you know how much dough I need to use to get a nice, thin crust pizza?
Hi! So if I make the dough now, (2pm) w/o any commercial yeast how would I prepare or store to use tomorrow evening?
Hello 🙂
Can you freeze these at all?
What about freezing? Can I and at what step? I’d love to not buy frozen pizzas at the store anymore
Can these be frozen? Would you freeze before baking or after baking? Trying to stop buying frozen pizzas!
Yes they can definitely be frozen, there's a section towards the bottom of the post on how to freeze and use from frozen 🙂
I used the recipe above but omitted the yeast as my starter is pretty robust (used discard). I kneaded for at least 15 minutes but dough was still pretty sticky. Should I have kneaded longer?
Can I use regular yeast instead of instant yeast?
Found the dough to be very sticky and difficult to knead. When preparing to bake, I shaped like doing a lamination and that worked well. Will definitely do this again.
Me too! I really was hoping to solve and know what I did wrong... but not finding an answer :(. Did you find a solution?
I had the same issue- super sticky dough. Did you make this again and tweak anything for a better result?
Same, mine is incredibly sticky and I measured everything by grams so not sure why.
I am making this right now for the 1st time. I divided dough into 4 balls after kneading so I can go straight into shaping once it's doubled in size.
I think the reason why the dough is real sticky for some is because the discard varies in hydration depending on recipe.I used some flour on my work surface and it came together well
Followed recipe to the letter and it came out super sticky. Could not knead without it coating my hands....?? I did use discard with yeast and let sit for 30 mins. Was that too long to let it sit maybe?
I already started but wondering if it’s okay to use a whole wheat Starter? Does anything change? Thank you!
What would make my dough super sticky? Fairly new to sourdough. I used 200g of discard and commercial yeast. Dough very sticky after rise.
Super fun!!
Great recipe. This pizza was amazing. The instructions were very clear. I loved that I basically didn’t have to do anything once I got the crust kneaded. This is probably my new go-to recipe.
This is hands down, the best pizza dough recipe I've tried. I made it in my mixer, rather than my hand, which I don't feel made any difference. It was light, soft and delicious and fortunately, there was enough dough left over to allow me to freeze three more pizza bases. Thank you!
My dough was sticky! I followed the exact measurements and directions but it was super duper sticky. Maybe there is some other trick. It would be nice if you said “if your dough is sticky, do such and such” in your video.
I was scrolling through the comments to see exactly this...if one can freeze the dough balls to make later on. Each ball Wrapped in plastic,I imagine,right? Thank u
Hi
Did you bake your pizza crust before freezing? Or did you feeeze the dough? 😊
Had a wonderful time with this pizza recipe. Seriously, discard recipes work so well for me. My husband put his own toppings on, and it was a monster. Less is more? Not for him! But he enjoyed himself, so that's great! Thank you for sharing so much information so generously. Really, really appreciate it.
Love the recipe. Thank you.
I have made this twice and have a few questions. When I bulk fermented the dough I put it in a measuring cup so I could see when it was doubled. However, my dough was very sticky and loose and did not shape into a ball like your video at all. Any ideas why?
The next problem I had was that the first time I made it the base wasn’t cooked enough. So the second time I pre-baked the base which helped a bit. Once I put on all the toppings it still got mushy.
I think the problem is my dough to start with, but I’m not sure. I do use a digital scale to weigh out all the ingredients.
Last question, if I don’t always have enough starter discard for the recipe do you suggest to scale the recipe to the amount of starter I have or just use the recipe amounts as is with a reduced amount of starter, knowing that it will take much longer at the bulk fermenting stage?
Would love to try the recipe again, once I figure out what’s going wrong for me. Thank you for your help.
I've used this recipe several times and it always turns out perfectly! It's a fun dough to work with and does well with kneading by hand or in my Kitchen Aid mixer. The flavor is very good and the crust is always crisp. I'll be using this recipe for years! Thank you!!
