Sourdough Discard Pizza

4.93 from 69 votes

Sourdough discard pizza makes the best pizza with a flavorful, crispy crust and soft, tender middle. This is restaurant-quality pizza for a fraction of the cost and oh so tasty. Use up your sourdough discard and try out this sourdough pizza today!

Prep Time30

Cook Time10

Rise Time1

Total Time1 40

Course: Main

Cuisine: Pizza

Servings: slices (2 large pizzas)

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

mixer dough can also be kneaded by hand
pizza stone
pizza peel optional (use a large cutting board instead)
parchment paper optional (use cornmeal instead)

Ingredients

Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough

200 grams sourdough discard 100% hydration (see recipe notes), heaping 3/4 cup
460 grams warm milk whole or 2%, scant 2 cups
9 grams instant yeast about 1 Tablespoon
15 grams granulated sugar about 1 Tablespoon
14 grams salt about 2 teaspoons
2 grams garlic powder about 1/2 teaspoon, optional
30 grams olive oil about 2 Tablespoons (or any neutral-flavored oil)
700 grams bread flour 12.5% protein content, about 4.5-5 cups

Sauce and Toppings

Good quality pizza sauce (see recipe notes)
Freshly grated mozzarella cheese
Desired toppings

Instructions

Mix Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer, add sourdough discard and warm milk. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar on top. Add the salt, garlic powder, olive oil and most of the flour.
I like to reserve a little of the flour to add in while the dough is mixing so I can get the texture of the dough just right. Turn the mixer on and use the dough hook to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. Add the rest of the flour as needed until the dough clears the sides of the bowl, feels smooth and tacky to the touch, but not sticky. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour. This dough can also be kneaded by hand for 10-15 minutes if you don't have a stand mixer.
First Rise: Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and set in a warm place to rise for about an hour. If your sourdough discard was cold, the dough may take longer to rise. This dough can be used immediately after rising to make pizza or you can keep it in the refrigerator for a few days for the best flavor.
Shape and Rest: Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, dump it out on a countertop and cut the dough into two to three large pieces, depending on the size of pizza you want to make. For smaller personal-sized pizzas, cut the dough into 6-8 pieces.
Take each piece of dough and pull/pinch up the sides until it forms a ball. Roll the ball on the counter, holding your hand in a cupping shape (see video here) to seal the balls and create tension. Let the dough balls rest on the counter for about 10 minutes. At this point you can also place the dough balls on a baking sheet, cover them and refrigerate for a few hours or a few days if making the dough ahead of time.
Prepare Oven: About 30 minutes before assembling the pizzas, place a baking stone (see recipe notes if you don't have a baking stone) on the top rack of your oven. Pre-heat the oven and baking stone at the highest temperature possible (500℉) for 30 minutes.
Make Pizza: After the dough balls have rested for 10 minutes, prepare a piece of parchment paper for each pizza. Take one piece of dough and stretch it with your hands to form a circle. Continue working around to stretch the dough out until you get the shape and size you want. Place the dough on top of the parchment paper and stretch to your desired size. Leave the dough thicker around the edges for a fluffy crust if desired.
Top the pizza dough with pizza sauce, freshly grated mozzarella cheese and any desired toppings. Cut the parchment paper to fit the stretched dough so the paper doesn't burn in the oven. See recipe notes for cornmeal option.
Bake: Use a cutting board or a pizza peel to launch the pizza into the oven on top of the pre-heated baking stone. Bake for about 5 minutes. Check on the pizza and turn it 180 degrees so the pizza cooks evenly. Bake another 3-5 minutes until done. Larger pizzas often take a little longer to bake than smaller ones, so watch closely. Remove pizza from the oven and enjoy!

Notes

Sourdough Discard: You can use older discard sitting in your refrigerator or fresh, bubbly sourdough starter. Older discard (up to a couple weeks old or longer if you prefer), will have a more pronounced sour flavor which can be tasty in pizza crust. I always use 100% hydration sourdough discard.

Baking Stone: If you don't have a baking stone, turn a sheet pan over and place it in the oven. Preheat the baking sheet in the oven for 30 minutes and set the pizza directly on the upside-down baking sheet. This will produce a crust similar to using a baking stone or baking steel.

Parchment Paper: If using parchment paper, trim it to fit the shape of your dough so excess paper doesn't hang over the edges and risk burning in the oven.

Alternatively, you can skip the parchment and use cornmeal on your pizza peel or cutting board. Sprinkle a layer of cornmeal, place the shaped dough on top, add your toppings, and then slide the pizza directly onto a hot baking stone. This method takes a bit more practice, but the cornmeal helps prevent sticking and allows the dough to slide off more easily.

Pizza Sauce: Use any pizza sauce you like. I make this homemade pizza sauce. To a blender add: 14 oz diced or crushed tomatoes, 3 oz tomato paste, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon ground oregano, 1 teaspoon ground basil, 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper (if you want it spicy). Blend until smooth and adjust seasonings as desired.

Cheese: For best results on your homemade pizza, use freshly grated mozzarella cheese that you grate yourself. Pre-shredded cheese usually has anti-caking agents so that the cheese doesn't stick together. This makes it harder to get that melty cheese you want in a pizza.

Making Ahead:
After the first rise, you can refrigerate the dough to use later. Either:

Refrigerate the bulk dough and shape it into balls when you’re ready to bake, or
Shape the dough into balls, place them on a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or up to 3 days.
Freezing Dough: Pizza dough can go through the first rise, then be shaped into dough balls and frozen. Thaw and let puff up before shaping into pizzas. To make pizza dough last a little bit longer in the freezer, add an extra 5 grams of instant yeast to the dough when mixing. Place the frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight to thaw or thaw on the countertop until pliable.

When you’re ready to bake, use the cold dough straight from the fridge. Shape and stretch it into a pizza. If the dough resists stretching, let it warm up at room temperature for a few minutes and try again.

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