Incredibly Easy soft-crust overnight sourdough pizza
This delicious soft-crust overnight sourdough pizza is a great way to use up some extra sourdough starter. It’s so easy to make the night before, then prep your pizzas the next day for a delicious and fun homemade pizza night. My family and I love how soft this sourdough pizza crust is, too. It’s easy to chew with a light, soft texture.
This overnight sourdough pizza crust doesn’t use any baking powder or soda. The only thing making this delicious, fluffy crust rise is a healthy sourdough starter.
HEY! My “skip to recipe” friends… slow down! The actual blog post is not just a story of my family pizza nights (they do happen, but you won’t hear about them). The blog post actually contains important tips and instructions that will help you in your pizza journey. Trust me, I don’t have time to write wasted words. Everything I include can help you! :)
I’ve tried a few variations of this overnight sourdough pizza crust before settling on this recipe. At first, the pizza was coming out too dry and was difficult to chew. The flavor was there, but the texture wasn’t quite right. This final recipe, however, is soft and fluffy but still not too thick or dense! Everyone who tries my soft-crust overnight sourdough pizza crust says it’s the best pizza they’ve ever had.
We have pizza at least once a week in our household. I feel good about making it because the sourdough makes the crust a gut-friendly option. Plus, with the sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, it has all the food groups, right? Even making the crust from scratch, this is one of the easiest meals I make. Especially if you make the crust the night before, you’re left with very little work the next day.
Do I Have to Make this Sourdough Crust the Night Before?
NO! Unlike yeasted recipes, sourdough pizza crust does take longer to rise. However, as long as you leave yourself enough time, you can also make this in the morning and use it in the evening.
Or if you need *MORE* time, you can leave the dough in your fridge for up to a couple of days. Plus, a bonus is that the longer the sourdough ferments, the better it becomes for digestion.
Let me break down two workflow options below.
If You Want to Make Your Sourdough Pizza Crust The Night Before…
Here are some approximate times to follow for an easy workflow. Please note that I’m not a strict sourdough girl. I am a busy mom and follow all rules and times very loosely. So if you can’t stick to the timing perfectly, I can say from experience there’s plenty of wiggle room.
DAY 1 (night before):
6:30 PM – Mix your ingredients in your stand mixer (see recipe card down below).
7:00 PM – Stretch and fold your shaggy dough a few times until it comes together
7:30 PM – Come back for another couple of times of stretch and folds
8:00 PM – Stretch and fold
8:30 PM – If you’re still awake, might as well stretch and fold one last time… then cover with a damp towel.
DAY 2 (day you’ll be eating pizza):
When you wake up, you can either refrigerate your dough to slow down the rising process and prevent it from overproofing. OR you can roll out your crust and pre-bake it.
Evening, it’s time to make your pizza!
If you want to make your sourdough pizza crust the day of…
As I said, this pizza crust is very forgiving. If you don’t plan ahead and just want to make it the day of, as long as you have plenty of healthy sourdough starter, it should rise just in time for dinner.
DAY YOU WANT TO EAT PIZZA:
7:00 AM – Mix your ingredients in your stand mixer (see recipe card down below).
7:30 AM – Stretch and fold your shaggy dough a few times until it comes together
8:00 AM – Come back for another couple of times of stretch and folds
8:30 AM – Stretch and fold
9:00 AM – If you’re still available, might as well stretch and fold one last time… then cover with a damp towel.
Evening, once your dough has risen and is fluffy to the touch, it’s time to make your pizza!
Should I Use a Freshly Fed Starter or Discard?
I have made this pizza with both a lively, bubbly, fed starter… I’ve also made it with a flat starter (or discard, as some people will call it) that has been sitting in my fridge for a week. I’ve noticed a VERY slight difference in texture. The lively starter will produce a slightly softer dough. However, in my experience, as long as you have a mature starter and your discard isn’t ridiculously old and starving, even the discard or flat starter will puff up your dough and create a beautiful rise.
If you’re brand new to sourdough, here is a good blog post by one of my favorite bloggers – Farmhouse on Boone – to help get you started.
Incredibly Easy Soft-Crust Overnight Sourdough Pizza
Ingredients
- 250 grams sourdough starter
- 125 grams milk
- 15 grams olive oil or similar oil
- 250 grams all-purpose flour – unbleached
- 6 grams salt
Optional Seasoning
- 5 grams Italian Seasoning
- 5 grams Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Place your stand mixer bowl on your food scale and weigh in your sourdough starter, milk, and olive oil. Mix these wet ingredients together.
- Next, weigh in your flour, salt, and any seasonings you choose to add.
- Using the dough hook, mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Remove the bowl from your stand mixer and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
- Let the dough rest for 30-40 mins.
- Give your shaggy dough a few stretch and folds until a smoother dough begins to form. Then cover and rest for another 30 minutes. Repeat the process of stretch and folds, followed by 30 minutes covered rest for 2-3 more times.
- Cover the dough and let it rise for about 8-12 hours.
- Once it's risen it should have increased greatly in size and be puffy to the touch.
- Turn your dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and gently flatten with your hands. Create a circle then roll it out with a rolling pin until it's about 1/2 inch thick. I also like to lift it up and stretch it out with my hands a bit after the initial rolling process.
- Place your pizza dough in a lightly greased 10" cast iron skillet. If it begins to spring back into a smaller circle just gently stetch it out to fit the skillet.
- You can lightly oil the top of your crust as well for a golden finish. For a perfectly cooked crust I like to pre-bake it at 450°F for about 10 minutes, then pull it out and top with your pizza toppings. Then bake for another 10 minutes or until your cheese is perfectly melted. If you're in a pinch, pre-baking is not necessary (but it does ensure your cheese doesn't burn before your crust becomes golden). If you decide not to pre-bake, just lightly oil the top of pizza your dough, spoon on your sauce, cheese, and additional preferred toppings and bake at 450℉ for 10-20 minutes or until crust is golden and toppings are cooked. *I like to use a spatula to gently lift my crust after 10 minutes to assess how crisp it's getting.
Video
Notes
- For a detailed guide on timing your rise, read the blog post.
- Notes on Nutrition: I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition facts provided are not always 100% accurate and are calculated using an automatic generator using general brands and estimates. If you need exact nutrition facts, please consult a certified dietician or nutritionist.