I’m new to sourdough, so the detailed instructions and videos and extra tips/links are just what I needed. And the results were amazing! I can’t believe how well my pizza (and leftover-dough pizza rolls) turned out! Sourdough pizza will be a new regular go-to meal for our family of 4, and a great idea for entertaining! Thank you Pantry Mama!
Hi...this is a question about the stand mixer. My trusty old (40 yo) Kenwood died I was given the newest Kenwood titanium bakers model ..BUT the dough hook is so badly designed it doesn't mix what's at the bottom..and a crust forms.
So as a super baker in your experience which mixer has the power to properly mix sourdough???
Love this recipe! I’ve made it several times with yeast, with active starter and with freshly discarded starter (within a couple days w/no feeding) every time it worked and tasted great. I usually prep it early morning and it’s ready by dinner time. We grill our pizzas on a stone and it taste like those artesian pizzas from a restaurant. We’ve had many guest for dinner and they love our pizzas!! This last batch I decided to make them and freeze all 4 dough balls (roughly 200g each). Never froze them before but I’m trusting those who’ve gone before me and said it works well. Crossing my fingers because this would be a lifesaver for quick dinner options. Thank you Pantry Mama!!
After doing many different pizza crust recipes, this is by far the best. It is a very nice dough to work with. I now supply two households (my daughter's house and mine) with fresh sourdough discard pizza dough.
That's so awesome! Thank you 🙂 And how lucky is your daughter 🙂 xo
This has become my go to for sourdough info and recipes, the instructions and pictures are just the best.
Do you have to use bread flour or can you use all purpose flour?
It's really best to use bread flour for this recipe 🙂
After letting my dough to bulk ferment in a measuring cup, so I can know when it has doubled, it is very runny, and I can't form it into a ball or shape it. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Thanks, love the recipe.
My dough is very sticky and wet when kneading without any flour. Can this be because I live in a humid country? What would be your approach?
When adding dry yeast, how much, and when?
Thank you
This is my first attempt at making this dough, mine is super sticky.
I used my kitchenaid to knead it, and it was still sticky, I even tried kneading it by hand, the stickiness never went away.
What did I do wrong?
I have it in a warm bowl to rise, we'll see how it goes.
Thanks, Melanie
I'm rather new to sourdough starters and baking.
I'm attempting this recipe for the first time.
The directions say this isn't supposed to be sticky, but after putting the dough into my KitchenAid mixer to knead, the dough crawls up the dough hook but also sticks to the bottom of the bowl. I let the machine knead the dough for 10 minutes then gave it a rest then kneaded for another 10 minutes and the dough stuck to both my hands and the bowl.
Then I tried hand kneading and still the dough was sticky, it bounced back when I pressed my finger into the dough and didn't break right away when I stretched it. I put it into a warm bowl to rise, which it did within an hour.
When I went to take the dough out of the bowl it collapsed like the air had been let out, and it was so sticky that trying to form the dough balls was impossible, I just threw it away and am now starting over.
What did I do wrong?
How long does this typically take to ferment using yeast?
Hello thank you for your well thought out recipe!
I’m hoping you can give me some advice. I was so looking forward to working with this non sticky dough but mine was SO sticky. After kneeding longer than ten minutes it was still a sticky mess. I gave in and had to start kneeding in extra flour until it somewhat behaved. I followed your recipe scale and all exactly. Using active strong starter. Any ideas what could have gone wrong?
Thanks!!
Mine came out super flat and doughy what did i do wrong?
Question: This will be my first time trying your Quick Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough [No Yeast]. Can this dough be made a day before and kept in the refrigerator until I am ready to press it into a pizza pan? Thank you.
Yes you can do that no problems 🙂
Hi,
Can this recipe be separated and froze until needed?
Thanks
Hi, just had a quick question. I made this recipe with AP flour rather than bread flour (the latter is not available in my country). It tasted delicious and rose in the oven but the dough was *incredibly* sticky. Do you have any tips to counteract the stickiness? It was so hard to knead and shape! But we very much would love to make it again because of how tasty the pizza bases came out! Thank you in advance!
Sorry I forgot to give the stars!
