My master recipe sourdough pizza…

A close up of some pizza slices on a plate

This recipe uses the dough created using my master recipe process and then using it to create the pizza of your choice; the dough can be made up of the flour/s of your choice to create different flavours & textures…

A piece of pizza is being cut into slices.

The outcome being a lovely textured, holey, tasty pizza base!

The key is how to manage and store the overnight dough ready for when you want your pizzas. I have got 2 methods below, each designed to make it simple to fit the dough in with your timings, and not the other way round!

A close up of the crust on a pizza.

Method 1.

The morning after the overnight prove, you will hopefully have a lovely big bowl of bubbly dough; if it is escaping the bowl, gently do a single set of pulls and folds, just go once round the bowl, to pull it loosely together, re-cover it, and place it in the fridge. If the dough hasn’t reached the top of the bowl already, just place it in the fridge to bring the activity to a halt until you want to use it.

When you know when you want your pizzas to be ready for, remove the dough from the fridge an hour or so beforehand and let it warm up a bit.

Cover your work surface with water, flour or olive oil, I use water.

Turn the dough out from the bowl onto your surface and cut into portions, 2, 4 or 6, depending how big you would like your pizzas to be.

Let it sit for 10 minutes.

**I use a foil lined baking tray to cook my pizzas, liberally drizzled with olive oil (I like the crust it generates when baked). However, you may prefer using semolina, polenta/corn meal, flour, whatever your choice under the dough, directly onto your baking tray or baking implement of your choice. If you’re using a pizza stone, prepare the dough on a board or tray ready to be able to move it across to your stone as you usually do.

After 10 minutes place the dough on your chosen bakeware, and start to gently use your finger tips to push the dough out into a thinner rounder shape, or shape of your choice. You will need to let it sit for a few minutes and then do it again as the dough will bounce back.

Preheat the oven to 220C fan/240 non fan/460F.

Give your dough one final push out, spread with sauce of your choice and toppings of your choice, and bake for 12-15 minutes until the base is cooked and the cheese is bubbling.

Enjoy!

A collage of four different pictures with food.

Method 2.

In the morning you will hopefully have a lovely big bowl of dough. Cover your work surface in flour, water or oil, and turn the dough out onto the surface. I use water at this point.

Prepare your baking tray, I drizzle olive oil over my foil lined tray as stated above.

Portion the dough into 2, 4 or 6 pieces.

Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Place the pieces onto your prepared baking tray and use your fingers tips to push it gently out into a round; it will want to bounce back so let it set for a while and do it again.

Once you’ve got it pushed out to the thinness and size that you want, cover the whole tray with a large plastic bag, or place cling film over the dough, and put the whole tray in the fridge.

It can now sit in there until you want to use it, I’ve let mine sit in the fridge all day in the past.

**The top 2 photos in the collage below show the dough before and after being in the fridge. As you can see, the dough continued to work in the cold – my SuperStar in action!

You can now use this dough directly from the fridge, you don’t need to let it warm up or come to room temperature, you can just add your toppings and bake.

If you’re more comfortable letting it come to room temperature before baking you can do that too.

Preheat the oven to 220C fan/240 non fan/460F, and bake for 12-15 minutes until the base is cooked and the cheese is bubbling.

Four different pictures of pizza dough and cheese.

Enjoy!

A close up of some pizza slices on a plateA close up of some pizza on top of a blue surface

Beautiful blistered base, and it tastes SOOOO good!

A piece of pizza is being cut into slices.

And a view of the cooked base…

A close up of some kind of food

I love the crust that the olive oil creates, added to the soft interior.

A pizza sitting on top of a blue plate.A close up of some pizza on top of a blue surface

I hope you like my method and find it useful, and user & life friendly. For more pizza recipes and more, check out my book, The Sourdough Whisperer.

