I imagine the title raises many questions. What is sourdough discard? Where can you get it? Leavened with baking soda? Really? Let me explain everything!
This sourdough discard pizza dough is perfect for dinner because it only takes 10 minutes to prepare. Thanks to the baking soda, there’s no need to wait for the dough to rise, and sourdough lovers can use their discard if they wish. While I love thin-crust pizzas, this recipe makes a rich, thick-crust pizza.
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Pizza Without Sourdough Discard
For this recipe, you don’t necessarily need sourdough discard! However, this recipe is a great way to use up your discard if you bake sourdough bread and have an excess starter. Below, I’ll explain how to make this pizza dough without sourdough discard.
Sourdough discard consists of two components: water and flour. There should be equal parts water and flour in the sourdough starter. So, if the recipe calls for 200g of sourdough discard, simply replace it with 100g of water and 100g of flour. Note that you need to add something acidic to the dough, like lemon juice or a splash of vinegar, so the baking soda reacts. Alternatively, you can use baking powder. Read more about sourdough here.
Dough Consistency
This is a relatively wet pizza dough. After mixing the ingredients, you pour the dough directly from the bowl onto the baking sheet. Therefore, you won’t need a rolling pin or a large work surface to make dough balls. It’s very easy to mix by hand, but you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook if you prefer.
Leavening with Baking Soda
In this recipe, we don’t use commercial yeast or homemade sourdough starter to leaven the pizza dough. Since I wanted to be able to make pizza spontaneously without waiting for the dough to rise, I decided to use baking soda instead, and the result was excellent. The pizza crust has pleasant air bubbles and it won’t have a hard or chewy texture.
Pizza Sauce
I recommend making your own tomato sauce. It’s so quick and easy that I see no reason to buy it from the store. Homemade tomato sauce is healthier since it doesn’t contain additives, and you can choose which seasonings to use.
FAQ
What is sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard is an unfed, inactive sourdough starter. You can read more about it here.
Do I have to use sourdough discard?
As mentioned earlier, using sourdough discard is not necessary. However, it tends to accumulate in the fridge, and this is a good way to use it.
Does sourdough discard give a tangy flavor?
No, it doesn’t. In this recipe, there’s just enough sourdough discard to avoid adding a sourdough flavor.
Can I use an active sourdough starter?
Yes, you can use an active sourdough starter as well, it won’t harm the recipe.
What should I bake the pizza on?
I’ve used both a baking sheet and a skillet. For example, a stainless-steel or cast-iron skillet works great.
Ingredients
Check the recipe card below the post for ingredient quantities and nutritional value.
White flour (both, all-purpose flour and bread flour work well)
Olive oil
Tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
Salt
Water
Baking soda (or baking powder)
Sourdough discard (or another acid to react with the baking soda)
Oregano (or other pizza seasoning)
Favorite toppings: Olives, pineapple (our family loves pineapple on pizza), fresh basil, fresh arugula, salami, ham, bacon, blue cheese, ground beef, mozzarella cheese, etc.
Instructions
Read the ideas and tips at the end of the post for essential information!
- Start by making the tomato sauce. Cut the tomatoes into quarters (they don’t need to be perfect) and place them in a pan. There’s no need to peel the tomatoes.
- Add salt right away to draw out the water from the tomatoes, and if necessary, add a little bit of water to prevent burning. Cover the pan and simmer the tomatoes for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the tomatoes are soft and have a sauce-like consistency, remove the pan from the heat.
- If you add water and the sauce is too thin, let it simmer uncovered for a while to evaporate the excess water.
- While the tomato sauce is cooking, start preparing the dough. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl: flour, water, sourdough discard, salt, and baking soda. The dough will start to bubble immediately, but that’s okay. There’s no need to knead the dough; just mix it until it’s a uniform mass.
- Grease the baking sheet with oil. There’s no need for parchment paper if the baking sheet is greased.
- Pour the dough onto the baking sheet and gently spread it with your fingers. Choose whether you want a round or rectangular pizza. Add a bit of oil to the top of the dough so it doesn’t stick to your fingers and is easier to spread.
- Now, spoon the tomato sauce onto the pizza. Be careful, as the sauce is hot!
- Lastly, add your preferred pizza toppings in any order you like.
- Bake the pizza at 200°C (about 400°F) for 20-30 minutes. The baking time depends slightly on the size of the pizza. The pizza will rise significantly during baking.
Ideas and Tips
- Start by preparing the tomato sauce. Even though making tomato sauce is simple, I recommend doing it first because preparing the pizza crust is also very quick, and this way, you won’t have any waiting time.
- Pour the dough onto the baking sheet so that the crust is about 1 cm thick. If the crust is too thin, it won’t rise well and won’t have a pleasant texture.
- If you use fresh herbs on your pizza (like basil or arugula), add them only at the end of baking; otherwise, they will dry out and lose their flavor.
- I hope you enjoy this recipe and find it useful in the future. For me, homemade pizza is always a good choice, especially on busy evenings when it requires minimal effort.
Quick Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough (with Baking Soda)
This sourdough discard pizza dough is perfect for dinner because it only takes 10 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
- 400g of flour
- 260g of water
- 200g of sourdough starter
- 8g (1.5 tsp) of salt
- 2 tsp of baking soda
- Olive oil
- Oregano (or other pizza seasoning)
- Preferred toppings
Instructions
- Read the ideas and tips at the end of the post for essential information!
- Start by making the tomato sauce. Cut the tomatoes into quarters (they don’t need to be perfect) and place them in a pan. There’s no need to peel the tomatoes.
- Add salt right away to draw out the water from the tomatoes, and if necessary, add a little bit of water to prevent burning. Cover the pan and simmer the tomatoes for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the tomatoes are soft and have a sauce-like consistency, remove the pan from the heat.
- If you added water and the sauce is too thin, let it simmer uncovered for a while to evaporate the excess water.
- While the tomato sauce is cooking, start preparing the dough. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl: flour, water, sourdough discard, salt, and baking soda. The dough will start to bubble immediately, but that’s okay. There’s no need to knead the dough; just mix it until it’s a uniform mass.
- Grease the baking sheet with oil. There’s no need for parchment paper if the baking sheet is greased.
- Pour the dough onto the baking sheet and gently spread it with your fingers. Choose whether you want a round or rectangular pizza. Add a bit of oil to the top of the dough so it doesn’t stick to your fingers and is easier to spread.
- Now, spoon the tomato sauce onto the pizza. Be careful, as the sauce is hot!
- Lastly, add your preferred pizza toppings in any order you like.
- Bake the pizza at 200°C (about 400°F) for 20-30 minutes. The baking time depends slightly on the size of the pizza. The pizza will rise significantly during baking.