Made my very first pizza and everybody in my household was delighted with the outcome. Will make it again for sure. Thank you once again Pantry Mama!
Could I use rhe dough recipe to make Bierocks?
Has this recipe been tried with a different flour? I exclusively use einkorn flour, and wonder how this would work. I am always in search of new recipes to try, and love using up excess sourdough starter.
Thank you in advance for any information you may be able to provide.
My dough was super sticky after the 1st 30 min rest. As I was kneading, I kept thinking it'd come together, but it never did. I ended up needing to add a cup of flour to the dough to be able to knead it together without sticking.
Can you think of anything I could have done wrong?
My starter is 4 months old. I fed last night and left out of fridge. I did not add instant yeast since my starter was bubbly. I made sure to zero out scale and weight ingredients properly.
I did 2 batches, 1st with bread dough and Second with all purpose flour. Both doughs turned out sticky.
Hi Kate, I love using discard for pizza!!! My way is a bit different though. I do not mix the discard with flour or anything, I just use discard.. Heat a cast iron skillet in your oven, pour enough discard to coat pan on bottom and part way up (I love the crunchy bits on the side), put back in oven till about half way done and then just put what ever toppings you want on it. Then stick it back in the oven and in 10-15 min pull the pan out, slide it onto a pizza stone, cut and enjoy!!! Timesaving way of making really good pizza!!!
I’d like to know if I could halve this recipe, I only need enough dough to make a cookie sheet size pizza, would I just cut everything in half?
yes you can cut everything in half 🙂
Can I make this night before?
This recipe is amazing! I can’t believe how easy it is. My two year old and I have so much fun making it, and my husband told me he’d be disappointed if we ever ate any other pizza! Thanks for a great recipe!
I love this pizza. The recipe is easy to follow. I froze the pizza dough in balls, as suggested, let them come to room temperature, and formed them. Next I’ll try freezing the pizza already formed. I love having wonderful, homemade pizza available any time!
After kneading the dough is super sticky…any tips?
I have been trying to print out this recipe, but every time I hit the print button it just takes me back to the top of the post. I would love to print it if you could fix the link! I have printed your recipes before with no problems
Hey, does 200g create 1 10” pizza dough, or all 5? Also, can you freeze dough balls if you’re not using all 5 at once? And proper way to thaw them out if they can be frozen? I’m a little bit new to this.
Is the nutritional information per pizza base?
If I want to proof the dough in a bread proofer, can you suggest a temperature to proof at? Thanks so much for the recipe! We are excited to try it!
Can I use maple syrup instead of honey?!
Yes you can use maple syrup instead of honey, or even just a little sugar 🙂
Hi, made this twice
Works well and impressed. First with 4g of yeast and then 100% starter.
Can you confirm what hydration your starter is please as mine is quite difficult to handle, all beit very tasty
Can you make a dough without any sugar?
Yes you can make this sourdough pizza dough without the sugar if you prefer.
My dough seemed super sticky. what did I do wrong?
My dough was super sticky, both before and after kneading and bulk fermenting. What am I doing wrong?
Hi,
I like this recipe a lot and have tried few times. For some reason while kneading, my dough is always sticking to hands and counter- my hands are never clean like you show yours in video. After bulking also dough comes out very sticky and difficult to shape. I am using exact measurement as in recipe. What should I do ? Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Followed the instructions and my dough was super sticky, I couldn’t even knead it by hand so tried to use a stand mixer but it never came together. I’ve let I bulk ferment but it was really difficult to shape into balls. I ended up shaping it like little boules of sourdough bread to give some structure and added some extra flour. Hoping it will still cook alright!
Wondering if you could add some tips as this seems to be a very common issue?
Thanks!
The hydration of your sourdough starter and the type of flour you use can impact the stickiness of the dough. Adding a some extra flour or reduce the water may help. Semolina is also really helpful for shaping pizza dough that is a little sticky 🙂
Can you use fed starter instead of discard?
Can you use rice flour instead of semolina?
