The Cooking of Joy: Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough

I've been making sourdough bread once a week now for the last couple of months, and I've been lamenting all the sourdough discard I've had to throw away (plus, it stinks up my trash can!). My friend Alison who originally gave me the sourdough starter also mentioned that I could find some recipes online that used sourdough discard. That gave me the idea to try to use it for pizza dough.

Since I've been using the Tartine Bread country loaf recipe, the starter I use is 100% hydration with a 50/50 mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. I basically just applied that math to the pizza dough I've been making the last few years and found that it works pretty well and even adds a little more flavor.

After making the same recipe for so many years, it's naturally migrated towards what works for me in my kitchen. To account for the addition of the sourdough discard, I reduced the amount of yeast I add to just a pinch. If you have enough time and want even more flavor, you could probably omit the additional yeast altogether. I add it for insurance, just in case the discard isn't active enough. Update: My sourdough starter is now active enough I don't add the extra yeast!

Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
makes two 8 oz. balls of pizza dough (enough for two 10" pizzas)

50 grams sourdough discard (100% hydration)
150 grams warm water (about 90-95°F)
225 grams all-purpose flour
5 grams kosher salt
A pinch of yeast (optional, use if your starter discard isn't very active)
Olive oil

Mix the sourdough discard and warm water together in a medium mixing bowl. Add the flour and mix until there are no dried bits left. Cover and let sit 20-30 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt and yeast over the dough. Wet one of your hands thoroughly with warm water and use it to knead the salt into the dough until you can't feel it anymore. Refer to my original pizza dough post for the fold and pinch method. You should rewet your hands a few times during this process to keep the dough from sticking to you and to help the salt dissolve. Cover and let rest.

After 30-60 minutes, apply a fold to help develop the gluten. During the last fold I dribble some olive oil into the bottom of the bowl and then flip the dough over so the seam is on the bottom and the top (which used to be on the bottom) is coated with oil. Cover and let rest until the dough has doubled in volume, around 6 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen and how active the sourdough discard is.

Prepare 2 sandwich bags by folding the tops over and adding a little olive oil to each. Flour your work surface and transfer the dough onto it. Flour a knife or scraper and divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball. Transfer to the bags, seal, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 2 days. You can also freeze the dough until ready to use; just thaw it in the fridge overnight the day before you want pizza.