Same Day Sourdough Pizza Crust

Deliciously soft and chewy, this pizza crust gets its depth of flavor from a robust sourdough base and beer to enhance fermentation. The best part is this dough can be started in the morning and ready to enjoy by dinner time with proper preparation!

Same-Day Pizza Crust Recipe

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Ya’ll, I am a self-proclaimed pizza snob and incredibly picky with my pizza crusts. I love pizza crust to have a really good, chewy texture, and slightly fluffy but not overly bread-y to where it overwhelms my delicious topping choices.

Well, let me tell you after tinkering with this recipe for some time, I have FINALLY mastered the most simple and delicious SAME-DAY sourdough pizza crust!

One of the issues I frequently hear from others is that sourdough is time-consuming and without planning several days ahead, you can’t enjoy good bread. This recipe proves that you can easily make an awesome and delicious pizza crust in just 8 hours!

Why You Will Love This Easy Sourdough Pizza Crust:

• Same Day Prep: Many sourdough pizza crust recipes require stretch and folds, overnight proofs, and more time than us busy folks have to spare. This pizza crust can be started in the morning and ready by dinner time!
• Multiple Cooking Options: This pizza crust can be cooked in the home oven, a pizza oven, a grill, or even a stove top in a cast iron pan!
• Chewy and Delicious: Pizza shouldn’t be overly bready and overpowering to the toppings… This pizza recipe has the best texture. Just enough sourdough to give the crust a nice flavor and the perfect chewiness!
• Depth of flavor: The secret ingredient here is the BEER. Something about adding beer to this mix brings in another layer of flavor that is unique and delicious.

Tips + Tricks For This Easy Pizza Dough Recipe

• If you don’t have beer on hand you can replace the beer with warm filtered water.
• This dough can be cooked on stainless steel pans but it’s also excellent cooked on the stovetop in a cast iron pan.
• Don’t forget to season your crust! It makes a huge difference in the flavor.
• This dough freezes great. I like to make a double batch to have extras on hand for the month. Remember to pull dough out the night before you want pizza and thaw in the fridge.
• This dough should proof for 6-8 hours, any longer will overhydrate the dough a create a sloppy mess.

Supplies:

• Large mixing bowl
• Kitchen Aide or mixer with dough hook attachment
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Proofer (optional)
• Pizza pans
• Pizza cutter

Ingredients

• Active Sourdough Starter: This is starter that has been fed at least 4-8 hours before being incorporated into a recipe. I recommend feeding the night before you want to make this recipe unless you have a proofer to speed up fermentation.

• Flour: I keep it simple for this recipe with all-purpose flour. Bread flour can be subbed in or you can try half and half if you prefer. I always have AP flour on hand and it works great, so win-win.

• Beer: This is my secret ingredient to take this crust to the next level of flavor. You can absolutely experiment with the type of beer you use. I have used lite beers before and it turned out great. I recommend using a light-medium beer with a good body but not overwhelming hops. Unless you really want a ton of beer flavor to shine through, I suggest avoiding an IPA or lager which has the strongest flavor. A pilsner is a great option. In this recipe, I had a Michelob Ultra on hand so that’s what I used.

• Olive oil or vegetable oil: I always try to use good quality extra virgin olive oil in my recipes. The flavor is unmatched and transformative. If you don’t have olive oil, vegetable oil is a good substitute.

• Salt and Pepper: Don’t forget to season to take this crust to the next level!

Let’s Get Started Making Sourdough Pizza Dough:

Step 1: Feed Your Starter

This step is essential to creating this pizza dough recipe quickly.

The option with the most flexibility is to feed your sourdough starter the evening BEFORE you want to make the pizza. This option allows you to make sure you have plenty of time to proof your dough. If your dough increases by 75% before you are ready to bake, simply place in the fridge. You can actually leave this dough in the fridge for up to 7 days!

This pizza dough needs to proof at least 6 hours so you also should be able to get away with feeding your starter the day of… if you get up at 6 or 7 AM and feed it right away.

Step 3: Create the Dough

Combine active sourdough starter, flour, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer.

Add beer and olive oil. At low to medium speed, knead the dough with the dough hook attachment for about 5-10 minutes. You want the dough to form a ball and be stretchy and not sticky. The dough should look tight and shiny.

Step 4: Proof

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave bowl on a warm counter top for about 6-8 hours.

NOTE: I like to let this dough proof until it has a 75% increase in size rather than sticking strictly to a “6-8 hour” amount of time. I gauge this by letting my dough rise in a glass measuring bowl. This way I can see exactly how much the dough has increased in size.

Here are my top tips for proofing a perfect pizza dough:

• If I am in a time crunch to get my dough to proof in time, I will place the dough in my favorite proofer. I set the temperature to around 80 degrees and watch it do its magic. I have got my dough to a great proofing level in as little as 5 hours using this proofer.
• If you don’t own a proofer, you can place the dough in a closed oven with a bowl of hot water on the same rack. This creates humidity and a warm, closed environment for the dough to thrive.
• Don’t let this dough over proof or it will be a sloppy, wet mess. If you notice your dough has almost doubled in size and you aren’t quite ready to bake, place the bowl in the refrigerator to slow down the proofing.
• So much of proofing time depends on the temperatures outside and inside your home. During the summer I can easily proof this dough in 6-7 hours on the kitchen counter in North Carolina. During the winter, if I don’t use my proofer it could take 8 or more hours.

Step 5: Assemble

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 13 1/2″ stainless steel pizza pans with olive oil. You can also use a preheated pizza stone or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.

NOTE: This makes a fairly thin crust which I prefer. For a slightly thicker crust, use two 10″ pizza pans.

When your dough is done proofing, slip it into 2 sections using a bench scraper or sharp knife.

Using your hands, gently stretch the dough into a circle, forming a ridge at the edge of the circle. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I try to preserve as many of the air bubbles as possible because I love a bubbly, airy crust.

Place the crusts on your prepared pizza pans.

Place toppings of choice on your crust. We love a classic pepperoni + black olives or Margherita pizza with fresh basil… Delicious!

Step 6: Bake

Bake the pizzas in an oven preheated to 475 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. I’ll warn you, the smell is absolutely to die for! The crust should look golden brown and all the toppings should be crispy and melted.

Top with fresh parmesan and red pepper flakes if you wish. Enjoy!!

PRO TIP: If you want the crust to be more browned and crispy, turn on broiler on for about 3-5 minutes at the end of your bake to crisp it up.

To Bake On the Stove Top With a Cast Iron Pan:

Turn the broiler on HI. Heat a well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Carefully place the pizza crust into the skillet. Place toppings on the crust. Cook the crust on stove top for about 6 minutes. The crust should get puffy and bubbly. Using a spatula, gently lift the crust to make sure the bottom is browned with a slight char. Next, place the skillet under the broiler for 2-4 minutes to melt the toppings. Be sure to not leave it under too long or it may burn.

Step 7: Storage

To Freeze:

Freeze uncooked pizza dough by separating dough into two sections (after the dough is done proofing). Gently coat each section of dough in olive oil and place in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.

The day before you want pizza, place the dough in the fridge to defrost. About 1-2 hours before you are ready to bake pizza, take the dough out of the fridge and place on the counter to bring to room temperature.

In Fridge:

This dough can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week. Make sure the dough has proofed to a 75% increase before placing in the fridge. Remove the dough from the fridge an hour before baking to bring dough to room temperature.

Want To Get Started With Sourdough?!

• How To Make a Sourdough Starter
• Feeding + Maintaining a Sourdough Starter
• How to Knead Sourdough Bread

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