Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
This sourdough pizza recipe is great for beginners and yields the perfect thin, New York-style pizza. Make this the same day or overnight!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Rise Time 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 6 12-Inch Pizzas
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons (440 g) Warm Water 440 grams
- 1 Teaspoon (5 g) Yeast 5 grams
- 3 ⅔ Teaspoons (15 g) White Sugar 15 grams
- 1 ⅓ Cups (400 g) Sourdough Discard 400 grams
- 5 ½ Cups (695 g) Bread Flour 695 grams; See Notes
- ⅔ Cup (90 g) Wheat Flour 90 grams; or bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 3 ⅓ Teaspoons (20 g) Kosher Salt 20 grams
- ¼ Cup (53 g) Olive Oil 53 Grams
- Optional Semolina Flour or Cornmeal For Dusting The Pan see notes
Instructions
- Make Yeast Mixture: In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the warm water, yeast, and white sugar. Let sit for five minutes or until the mixture has foamed.
- Knead Dough: To the same bowl, add the sourdough discard, bread flour, wheat flour, and salt. With the dough hook attachment, knead on medium-low speed for ten minutes. This will develop the gluten in the dough.
- First Rise: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 2-4 hours. Move on to the next step once the dough has doubled in size. (See Notes about first rise times).
- Oil A Container: Grease a container with olive oil and set aside. This container will hold the dough balls while they finish their second rise. The container should have ample space. (See notes about the container.)
- Shaping: Divide the dough into 6 portions and form each into a taught ball. Place the dough balls into the oiled container. Then, cover the container.
- Second Rise (same day vs overnight option): If you want to use the dough the same day, leave it covered at room temperature and let it rise for 2-3 more hours. Overnight Option: After shaping, place the dough container into the fridge. It can ferment in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days before use.
- Preheat Oven: When you are ready to bake, take the dough container out of the fridge and leave at room temperature. Move the oven rack to the second highest level. Place the pizza steel on the oven rack ( skip if you are using a pizza pan or baking sheet). Then, preheat the oven to 550°F (288°C) for about one hour before baking.
- Make The Pizza: Once the oven is preheated, it's time to start building the pizzas. Take one dough and dust the bottom with semolina flour, cornmeal, or white flour to prevent sticking. On a floured work surface, shape the dough ball into a 12-inch round pizza. Put pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and toppings. Flour the pizza peel with semolina or cornmeal. Transfer the pizza onto the peel. Then, transfer the pizza onto the hot pizza steel in the oven.
- Bake: Bake the pizza for 4-5 minutes until the cheese is fully melted. If you notice one side of the pizza browning quicker, rotate the pizza to ensure even browning.
- Cool: Allow the pizza to cool on a wire rack for five minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Bread Flour vs All Purpose Flour: Use bread flour since it has a higher gluten percentage, which gives it a chewier texture. However, you can still use all-purpose flour if that's what you have. If you have vital wheat gluten, you can mix 659 grams of all-purpose flour with 36 grams of vital wheat gluten to get a high-gluten flour mixture.
- Semolina Flour/Cornmeal: You don't need to use these flours. However, I highly recommend them! They help prevent the dough from sticking to the pizza peel, which will give you trouble when launching the pizza onto the pizza stone/steel.
- Special Tools (Affiliate Links): Stand-Mixer | Dough Proofing Container | Pizza Steel & Pizza Peel | Wire Rack
- No Pizza Steel?: I highly recommend getting a pizza steel. This one product is my secret weapon to getting that delicious crispy New York-style pizza crust. However, if you don't have one, then you can use a regular baking sheet. Simply build the pizza on the baking tray and place it into the hot oven.
- First Rise Times: The dough should double before moving on to the next step. Do NOT move on until it has doubled. The rise times of dough is dependant on the ambient temperature of your kitchen. This can take as little as two hours to as much as four hours.
- Dough Container: I use this dough-proofing container, which has ample space for the dough's second rise. I highly recommend investing in one if you bake a ton like me! However, use what you have to contain the dough balls as long as it has enough space for the dough balls to double in size.
- Shaping The Sourdough Pizza: There is a technique to shaping pizza dough. It takes awhile to master. I recommend watching this video by Vito Lacopelli on how to shape a pizza.
- Building The Pizza: It's tempting to add a ton of toppings to the pizza. However, don't do it! Adding too many toppings will make it heavy, causing the dough to be wet and tear on the peel.