Your recipe was amazing! Detailed and turned out as expected. Thank you
Hi can you tell me if Einkorn AP flour would work ok in this (and most of your other) recipes? I have trouble with gluten and have zero problems with Einkorn. 🙂
If I wanted to use a mix of whole wheat and bread flour, does the total grams of flour stay the same?
Kneaded mine with dough hook in stand mixer, until smooth and silky. Doubled beautifully but sticky. Should I have kneaded longer than the 5 mins?
Help! I may have added too much water (my scale turned off while adding water so I did my best at guessing where it was before the shut off) then when it was too sticky, I added more flour. I bulk fermented and then must have gone too long? The dough was bubbling over but it was webby and very wet. I know in a SD boule, you can put dough in the fridge and sometimes salvage it... what can indi to save the pizza dough, or is it done for?
How do you suggest cooking the crust with the pizza stone?
My dough was very sticky and I tried kneading it with flouring my hands as well as wetting my hands with water until it looked like it’s elastic enough. It’s currently resting to double in size.
My questions are: Will this batch turn out okay considering what I did? What could be the issue? What can I do or change for next time so the dough doesn’t get sticky?
Thank you for your response!
Made these tonight! Discard + yeast.
Wow!!! They were incredible! Crispy on the bottom and bubbly on the top. Can't imagine that I will ever do store bought again.
Thanks Pantry Mama!
Oh...we just used our little electric indoor pizza oven and it cooked these perfectly!
Firstly, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, and clear instructions.
One query, in this recipe and instructions you say the recipe can be made by hand mixing or a stand mixer/Thermo. When you click the link to go to the stand mixer instructions, the recipe changes from 200 g Sourdough "Discard" to 200 g Sourdough "Starter active and fed".
Is there any reason for changing the discard to an active, fed starter when using a Stand Mixer?
Thanking you. Chris
This is my second time making this dough, first time without yeast. It was the first thing I made with my sourdough discard. I used my hands to knead the first time. Not this time! Used my mixer with dough attachment. Sooo much easier for my arthritic hands.
I’ll divide and freeze the one. I’m assuming the nutritional facts are for the whole batch?
I see where you say not to roll out. I didn’t but did use a fork to poke holes. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to do that either, as I read “you want the air bubbles.”
Thanks for your time helping out this newbie.
We have been making this weekly for a few months now and we love it! I am curious what your suggestion would be if my dough is coming out sticky? I have tried slightly less water and it did not help, any suggestions? It always ends up tasting amazing, it would just be nice to have that lovely "silky" dough vs the sticky mess! Thank you in advance.
How do you use the dough after freezing?
I will be trying this recipe tomorrow for my daughters birthday! Making individual pizzas. If I dont need 4 or 5 crusts could I just freeze what I dont use for the next time? If so, after what step would I put into freezer?
Great taste, but I ended up needing quite a bit more flour just to get it to knead into a ball; and they only needed about 6 minutes to bake. I’m glad I didn’t go the full 15 like the recipe said.
How long does it take to dbl with the added yeast?
Loved this and so did my kids! We used spelt flour and starter to great effect.
Your recipe states 20g of salt, which has to be a typo. Is it supposed to be 2g? I just used my best judgement.
Thanks again!
So glad you love it 🙂 Definitely not a typo, but you can reduce it if you wish 🙂
Can I use All-purpose Einkorn flour instead of bread flour in your Quick Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough recipe?
How thin should a get this. I halved the recipe will it be too much to make a 12 inch pizza.
Do I need to prebake so the top doesn't get soggy? I am going to bake it in the oven in a round solid bottom pizza pan.
Do I need to put olive oil on top before adding toppings?
Thank you
Hello, I've tried this twice now and followed the directions exact and my dough is very very sticky, and for a long time. what did I do? And what could I do differently?
Can you freeze them and what would the process be? Freeze right after splitting into 5? Would you then take them out and let them rise on the counter? I would love to double or triple this recipe to keep in the freezer.
