If you are wondering just how good this sourdough discard pizza dough is, this is the only sourdough pizza dough I have made where my husband instantly said “Woah! This is good!” when he bit into it. Usually, I have to ask him for his opinion, but not this time.

Not only is the sourdough discard pizza delicious, it’s super easy to make especially if you already have sourdough discard on hand. If you don’t, you’ll want to mix up the flour and water ahead of time and maybe stick it into the fridge so it doesn’t over ferment before baking it. 

This recipe is great because it will use up whatever sourdough discard you have on hand. You just add some oil, salt, and baking powder and your dough is ready to go. If you don’t have any sourdough discard on hand, you can also use a bunch of active sourdough starter.

You basically just need to mix up a lot of extra sourdough starter and let it ferment. I like to feed my starter with 100g of flour and 100g of water every time I feed it so for this sourdough recipe, I just weighed out a bunch of flour and matched it with the same amount of water.  This ratio makes for a thicker sourdough starter almost like muffin batter.

This is a great recipe to make a big batch with and have the leftovers another day. It’s always a win if I can get two dinners out of one.

Tips for making better pizza

• High Temperature – Conventional pizza ovens are often set to temperatures as high as 700 degrees to bake pizza. Our ovens at home, however, don’t get that high. Most will get to at least 500 degrees so that’s what I ‘ve started baking mine at. This little switch definitely improves homemade pizza!
• Baking Powder – Yes, sourdough is a yeast by itself, but some recipes just do better with a little extra leavening and sourdough discard pizza dough is one of them. A little leavening like baking powder or baking soda keeps it from being gummy.
• Oil – Add a little olive oil on the pan before putting the dough on. This will crisp up the bottom a little bit. You’ll also want to add some oil on the dough before adding any other toppings including sauce. This keeps the dough from being dry. Not any old olive oil will do here. For the best flavour use a single origin olive oil to avoid any bitterness. I like the Terra Delyssa from Walmart because it’s the cheapest good quality olive oil I have found.
• Cheese – Use a mix of parmesan and mozzarella to top your pizza with. I like the flavor that parmesan adds so I go a little heavy on the parmesan and a little lighter on the mozz. Also, using shredded cheese that you shredded yourself (as opposed to buying it pre-shredded and mixed with anticaking agents) gives a depth of flavor you don’t want to miss out on.
• Cast Iron Pizza Pan – Cast iron heats and cooks evenly so I love it for making pizza. You do have to preheat it, but it pays off because putting the dough onto a preheated pan crisps the bottom for a better pizza crust. 
• Season – Don’t be afraid of going a little heavy on the seasoning. A little extra spice really takes the pizza to the next level. I’ve also noticed that adding the seasoning straight on the dough before you add the sauce gives the dough more flavor.

Equipment

• Scale
• Bowl
• Large spoon – for mixing the dough and spooning it out
• Small spoon – for spreading the sauce
• Pizza pans or cast iron skillets

Ingredients

For the dough:

• Flour – I use freshly milled white wheat, but all purpose works, too. Again, you can skip the water and flour if you already have plenty of sourdough discard on hand.
• Water
• Olive oil 
• Baking Powder
• Salt

For the toppings:

• Olive Oil
• Tomato sauce or marinara
• Oregano
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Mozzarella cheese, grated
• Sausage or pepperoni, optional

Instructions

You can skip the first step if you already have a lot of sourdough discard to use up.

1. Over feed your sourdough starter with equal parts flour and water. Let it ferment 6-8 hours for the warmer months and longer in the cooler months until it is nice and bubbly.
2. Portion out a lot of sourdough starter into a bowl and mix in a couple tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt. 
3. Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees fahrenheit. If you are using cast iron, you will want to pre-heat it as well. Otherwise you can put the pizza dough on a room temperature pan. You can use parchment paper, but it will start to fall apart at such a high heat so I just skip it.
4. While the oven and cast iron pre-heats, gather your toppings and shred the cheese, if you need to.
5. Drizzle some olive oil on to your pizza pan. Drop a cup or two of pizza dough on to the pan and spread it out.
6. Drizzle some olive oil on to the pizza dough, season it well
7. Add about ¼ – ½ c of tomato sauce or marinara and spread it around with the back of the smaller spoon. You don’t want too much sauce. A little goes a long way, but if you are making a big batch so that you can have leftovers, add extra sauce to the ones that will be saved for later. Pizza tends to dry out as it sits.
8. Top it with about two-thirds of parmesan and finish it off with some mozzarella. 
9. Add some ground sausage, pepperoni or other protein.
10. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese starts to brown. Remove it from the pizza pan to a cooling rack. This is especially necessary if you are using cast iron since it will continue to bake if not removed. This isn’t a huge deal, but it does help if you are trying to perfect homemade pizza.
11. Let it cool a bit before serving. This helps the dough to set.

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