Enjoy these delicious personal sized sourdough pizza crusts made on a cast iron skillet. The crust is equal parts fluffy and chewy. It is a soft, pillow base fit for any toppings you desire. So, take our your cast iron skillet to enjoy this easy, sourdough pizza crust, from scratch!
Sourdough pizza crust is one of the many forms of bread our family enjoys as it is the perfect base for any toppings you desire. We love these personal sized sourdough pizza crusts because each person can make their own pizza designed to their taste preferences.
Mozzarella, pepperoni, tomato, basil, pineapple, green pepper, olives. We even had a friend who said their kids enjoyed putting sprinkles on their pizza. Anything to get the kids to eat something healthy – anyone else with me?
What we mean to say is, whatever toppings you like, this pizza crust is the perfect base for. Our family’s personal favorite (and apart of our weekly meal plan) is BBQ chicken sourdough pizza. Because of the ease of this recipe, we have it at least once a month in our weekly meal rotation.
Other Reasons to Love this Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Firstly, this dough comes together in 5 minutes or less – and it is mixed by hand!
- The pizza dough is ‘no knead’
- It can use both sourdough discard or active sourdough.
- If you need some, I can teach you how to make sourdough starter from scratch!
- The fermentation time is customizable for your schedule. Make this as a sourdough discard pizza dough or allow it to become a long fermented sourdough pizza crust.
- Simply allow the pizza crust to double in size. Cook straight away or place it in the fridge to bulk ferment and enjoy the additional health benefits.
- Our family loves a 24-48 hour fermentation period for soft, fluffy (and slightly sour) pizza dough.
- Simply allow the pizza crust to double in size. Cook straight away or place it in the fridge to bulk ferment and enjoy the additional health benefits.
- There are multiple places to cook this crust: cast iron skillet, stovetop (skillet) or pizza stone.
Ingredients for sourdough pizza crust
To make this sourdough pizza crust, use the below ingredients:
- Whole Wheat Flour
- Whole Wheat Flour gives a little more texture to the crust. Just make sure it is unbleached.
- All Purpose Flour
- We use any unbleached, organic flour (Kirkland’s is great!).
- Salt
- We prefer to use pink himalayan salt from Costco, though any salt (i.e. kosher salt, table salt, etc) will work.
- Water
- Filtered water is best, though you can use tap water and allow it to sit at room temperature for a bit to allow the chlorine to dissipate.
- Sourdough Starter
- We prefer use of an established active sourdough starter, close to or at peak level, to ensure adequate rise within this crust without the use of additional leavens. The crust can be made with sourdough starter which is discard, or straight from the fridge, though it will not rise as much.
Kitchen Tools
There are a few tools which will make preparing this pizza dough in a flash. We love cooking sourdough pizza on our cast iron skillets!
- Large Mixing Bowl
- We are huge fans of this bowl set because it has a lid (perfect for less plastic wrap waste)
- Pizza Cutter
- This is the best pizza cutter because it protects your hands and everything comes apart. It is also dishwasher friendly (including the blades)
- We also use scissors to cut the pizza (easier for kids)
- Cast Iron Skillet
- This 15″ cast iron skillet makes a personal sized sourdough pizza crust with ease. Plus there is just enough room to wiggle a spatula around the pizza.
- Metal Spatula
- Rolling Pin
- Dough Scraper
- A dough scraper helps to cut the pizza dough into fourths.
- Olive Oil Dispenser
- Use the measuring feature on the top for ease of dispersing the olive oil (and one less dish to clean)
Baker’s Timeline: How to make sourdough pizza crust
The below timeline is for a long fermented sourdough pizza dough. If you would like to bake the sourdough pizza dough immediately after it has doubled in size, skip the step of bulk fermentation in the fridge.
This will shorten the timeline to mix the dough together the morning you would like to eat the sourdough pizza. Alternatively, you can mix this together before bed and use first thing the next morning.
An extended fermentation period is not necessary for this recipe to turn out and simply allow the amount of gluten to reduce due to longer fermentation.
8:00 AM – (Day prior to bake) – Feed sourdough starter 4-12 hours prior to when you want to start the pizza crust for the following day. *Adjust timeline if starter is kept within the fridge as opposed to the countertop.
12:00 PM – (Day prior to bake) – In a large mixing bowl, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, water, olive oil and active sourdough discard. Mix until just barely combined. Do not knead the dough to prevent building gluten strength, making the dough elastic.
Allow to sit, covered with a tea towel or plastic wrap, on countertop until dough has doubled in size. Once doubled in size (around 4-12 hours depending on the temperature of your home), place covered within the fridge until ready to bake sourdough pizza crust.