Can you skip the oil? I'm trying to follow WFPBNO diet (whole food, plant-based, no oil) and I'm new to sourdough stuff - just got my first starter from a friend and looking to use up discard 🙂
I have made this recipe 2 times so far and both times the dough was very sticky. The taste of it was wonderful. My kids ate it right down and my husband and I both really enjoyed it. However, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong as I’m following the steps exactly as they are listed and it was extremely sticky. The 1st time I used a stand mixer to knead the dough and ended up needing to use some olive oil to get it so I could manipulate it. I just made it a 2nd time and decided to hand knead it. I had a very hard time with it. I did sprinkle a little flour on it every now and then when it was getting unmanageable due to the sticking. Any suggestions?
Do you have a rough idea of how long it should take to rise? Is it like an hour or 5 hours? I’m just having a hard time gauging. I made it once and had it come out fluffy and the other times it hasn’t been as fluffy so I’m thinking it didn’t rise long enough. The dough is sooooo good and we love this recipe! Just want to nail down the rise time. Thanks for the recipe!
We love this recipe.
Can you make ahead & bake the crust, then freeze?
Yes you can 🙂 Enjoy xo
Hi!
If I have frozen mature discard, and then leave it to defrost before using the discard, could I do without commercial yeast? And just allow it ferment at room temperature till it doubles in volume?
No yeast…after 10 minutes of kneading…in oven for doubling? Is there an estimated time?
I froze 2 balls and kept one in the fridge over night . I found it a little difficult to shape by hand and ended up using a rolling pin. It was good but didn't have the DS holes. When I take balls out of the freezer how long approximately before it is ready to shape ?
After following your instructions, the pizza dough is wet and sticky, and not enjoyable to knead. Any idea why it's not easy to work with?
Dough was wet and hard to work with. Not my favorite but thanks for the recipe!
Can this recipe be made with all purpose flour? I don’t have any pizza or bread flour on hand.
hi! wondering if this is still possible to make with all purpose flour? and if so, what the differences would be?
Used this recipe and my whole family loved it. Used half of the dough for a large thin crust pizza, and the other half for thicker cheesy breadsticks. Definitely will use it again
Can I use all purpose instead of bread flour? I ran out and didn’t realize it! I’m hoping yes.
Hi there
Do I need to add the honey? Could I use sugar instead? Currently don't have any honey on hand.
Thanks
Thank you so much for the great recipe and your website! I am learning a lot! Both times I've made this, the dough is very sticky- even after I knead it and also after it doubles during the day. The pizza is only rising the tiniest bit in the oven- not like your picture. Should I knead it longer? Thanks for your help!
This dough was do incredibly sticky I almost had to throw in the towel. I ended up oiling my hands to shape into parchment paper. The flavor was great. I live in Florida. What would you recommend I do to get it silky as you described? I want to love it, but it was a slight disaster.
I used this dough recipe to make a cherry cheesecake strudel. It was AMAZING! Just rolled the dough out into a rectangular shape, used a cookie cutter to slice each side into little braid able edges. Left the center solid. Spread on some no bake cheesecake in the middle, then top that with your choice of pie filling. Take your sliced edges and pull across to opposite side creating a braid affect. Tuck the edges a bit. Bake. Enjoy!
i followed the instructions and video to the letter, however, my dough did not double in size.....It was silky smooth, I put in a warm bowl and it was in a warm spot for 7 hours....still no rising. It's still stretchy so I'm going to try it anyway..wish me luck!
Can I substitute AP flour for the bread flour? And if so what amount should I use?
It's best to use bread flour for this recipe. Some readers have reported it not working correctly with AP flour. 🙂
I made this dough today, for the first time. Fabulous! Thank you! I used a bread machine for mixing and kneading. Divided dough into four balls. (Approx. 12” pizza)
I only have a normal pizza pan to go in my oven. Do I still need semolina flour or should I just spray cooking oil or something on it or nothing if I’m shaping it directly on the pizza pan? First time ever making pizza crust 😬 Thanks in advance!
Bake it anyways!