46 thoughts on “My master recipe sourdough pizza…”

  5. Hi Elaine – your pizza looks fantastic with that sourdough crust. I’ve never seen (not in my kitchen anyways) such beautiful dough with so many bubbles that are even ready to pop! You’re obviously having great success and I will have to start out with your master recipe and make one of my favorite comfort foods – this pizza 🙂

  6. Thank you so much, thank you for popping over the check it out, I hope you’re well xxxx

  7. I’m doing fine – thanks for asking. How about you? I’m still using Rosebud (daughter of Twinkle) just not so often. Your recipe is not like any of the sourdough recipes (which are many) that I have made. A definite inspiration to revive my starter.

  9. It looks yummi 😋😋
    I love pizza, thanks for sharing this recipe and everything else you gently do. I’ll absolutely try😍😍

  11. Lindas massas de pizzas
    Gostaria de saber a fórmula da massa. A técnica entendi bem.

  12. Thank you 🙏🏻
    There is a link to the master recipe for the dough at the start of the post…

  16. Elaine, you have truly mastered the sourdough! I cannot say how much I wish I could have a bite of that pizza! Ok, maybe a whole pizza, lol!

    Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday this week!

    Mollie

  20. Thank you xx if it’s sluggish there could be several reasons, I’m happy to help if you’d like me to?

  21. Hi Elaine.. My son requested that I make your master recipe for Pizza. He asked if the dough could be frozen. Any ideas and any steps you may have is most welcome. He said he would like to use his grill to make the pizza. Thanks for your time and wonderful sourdough recipe.

  22. Hi, thank you 🌸🌸🌸
    I haven’t tried it myself, but I would consider splitting the dough into portions and freezing it. Once defrosted then I would allow it to prove again for an hour before shaping for the bases. How does that sound?

  25. Pizzas look amazing !
    How many 12 inch Pizzas would you get from 1 master recipe ?
    We are 7 adults , so do I need to double up ?
    Thanks

  28. Please follow my master recipe for the dough details

  29. Hi. Do you have any advice for freezing pizza dough? I live alone so only need one pizza at a time.

  30. You could either freeze it once you’ve shaped into a base, or par bake the base and freeze that?

  31. Hi. Thanks again for the best loaf yet lol. I would love condensed recipe cards on here, if i click the print button by the shares, it’s 18 pages! 🙁 A lot of sites do recipe cards.

  32. You should make your recipes printable. I dunno why they wouldn’t be.

  34. Hi, Hope you are doing good. Elaine thanks for all recipes. I have tried your recipe many times and everyone loves it. My causin lives alone and she wants me to make pizza vase and give her so it becomes easy for her.
    In the morning I ha e big bubbly bowl of dough after that I need your help and tips on what steps should I follow and what temperature and how much time should I bake the base for.
    Thank you so much🙏🏻❤️

  35. Hi, thank you so much 🙏🏻
    You could follow the whole process then just bake the base blind for 10-15 mins to be able to give it to her like that? Might be best to do a trail run?

  38. Hi Elaine, How long could you leave this in the fridge for? Trying to work out if it would last until the next evening?. Also, any changes to make if you are using 00 flour?

  39. Hi, no changes with 00 flour and using it in the evening after you’ve made it would be fine, as in 8-10 hours later. Is that what you mean?

  40. These were just fabulous and I am making to night again 😍😍 please can I ask, if making as party of a dinner party buffet. How long will they last cooked at room temperature?

  41. Great news, thank you 🥰🥰 how long do you need them to last?

  42. Hi, are the pizza and focaccia recipes in both of your cookbooks? I love your sourdough bread recipe! After MANY failed attempts, yours was the only one that worked for me. I live in Costa Rica, which probably explains the problems I had. Your recipe and notes on heat and humidity saved my baking, I was ready to quit. Now I want one of your cookbooks. It’s a hard decision to make! Thank you so much!

  44. I have had great success with your recipes – thank you 😍 Regarding pizza dough, could I keep it at the second (fridge) stage for more than 24 hours? I have prepared some which we were going to eat tonight but we have just been invited out, so I wonder whether it would keep until tomorrow evening? If not I might make it into bread instead.

  45. Hi, thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻
    Yes, that ‘should’ be fine 👍🏻👏🏻

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