Overnight Sourdough Pizza Crust

two boules of pizza dough on a floured marble surface with a wood rolling pin

Overnight Sourdough Pizza Crust

Easy, simple, and delicious! Crispy exterior and light and airy interior, this Overnight Sourdough Pizza Crust is the ultimate crust for all your pizza creations. Perfect for rolling, stretching, or even learning to throw. SO GOOD!

Course: Breads

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25

Additional Time: 1

Total Time: 1 25

Servings: large crust

Calories: 1148kcal

Ingredients

Sponge

½ cup sourdough starter
½ cup all purpose flour
⅛ cup water

Final Dough

All of sponge
½ cup water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

Sponge

Combine sourdough starter, flour, and water in a small bowl.
Mix until the flour is fully hydrated and no dry spots remain.
Place in a clean bowl or plastic container. Cover and leave the sponge in a warm place until fermentation begins and it starts to rise, about 1-2 hours. It does not need to double in bulk.
Place covered sponge in the refrigerator overnight.

Final Dough

Remove the sponge from the refrigerator about an hour before mixing the final dough so it can come closer to room temperature.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine water, sponge, olive oil, and flour.
Mix on low speed until the ingredients come together into a rough, shaggy dough.
Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to allow the flour to fully hydrate.
Uncover and add salt.
Mix with dough hook on medium-high until dough is smooth and cleans the bowl, about 3 minutes.
Place in a clean bowl or plastic container.
Cover, and allow to rise at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Remove dough from container and place on work bench. (If it's too sticky to work with, dust your bench with a little bit of flour.)
Turn the dough by stretching the top portion up and folding it ⅔-¾ of the way down the dough. Stretch the bottom portion up and fold it over to meet the top. Repeat stretching and folding with the right side, then the left side. Place dough back in container. Wait 20 minutes.
Repeat the stretching and folding process 2 more times at 20 minute intervals.
Leave the covered dough alone for the rest of the bulk proof. Let it rise until doubled in bulk, about another 2 hours (depending on the temperature in your kitchen). Alternatively, you could use a proofing box set to 78℉/26℃.
At this point, you can refrigerate the dough overnight to allow more flavor to develop. This is an optional step.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Shape and proceed with pizza recipe.

Notes

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: Refrigerating the dough slows fermentation, which allows the sourdough to develop more complex flavor. This is why the overnight rest (or two!) in the refrigerator is worth the wait.

Achieving the Perfect Crust

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: If you decide to divide the dough, use a scale to help you get the exact size you're looking for. We found that, when making thin crust pizzas, 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 all purpose flour out for higher gluten flour to give the crust more chew. (It can also handle more refrigeration time.) Or if you have a pizza oven, you can use 00 flour to make the crust a little crisper.

Additional Tips

- 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!

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