This sourdough discard pizza crust is quick, easy, and seriously delicious. It makes pizza night such a breeze—no need to order takeout when you can whip this up at home! Not only does it taste incredible, but it’s also a healthier option since you’re in control of every ingredient that goes into it.
Pizza night is a weekly tradition in our house—every Saturday without fail. It’s hands-down my kids’ favorite meal, which honestly feels like a huge win. There’s something so comforting about knowing there’s one night a week when I won’t have to convince anyone to eat their dinner. And the best part? Pizza can actually be pretty balanced. You’ve got your carbs, sauce, and cheese covering the basics, and if your kids are into toppings like veggies or meat, even better! (Mine keep it simple—just cheese and sauce over here.)
Sourdough Health Benefits
Another thing I love about this pizza dough is the inclusion of sourdough. I know it’s quick version of sourdough so it doesn’t have all of the benefits of long fermentation, but it’s still a great inclusion in a basic recipe. Sourdough is known for helping with gut health, supporting blood sugar, and is much easier on the digestion. If you want to read more about the health benefits of sourdough, check out this article from the Mayo Clinic https://communityhealth.mayoclinic.org/featured-stories/sourdough-bread-benefits
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups Warm Water (105°F)
- 1 1/2 tsp Brown Sugar (Or honey)
- 4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cup Sourdough Discard
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 4 Cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Large Kitchen Bowl
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
Instructions
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the warm water, brown sugar the yeast on top and lightly mixed it in. Let yeast mixture sit for 5-10 minutes or until it starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is active.
With the mixer on low, add in salt, oil, sourdough discard, and Italian seasoning. Turn the mixer on for 30 seconds to incorporate those ingredients.
Add the flour to the bowl and turn the mixer on low until it starts to form a tacky mixture. Then turn the mixer up to a medium setting for about 6 minutes. Or until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl and is smooth on the outside.
Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough inside. Then lightly spray with cooking spray, so it doesn’t dry out. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 30-40 minutes. Until the dough touches the top of the bowl and or has doubled in size.
Split the dough into two different balls and roll out to fit your pizza pans. I let is sit for about 5 minutes in the pizza pans to give it a little rise before I put them in the oven.
You can cook your pizza whoever you like, but I par bake mine for 6 minutes at 400 degrees. Then I take it out to put all of my toppings on, and throw it back in the oven for another 12 minutes. You can put your toppings on first but baking the dough first helps to get a well cooked crust.
Serve and enjoy!
Tips
To make sure you get the best results in your pizza dough there’s a few tips I implement.
To make things easier, it’s great if you have a stand mixer, such as KitchenAid. If you don’t, you can still make the dough by hand. You’ll have to knead it longer to get the same texture. Around 10 minutes or so, until it’s smooth to the touch.
Make sure you have fresh yeast or have tested it recently to make sure it’s good. I use Red Star Active Dry Yeast most of the time and get great results.
Flour really should be unbleached all purpose, or even bread flour works well. I use 365 Market from Amazon because I can get it cheaper there than at my local grocery store. Feel free to use any brand of unbleached flour, that just what I use most often.
If you really like sourdough flavor and want to get rid of extra sourdough discard. you can add more to the dough. 3/4 Cup at most, so it doesn’t mess with the texture.
Helpful Product Links
If you want to use some of the products that I typically use for my recipe I will link them below for you to check them out!
365 Unbleached All Purpose Flour
Non-Stick Olive Oil Cooking Spray
If you’re a big fan of baking with sourdough you should also try out my Soft Crust Sourdough Sandwich Bread!
Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Large Kitchen Bowl
- Non Stick Cooking Spray
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups Warm Water 105 Degrees F
- 1 1/2 tsp Brown Sugar
- 4 tsp Activate Dry Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cup Sourdough Discard
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 4 Cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the warm water, mix in the brown sugar. Add the yeast on top and lightly mixed it in. Let the yeast mixture sit for 5-10 minutes or until it starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is active.
- With the mixer on low, add in salt, oil, sourdough discard, and Italian seasoning. Turn the mixer on for 30 seconds to incorporate those ingredients.
- Add the flour to the bowl and turn the mixer on low until it starts to form a tacky mixture. Then turn the mixer up to a medium setting for about 6 minutes. Or until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl and is smooth on the outside.
- Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough inside. Then lightly spray with cooking spray, so it doesn't dry out. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 30-40 minutes. Until the dough touches the top of the bowl and or has doubled in size.
- Split the dough into two different balls and roll out to fit your pizza pans. This recipe makes two medium pizzas or one large and small.
- I let the dough sit for about 5 minutes in the pizza pans to give it a little rise before I put them in the oven.
- You can cook your pizza however you like, but I par bake mine for 6 minutes at 400 degrees. Then I take it out to put all of my toppings on, and throw it back in the oven for another 12 minutes. You can put your toppings on first but baking the dough first helps to get a well cooked crust.
- Serve and enjoy!