Unlike other discard pizza doughs, which are fluffier and have a breadlike consistency, this is a crispier and thinner version with no yeast or kneading required! If you love thin-crust pizza, this is right up your alley. This is a recipe for the dough, but we have essential tips on the toppings, etc., to ensure a good, crispy pizza.
Ingredients in discard pizza dough
All you need to make discard pizza dough is sourdough discard–you don’t have to wait for the dough to rise or anything; it’s that easy. I recommend adding a little neutral oil to the pan to prevent sticking and sprinkling a little kosher salt on the discard for seasoning, but it’s really simple. For a 12-inch cast-iron pan, I use about ½ cups of discard and spread it evenly around the pan. Since discard pizza dough is literally a thin cracker crust, you don’t want to add too many toppings, as this might make the dough soggy or break the crust.
Best pan to use for discard pizza dough
The best pan to use for discard pizza dough is a cast-iron that’s preheated in the oven. We preheat it for about 20 minutes to ensure it hits temperature, which you can easily verify with a laser thermometer. Cast iron is helpful because it’s sturdy enough to bake in the oven at high temperatures like 425 °F, which we need for this recipe. Cast-iron pans retain a lot of heat and will help keep the crust cooking after we add the dough and throughout the entire baking duration.
Tips for making discard pizza
Making discard pizza is pretty simple, but it is important to keep some tips in mind when making yours at home:
Use a cast-iron pan for extra crispy crust and preheat the pan in the oven for at least 10 minutes before adding the discard on top. Prebake the dough BEFORE adding the toppings. Since we’re only using discard for the pizza dough, it’s super liquidy and needs to form before adding the toppings. This will also help keep the crust crispy after you put the topping on it.
After baking the discard pizza dough for 10 minutes in a traditional oven at 425 °F, use a fish turner or spatula to separate the crust from the pan carefully if needed. Our cast iron pan is well seasoned so it didn’t stick, but this is just in case yours sticks! This will ensure easier transferring after it’s done. Don’t add too much topping if you want to keep the pizza’s structure and crispiness. We narrowed this down to about two tablespoons of sauce, ½ cups of shredded cheese, and a very light assortment of other toppings.
What else you can make with sourdough discard
Making a pizza crust from sourdough discard is just the beginning. To reduce the waste on sourdough discard, try other recipes like sourdough discard pancakes, discard waffles, and discard crackers (my favorite new addiction).
