Free Sourdough pizza dough recipe — exact amounts, any number of pizzas
Sourdough pizza dough uses a natural starter — about 5%% of the flour weight — typically at 65%% hydration with ~270 g dough balls and a long, cool ferment.
Sourdough pizza swaps commercial yeast for a natural sourdough starter, giving a more digestible crust with deeper, gently tangy flavour and a beautifully open crumb. This calculator works out the flour, water, salt and starter you need, scaled to any number of pizzas.
A good starting point is around 5% starter relative to the flour at 65% hydration, with 270g dough balls. A stiffer starter (around 50–60% hydration) keeps the dough less sour and fluffier while still driving a strong rise. Because natural leavening works slowly, sourdough pizza rewards patience — and a long, cool ferment.
Mix, then let the dough bulk-ferment until visibly risen and airy (this can take several hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge), shape into balls, and let them proof before baking as hot as your oven allows. The Bread Code has a whole library of free sourdough resources and a book if you want to go deeper on the science behind it.
Around 5% of the flour weight is a reliable default. More starter ferments faster (good if you're short on time); less starter ferments slower and develops more flavour over a long, cool rise.
Neither is strictly better. Yeast is fast and predictable; sourdough is slower but gives more flavour, a more digestible crust, and a lovely open crumb. Many bakers prefer sourdough once they're set up for it.
Yes — a cold ferment of 24–72 hours in the fridge is one of the best ways to build flavour and fit sourdough pizza around your schedule. Let the dough come back to room temperature before shaping.
You can, but active, recently-fed starter gives a much better rise. If you use discard, expect a denser result or add a pinch of yeast as backup.