My dough was a sticky mess from the start (but I used AP flour, so likely not the recipes fault). I also totally forgot about it and overproofed. It was a soupy mess. I skipped the second counter proofing, laminated with veggie pizza sauce, pepperoni, spinach, and mozzarella. Scooped the soupy mess of goodness into muffin tins and baked. DELICIOUS pizza muffins. I thoroughly messed up the dough and it was still delicious.
I love this dough—makes a great crust just how I like it? I I bake iit on my pizza steel after preheating steel in oven at 550 F for an hour. Then I turned on the fan. It was perfect in 6 minutes. I love having dough balls in the freezer. Took one out last night and let thaw in fridge. Then took it out of fridge 2 hours before ready to bake. Don’t laugh, but because I’m one person, I portion out all my toppings, including homemade sauce, and freeze little topping kits. I set those out to thaw when I take the dough out of fridge. By doing this, I can have almost instant pizza anytime I want!
This was so deliciously yummy!
Will make this again and again!
I've made this before, but this time the dough was a lot more sticky than last time. I will be freezing them in separate balls. Hopefully it will still turn out great.
Can I use only sourdough starter? I don’t have discard.
Absolutely you can 🙂
I made this dough this morning with discard from a young starter, and I must have added way too much commercial yeast because my dough doubled in about an hour. I weighed it, but it must have been an inaccurate measurement because it was probably a tablespoon or two. Do I need to throw away the dough? How long might it take to make this dough with the 7g of commercial yeast added?
Used this recipe multiple times it’s AMAZING, but it seems that my frozen dough gets very tough ( I am using cling wrap and Tinfoil) Any idea how to remedy?
I just made this recipe and it’s the best homemade pizza crust I’ve ever made. I’m starting the sourdough journey and these instructions were easy to understand and follow. My dough took longer to come together, longer than 10 mins. If your dough still feels sticky after kneading for 10 mins, just keep going!
I use this recipe with active starter once a week for my large family. It’s so delicious. We love it! Grateful for all your active starter recipes.
I’ve tried this twice now. Once by kneading by hand and once in the stand mixer. Both times I ended up with super sticky dough.
There are many different reasons for sticky dough. This post on Why is my Sourdough Wet & Sticky goes through a bunch of troubleshooting that should help.
I have the same issue as Jennifer. In fact, this dough gets stickier as I knead it. None of the troubleshooting notes in your “sticky sourdough” article are relevant here. My starter is exceptionally strong, my kitchen is between 71 and 74 degrees during the day, I am not at high altitude and it is not over fermented because it hasn’t had any time to ferment. I had to add more flour just to make the dough able to be handled. We’ll see how the pizza comes out…
Same here, too wet and sticky to even knead it. I watched the video on how to make the dough and it looks much less sticky than what I made. So I added more flour when kneading. I don't know how much it was, but about 3/4 - 1 cup I think.
The stickiness can come from the type of flour you use and the hydration of your sourdough starter. Next time you make the sourdough pizza dough, try adding extra flour when mixing, or less water and see if that helps. Kate makes this recipe at least once a week, sometimes twice as they adore sourdough pizza and it's an easy family dinner and never have issues with this dough at all. It's one of the most tried and tested recipes on the site 🙂
This has become my family's go-to pizza dough recipe (gotta use that discard!) Every time I make it, I get great results. Tonight, we've just tried using dough that had been frozen and it still worked great. In future, I will definitely shape the dough prior to freezing so I can go from freezer to oven faster. I don't have a pizza oven or even a stone but I've found that flipping one of my large, rimmed baking sheets upside down on the rack works great. I usually just leave my dough on a piece of parchment and use that with a pizza peel to get it in/out. I also give them a quick spin half way through since my oven seems to have a hot spot at the back - very easy when it's sitting on a piece of parchment.
Can I refrigerate the dough after it has doubled? Going to make pizza pockets tomorrow!
Hi, I’ve kneaded the dough by hand for about 20 minutes but can’t get it to be silky, it’s still sticky. Can I still let it double and use it?
Yes you can still let it double and use it. Semolina is really helpful for shaping pizza dough that is a little sticky x
Hi! My dough remained incredibly sticky. Any thoughts where I went wrong? I used discard and yeast. First timer!