4:00 PM – (Day of bake) – During this time multitasking is necessary. The sourdough pizza dough will warm up to room temperature while the pizza toppings are assembled. Adjust the time as necessary to fit your meal time needs.
Step 1: Firstly, pull the sourdough starter from fridge and place on countertop. Cut dough into fourths and allow to warm up to room temperature while preparing additional pizza toppings.
Step 2: Next, begin heating your cast iron skillet on medium – low heat. Place a few droplets of your preferred cooking oil (avocado oil, olive oil) to a pan to ensure the pizza crust does not stick to the cast iron skillet. Start the oven broiler during this time.
Step 3: Roll out one sourdough pizza crust to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness. Take one pizza crust and place it on the cast iron skillet. The dough will shrink in size once it hits the heat – however the dough will rise.
Steps 4 and 5: Add your sauce on top of the pizza and add toppings. Periodically check the pizza crust to ensure it will pull up from the skillet. The pizza should begin to have golden brown spots and should pull away from the skillet easily.
Step 6: Place the cast iron skillet under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until the toppings have melted and the sourdough pizza crust is cooked through.
Continue to keep an eye on the pizza as the toppings and cheese can go from melted to burnt within moments.
Step 7: Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and slice (or cut) sourdough pizza before serving.
Finally, repeat steps 1-7 for each pizza ensuring you re-oil the cast iron skillet between each pizza.
Storing Sourdough Pizza
Store the personal sized sourdough pizza in the fridge for 3 days in a ziplock baggie. For long term storage, place it in the freezer within an airtight container or freezer safe baggie for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the air fryer or oven for best results (aka a crispy crust)!
Frequently Asked Questions
What toppings are good on pizza?
Pizza toppings are unlimited! We enjoy all the traditional and non traditional toppings from pepperoni to pineapple. Some of our favorite family pizza nights are ones where we all have our own crusts and choose from toppings.
Toppings may include green olives, fresh garlic, tomatoes, turkey bacon, sausage, peppers, basil, various types of cheese, chicken and pineapple.
Can you freeze sourdough pizza crust before cooking?
It is easy to make this crust in advance for a super easy pizza night. Simply prepare the pizza crust and freeze it before cooking. Once the dough has doubled in size (first fermentation period), wrap it in plastic wrap before placing it in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.
When you are ready for pizzas, remove the dough from the freezer to unthaw within the fridge. Allow the dough to come to around room temperature before shaping the dough and cooking.
Can you freeze sourdough pizza crust?
Yes, this sourdough pizza crust can be frozen after cooking. Cook the crust, separate them by wax paper, and place them in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.
When reheating, unthaw slightly before adding pizza toppings. Either cook at 350 degrees until warm or place under the broiler.
I do not have a cast iron skillet. Can I cook this sourdough pizza in a different way?
This pizza crust can be cooked on a pizza stone, on a smoker grill, in a skillet or even a sheet pan in the oven. All other cooking methods will have a different cooking time and could have a different flavor.
I would recommend placing cornmeal or floured parchment paper down on the above options before cooking if the pan is not heated prior to placing the sourdough pizza crust on it.
Sourdough Pizza Crust
Equipment
- 1 Cast Iron Skillet
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Pizza Slicer optional
- 1 Olive Oil Dispenser optional
- 1 Pastry Cutter optional
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sourdough discard Both active sourdough (at peak) and sourdough discard work within this recipe.
- 1/4 cup + 1 TBS whole wheat flour
- 1 – 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp sea salt We prefer himalayan sea salt
- 1 TBS olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare sourdough starter 4-12 hours in advance to ensure it is at peak.
- Remove the sourdough starter from fridge and place on countertop. Cut dough into fourths. Allow to warm up to room temperature while preparing additional pizza toppings.
- Heat cast iron skillet on medium – low heat. Place oil of choice (avocado or olive oil recommended) on the pan as it heats up.
- Roll out sourdough pizza dough to 1/8 to 1/4″ thickness. Place one personal sized crust on cast iron skillet.
- While the crust is coking on the cast iron skillet, add desired toppings. Once the pizza crust comes off of the skillet and has a golden brown color (or cheetah like spots), put cast iron skillet into the oven under the broiler.
- Allow sourdough pizza to cook until toppings are warmed through, crust is completely cooked and the cheese (if you have this on top), is melted. *Be careful to watch the pizza while under the broiler as it will burn quickly.
Video
Notes
What is your favorite way to cook a pizza? We are big fans of the cast iron skillet and Traeger! Let us know your favorite in the comments below.
