Overnight Sourdough Pizza Crust
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This Overnight Sourdough Pizza Crust is the ideal pizza crust —crunchy outside, soft inside, yeast free, and easy to make. Resting overnight enhances its flavor and makes for easy meal-prep. Perfect for any pizza night, busy weeknight, or even breakfast!
This sourdough crust is a different take than our easy pizza crust, but just as delicious. And when you pair it with homemade tomato sauce before adding your toppings, it takes it to another level!
You’ll need an active starter to make this crust, just like you do for sourdough bagels. Discard, like we use for our sourdough biscuits, just doesn’t have enough kick. So, if you’re looking for the ultimate pizza crust, this is it!
What Makes This Sourdough Pizza Crust So Good?
- Flavor. Sourdough adds a complex, tangy flavor to the crust that enhances the overall taste of the pizza.
- Texture. The fermentation process creates bubbles in the dough, resulting in a crust that is crisp on the outside and soft inside.
- Flexible Timing. Once you make this dough, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, allowing you to bake on your schedule.
There Are Two Parts To This Crust
To develop the best flavor, you will need to actually make TWO doughs. Yes, you read that right. We’re going to be making two “doughs”. The first part to this recipe is prepping a firm starter (first dough). This is what you need:
- Sourdough Starter – A simple combination of flour and water that becomes something magical when wild yeast is introduced into the mix. It’s the basis for this whole recipe.
- Bread Flour – A bit higher protein level than all purpose flour. It contributes to the strength of the final dough.
- Water – Adds a little extra hydration.
So, to make this firm starter (biga) combine the three ingredients above and mix with a stand mixer or by hand until the dough is smooth. Place the dough in a lidded container and set it aside to double in bulk. Refrigerate overnight.
⊹ Quick Tip! ⊹
Set the firm starter (biga) out of the refrigerator about an hour before you are ready to start the final dough.
Now, Let’s Make The Pizza Dough!
It’s time to finally make the final dough. Go ahead and grab these ingredients:
- The Firm Starter – Enhances the flavor and increases the strength of the final dough.
- Water – Determines the amount of hydration in the dough.
- Olive Oil – Adds flavor, helps retain moisture, and contributes to the texture.
- Honey – Enhances the flavor, feeds the yeast, and contributes to browning.
- Bread Flour – The higher protein level in bread flour adds strength and structure, as well as giving the crust it’s signature chew.
- Salt – Tightens the gluten strands in the dough and really brings out the flavor of the sourdough.
Combine all of the ingredients (except the salt!) and mix until the dough looks rough/shaggy. Cover the bowl and let it sit for thirty minutes. Add the salt and knead until smooth.
⊹ Did You Know? ⊹
Letting the dough sit for a period of time after the initial mix is called an autolyse. It allows the flour time to rehydrate, the dough becomes easier to handle, and it reduces the amount of kneading time!
Place the dough in a covered container and set it aside to rise until it nearly doubles in bulk. Refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to make pizza, divide the dough as desired, roll out (or toss😉), and add your desired toppings. I personally love making this Tomato Arugula Feta Pizza!
⊹ Did You Know? ⊹
Proofing the dough overnight in the refrigerator (called retarding) slows down the fermentation which allows the dough to develop a deeper, tangier flavor just like it does in our pumpkin sourdough bread. The longer it’s in the fridge, the more flavor it develops!
What Should I Top This Pizza Dough With?
The great thing about pizza is that the topping options are limitless! Here are a few of our favorite things to top this pizza crust:
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Margherita Pizza
- Cheese Pizza
- Pepperoni Pizza
- Everything Pizza (Meats & Veggie!)
⊹ Quick Tip! ⊹
Give your oven at least 30 minutes – 1 hour to preheat to 500℉! Ovens often notoriously beep when they’re “ready”. 99% of the time, that doesn’t actually mean the entire oven is at 500℉. So be sure to give the oven time to fully heat and, if you have an oven thermometer, use it! You want your oven to be fully preheated to ensure your crust is nice and crispy.
✳ Sourdough Pizza Dough FAQ’s
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When you make this Overnight Sourdough Pizza Crust, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Happy Baking!
x, Caylie
Overnight Sourdough Pizza Crust
Ingredients
Biga-Style (Firm) Preferment
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup bread flour
- ¼ cup water
Pizza Dough
- All of starter
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ Tablespoon honey
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
Instructions
Preferment
- Combine sourdough starter, flour, and water in the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Mix on low speed for 1 minute.
- Increase speed to medium-high and mix for an additional four minutes, until smooth.
- Place in a clean bowl or plastic container. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 4 hours. If you are using a proofing box, set the temp to 78℉/26℃ and add the humidity tray. You won't need to cover the bowl.
- Once dough is proofed, cover, and place in refrigerator overnight.
Final Dough
- Remove preferment from the refrigerator about an hour before you are ready to start.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine water and starter.
- Mix until smooth.
- Change to dough hook and add olive oil, honey, and flour.
- Mix to a rough dough.
- Cover, and let stand for 30 minutes.
- Add salt.
- Mix with dough hook until dough is smooth and cleans the bowl, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Place in a clean bowl or plastic container. Cover, and allow to rise at room temperature or in a proofing box with a humidity tray set to 78℉/26℃ for 2-3 hours, until nearly doubled in bulk. If using a proofing box, you don't have to cover.
- Refrigerate (covered) overnight.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into desired portions.
- Round each portion, cover with a cloth or napkin, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll out (or throw) each portion, and proceed with pizza recipe.
Notes + Tips!
Tips To Make The Best Sourdough Pizza Crust:
Mastering the Dough- Patience is key: Sourdough develops flavor over time. Don’t try to rush!
- Temperature control: A slightly cooler environment slows fermentation, allowing for deeper flavor development, which is why there are two overnight rests in the fridge. Don’t skip these!
- Hotter is better: A hot oven is essential for a crispy crust. Preheat your oven and pizza stone to the highest temperature possible.
- 1 ounce equals 1 inch: When you’re dividing the dough, use a scale to help you get the exact size you’re looking for. We found that, when making thin crust pizza’s, 1 ounce of dough is equal to 1 inch. So, 12 ounces of dough will make a 12 inch pizza!
- Less is more: Avoid over-topping your pizza. Too many toppings can prevent the crust from crisping up!
- Experiment with flour: You can change the bread flour out for high gluten flour to give the crust a little more chew. Or you can use all purpose flour to make the crust a little crisper.
- Vegan substitution: If you want to make this recipe vegan, you can substitute your favorite vegan sweetener, i.e. barley malt syrup, agave, etc., for the honey.
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- Rest your dough: If the dough is shrinking while you’re trying to shape it, don’t worry! Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Use a peel: A pizza peel makes it easier to transfer the dough to your hot baking surface without damaging the crust!
Tools You May Need (affiliate links)
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Where does the second overnight rest in the fridge come in? It says not to skip it, but I only see the overnight directions for the firm. Thanks!
Hi Valerie! Thank you for pointing that out. It looks like I got it in the post but missed it in the recipe card. You can put it in the fridge a little before it doubles in bulk. Depending on your kitchen temp, probably a couple of hours. Let me know if you have any other questions.
It was a beautiful recipe. I made a simple pizza with pepperoni. I let it sit for 3 days to get that sourdough flavor in, and cooked it on the 3rd day. Will make it again.
Hi! There’s nothing better than classics 😊 We’re so happy to hear you loved this recipe! It’s definitely one that we make often 🥰 I hope you find lots more recipes to love on our blog 🫶 x, Caylie