I just made this dough and used starter + yeast. My dough is super sticky, but I resisted the temptation to add any more flour, (perhaps I should have?),].The dough never got "silky and elastic" even after 10 minutes of hand kneading. What did I do wrong?
There are many different reasons for sticky dough. This post on Why is my Sourdough Wet & Sticky goes through a bunch of troubleshooting that should help.
OMG. So easy and delicious!! I actually used my cast iron to cook the pizza and was a hit for my family!!
I’ve made this twice, I found the dough to be very sticky and never formed into a soft silky texture. I followed the directions exactly as written. The first time I tried kneading by hand the second time I used my kitchenaid. It came out the same both times.
Hi Betty, There are many different reasons for sticky dough. This post on Why is my Sourdough Wet & Sticky goes through a bunch of troubleshooting that should help.
I just made this dough for the first time (actually twice because I thought I measured incorrectly) because my dough was so sticky!! Any thoughts of why it would be so sticky? I used 200 grams of starter that was in my fridge for a week. And measured everything separately before adding!
Hi Jaela, There are many different reasons for sticky dough. This post on Why is my Sourdough Wet & Sticky goes through a bunch of troubleshooting that should help.
Same and the stock response to read about “sticky sourdough” is not helpful. I did add more flour but haven’t baked yet. Stay tuned….
Jennifer Farley can you kindly provide other guidance here?
What am I doing wrong? I used an active starter that was just fed. I did all the instructions as listed in the recipe and need the dough for about 10 minutes, but it was extremely sticky. I decided to put it in my bread machine on stir to help need it there for another 15 mins. Took it out and it was still very sticky. I understand that it may have high hydration, but everything else worked well so I now have it in the bowl seeing if it will rise.
"Best pizza dough recipe i've tried"
Best pizza I have made!
What if when I go to knead my doe it IS very sticky?:(
Hi! Just wanted to clarify the recipe, this recipe yields five 200g pizza crusts?
Hi Kandis. That's correct. 🙂
Hey there! wondering if bread flour can be replaced with spelt flour?
It should work. We've had readers say they used spelt flour with success. 🙂
I'm not the best baker in town, so I'm not sure what happened to mine. Make sure to have a backup meal plan in case this fails, though.
My dough was sticky and difficult to work with, so I added flour, but it didn't do much to help.
I really have been loving this recipe. My family has made great memories making and baking the pizzas. Thank you for your instructions and pics and variations like how to freeze dough/bases. Love love love!!
Making it now and I did it in the thermomix and the dough has come out silky smooth… soft fluffy and bubbly. Thank you another winner!
OMG! This pizza crust recipe is sooo good! I've made it twice and absolutely love it. The pizza crust is so light and airy, just the right amount of "pockets".. sooo good! I use yeast with mine, it usually doubles within 6 hours. I love the bonus that I can make 6/8 balls, freeze them, then thaw out later for use. Love this recipe!!!
This is a great recipe. I tweaked it a little. I used durum flour instead of bread flour, and it turned out great. I also heated my water to 80 degrees when I started. After mixing, I placed it in my proofer at 80 degrees. After the 30-minute rest and then kneading, I left it in the proofing box until it doubled. It's one of the best pizza dough recipes I've used. The durum flour makes the pizza crispy, but make sure you use a pizza stone when baking for best results. Also, I used a ripe starter instead of discard. I baked for about 15 minutes at 500 in my bread oven on the stone, and it turned out perfect.
Thank you!
My family loves this pizza dough. It makes a delicious crust and any time it is pizza night, I have to make this recipe!
This recipe is foolproof— I love it! I came back today to make a new batch of dough to freeze and found that my food scale wasn’t working. I was worried that not measuring my ingredients would mess something up, but a few rough conversions later, I still ended up with a deliciously perfect crust! Topped with homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, italian sausage, onions, peppers, and some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes—AMAZING!
We LOVE to hear that! Thanks so much for your comment.
Can I use spelt flour for this?
Thanks
That should work, Vera!