Name: No-Knead Sourdough Pizza (Sheet Pan Method)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 14 h 30 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Sourdough Starter - 25 grams; Water - 25 grams; Bread Flour - 25 grams; Bread Flour - 475 grams; Water - 350 grams; Sourdough Starter, active - 50 grams; Salt - 10 grams; Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 28 grams (2 Tbsp), for greasing the pan; San Marzano Tomatoes, hand-crushed - 190 grams (3/4 cup); Salt - 1 grams (1/4 tsp); Whole-Milk, Low-Moisture Mozzarella Cheese, shredded - 160 grams (3/4 Cup); Red Pepper Flakes - 2 grams (1 tsp), optional; Pepperoni - 70 grams (1/2 Cup); Parmesan Cheese, grated - 14 grams (1 Tbsp)

Jump to Recipe

This no-knead sourdough pizza recipe makes a not-too-thick, not-too-thin sourdough crust that you bake directly on a sheet pan. You can top the pizza with whatever ingredients you want and there’s no fancy pizza oven required.

Why This Recipe Works

Sheet pan pizzas like this one are ideal for the home oven, because you can achieve a crispy and delicious crust without using a high-temperature pizza oven.

When you take the dough from my no-knead sourdough bread recipe and stretch it thin, it makes a wonderful no-knead sourdough pizza crust! No pizza oven? No problem. Make this no-knead sourdough pizza instead. Homemade pizza like this is 10x better than take-out.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Bread Flour: I use King Arthur brand bread flour. The higher protein content in bread flour makes the pizza crust perfectly chewy.
Water: Filtered tap water or bottled spring water are ideal for this recipe.
Sourdough Starter: A standard, 100% hydration sourdough starter is required for this recipe. Stick with feeding your starter white bread flour or whole wheat flour for this recipe. Other types of non-wheat flours will change the dough too much.
Salt: Sea salt, kosher salt, or plain table salt are all fine to use.
San Marzano Tomatoes: Use the best quality canned tomatoes you can find for this homemade sauce. I use the yellow can of Cento brand tomatoes labeled as “San Marzano.”
Low-Moisture Mozzarella Cheese: Get a block of whole milk, low-moisture mozzarella cheese and then shred it yourself at home. This will give you a much better melting cheese than what you would buy pre-shredded in the bag.
Pizza Toppings: I used grated parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and pepperoni. Top your pizza with whatever you like!

Note: Check recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and quantities.

Substitutions and Additions

Use All-Purpose Flour instead of Bread Flour: You can use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour for this recipe. Make sure you reduce the quantity of water by 15 grams. This will help adjust for the lower protein content in the flour.
Use Part-Skim, Low-Moisture Mozzarella instead of Whole Milk, Low-Moisture Mozzarella: Part-skim, low-moisture mozzarella cheese is much easier to find than the whole milk version. The whole milk version melts better on the pizza, but use part-skim if that’s all you can find.

Ingredient Amounts

Sourdough Starter Feeding

Sourdough Starter – 25 grams
Water – 25 grams
Bread Flour – 25 grams

Main Dough

Bread Flour – 475 grams
Sourdough Starter, active – 50 grams
Water – 350 grams
Salt – 10 grams

Sauce and Toppings

Extra Virgin Oil – 28 grams (2 Tbsp), for greasing the sheet pan
San Marzano Tomatoes, hand-crushed – 190 grams (3/4 Cup)
Salt – 1 gram (1/4 tsp)
Whole-Milk, Low-Moisture Mozzarella Cheese, shredded – 160 grams (3/4 Cup)
Red Pepper Flakes – 2 grams (1 tsp), optional
Pepperoni – 70 grams (1/2 Cup), optional
Parmesan Cheese, grated – 14 grams (1 Tbsp)

How to Make No-Knead Sourdough Pizza (Sheet Pan Method)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Feeding the Sourdough Starter

Take 25 grams of sourdough starter out of the fridge. Add 25 grams of water and 25 grams of bread flour to the starter and stir thoroughly to combine. Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band and allow it to rise until doubled in size. This should take roughly 4-6 hours depending on the strength of your starter.

Feeding your starter to double the recipe: To double the recipe and make two pizza doughs, take 25 grams of starter out of the fridge and feed it 50 grams of water and 50 grams of bread flour. The starter will take longer to rise when using these proportions, so feed the starter at least 8-12 hours before you want to mix the dough.

Mixing the Dough

In the evening, add the water, salt, and the active sourdough starter to a mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the starter and salt into the water.
Then, add the bread flour to the mixing bowl and mix to combine. Since you won’t be kneading this dough, make sure you mix thoroughly enough to get rid of any dry bits of flour.

Bulk Fermentation (The First Rise)

Cover up the mixing bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise overnight, at room temperature, for 10-12 hours. In the morning, the dough should have doubled in size and be light and airy.

Shaping the Dough for the Pan

Grease a standard half sheet pan with around 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Then, transfer the dough onto the oiled sheet pan.
Stretch out the dough gently into a rectangular shape, trying to match the shape of the pan. Stretch the dough as far as it will go without tearing the dough. When you feel resistance, stop stretching.

Proofing (The Second Rise)

Cover up the no-knead pizza dough with one or two sheets of oiled plastic wrap (oil will keep the plastic wrap from sticking to the dough).
Let the dough rise for 2-4 hours at room temperature, or until it is roughly doubled in size and inflated.
When the dough is doubled in size, you can proceed to make the pizza right away, or you can transfer the dough into the fridge until you’re ready to make it for lunch or dinner. It can easily last for up to 24 hours in the fridge without over proofing.

Topping and Baking the No-Knead Sourdough Pizza

Preheat your oven to 450ºF (232ºC) at least 30 minutes before you’re ready to bake.
Uncover the pizza dough and dip your fingers into the olive oil.
Stretch out the dough into the four corners of the sheet pan.
Dimple your fingers all over the dough, pressing down until you can feel the bottom of the pan. Continue stretching the dough to the edges of the pan with your fingers, repairing any holes that make rip in the dough along the way.

When a hole rips in the dough: If you accidentally rip a hole in the dough, just stretch a piece of dough right next to the hole upward and then press it down on top of the hole to seal it. This dough is very forgiving and sealing holes like this works out fine.

Top the stretched dough with the crushed San Marzano tomatoes, salt, shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes (or other herbs), and pepperoni (or other toppings).
Bake in the center rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes at 450ºF (232ºC).

Yield: 1 large pizza