Potato Flake Sourdough Pizza Dough

Potato flake sourdough pizza dough elevates your homemade pizzas to a whole new level! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a delicious pizza. It comes in countless variations, easily customizable, but it all starts with the foundation: the dough.

Making your own pizza dough might seem intimidating at first, but with the right recipe and technique, you can achieve that perfect balance of crispy, chewy, and flavorful crust. It’s taken months to perfect this recipe.

Not that my family complained about taste testing all of my homemade pizza, but the night we all dove into the pizza I made with this dough, we knew I had finally perfected the most mouth watering recipe.

WHY USE A POTATO FLAKE STARTER?

If you’ve checked out any other recipes on the blog, you probably have noticed how much I love to make bread with my potato flake starer.

It’s a great way to know what type of ingredients are going into your food. It naturally rises bread and makes it easier for your body to digest and absorb the nutrients.

Once you get the hang of it, it’s so easy to maintain. Keeping a potato flake starter in your kitchen will change the way you feel about bread, and how you feel when you eat it!

If you are curious about making your own starter, I have another post that will tell you all about how to make one!

If you want a potato flake starter, but don’t want to make it yourself, check out my etsy listing where I sell portions of my live potato flake starter!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Tools you will need:

Stand mixer or Large bowl

Measuing cups and spoons

Parchment paper

Pizza Stone (not absolutely necessary, but it makes a difference in the crust)

Pizza Cutter

Large cutting board or pizza peel

Ingredients:

Before we dive into the recipe, let’s understand the key ingredients that go into making pizza dough:

Bread Flour: It’s best to use a high-protein bread flour because of its gluten content, which gives the dough its elasticity and chewiness. However, all-purpose flour can also be used if bread flour is not available.

Water: Use lukewarm water to help your starter stay happy. Don’t use hot water! It will kill your starter.

Potato Flake Starter: Use an active starter that has been fed in the last 14 hours.

Salt: Enhances the flavor of the dough and helps control the fermentation process.

Olive Oil: Adds richness and flavor to the dough while also contributing to its texture

How to make pizza dough using a potato flake starter:

Now that we’ve covered the basics of what you need and why, let’s dive into how to make the best pizza dough with your potato flake starter!

In your stand mixer, add all of the ingredients into your bowl. Add only about 3/4 cup of the water at first. As the dough comes together add a more water, a little bit at a time until you have a dough that pulls from the sides, but is sticking to the bottom.

Depending on the time of year, and humidity, you may not need all of the water, or may need a bit more.

This is a high hydration dough, therefor it will be a bit sticky.

Once the dough has pulled from the sides, turn off the mixer. Scrape the dough off of the hook and shape into somewhat of a ball shape. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.

Let the dough rise until doubled. This process can be sped up by placing in a warm spot. A great place is an oven that is turned off, with only the light on. This can take anywhere from 6-10 hours.

I mixed my dough around 9am and placed in my warm oven. It was doubled by 4:00 pm and ready to shape.

Shaping the potato flake sourdough pizza dough

Once the dough has doubled in size, preheat your oven to 450 degrees, with your baking stone inside on the second to bottom rack.

Lightly flour your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into two portions. This will make 2 medium sized hand tossed style pizzas.

Gently shape the two portions into a ball and set one aside.

For each half, begin by pressing down the dough from the center, working outwards. Leaving a bit of the dough higher around the edges for a nice crust. Press and stretch until it starts to spring back. At this point move over to the other dough ball and repeat the same process.

Now that the first dough has had time to rest, return back to it and press and stretch a bit more. Transfer it to a piece of parchment. Return to the piece of dough and press and stretch it more. Now, transfer it to a piece of parchment paper.

Press and stretch once more after moving it to the parchment paper. Your pizzas should be about 12 inches or so wide.

Poke holes in the center part of the dough with a fork. Don’t do this on the outer crust. Doing this will help prevent larger air bubbles from forming. Be sure to get close to the crust, but not to poke holes on the crust.

Baking the potato flake sourdough pizza dough

Transfer the dough, parchment paper and all, to the preheated baking stone to par-bake for 6 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Place the second pizza dough in the oven while you prepare the one you just removed.

On your par-baked crust, add store bought or homemade pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. After the second dough is done with the par-bake, place this pizza back into the oven, without the parchment paper. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Repeat these steps for the second pizza.

Slice your pizza and enjoy your delicious meal!

Tips for Success:

• Use a pizza stone or pizza steel for the best results. Preheat it in the oven for at least 30 minutes before baking your pizza to ensure a crispy crust.
• Don’t over-knead the dough, as this can result in a tough crust. Stop kneading once the dough is pulling from the sides of the mixer bowl.
• Add the water slowly, hydration levels depend on many factors and it will not be an exact measurement for your water. It may even change from one bake to another.
• Allow the dough to rest while shaping to make the shaping process easier.

If you make this recipe and love it, I would be so thankful if you came back and left me a 5 star review! I also love to see my recipes in action…share a photo over on instagram and tag me @littletennesseehome

Pin it for later and share with a friend!

Potato Flake Sourdough Pizza Dough

Potato flake sourdough pizza dough elevates your homemade pizzas to a whole new level! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a delicious pizza. It comes in countless variations, easily customizable, but it all starts with the foundation: the dough.

5 from 3 votes

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Equipment

• Stand mixer or Large bowl
• measuring cups and spoons
• Parchment Paper
• Pizza Stone (not absolutely necessary, but it makes a difference in the crust)
• Pizza Cutter
• Large cutting board or pizza peel

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups Bread Flour
• 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups Warm Water **See notes
• 1/2 cup active Potato Flake Starter
• 1 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Instructions

 

• In your stand mixer, add all of the ingredients into your bowl. Add only about 3/4 cup of the water at first. As the dough comes together add a more water, a little bit at a time until you have a dough that pulls from the sides, but is sticking to the bottom.
• Once the dough has pulled from the sides, turn off the mixer. Scrape the dough off of the hook and shape into somewhat of a ball shape. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
• Let the dough rise until doubled. This can take anywhere from 6-10 hours.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, preheat your oven to 450 degrees, with your baking stone inside on the second to bottom rack.
• Lightly flour your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into two portions. This will make 2 medium sized hand tossed style pizzas.
• Gently shape the two portions into a ball and set one aside.
• For each half, begin by pressing down the dough from the center, working outwards. Leaving a bit of the dough higher around the edges for a nice crust. Press and stretch until it starts to spring back. At this point move over to the other dough ball and repeat the same process.
• Now that the first dough has had time to rest, return back to it and press and stretch a bit more. Transfer it to a piece of parchment. Return to the piece of dough and press and stretch it more. Now, transfer it to a piece of parchment paper.
• Press and stretch once more after moving it to the parchment paper. Your pizzas should be about 12 inches or so wide.
• Poke holes in the center part of the dough with a fork. Doing this will help prevent larger air bubbles from forming. Be sure to get close to the crust, but not to poke holes on the crust.
• Transfer the dough, parchment paper and all, to the preheated baking stone to par-bake for 6 minutes.
• Remove from the oven. Place the second pizza dough in the oven while you prepare the one you just removed.
• On your par-baked crust, add store bought or homemade pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. After the second dough is done with the par-bake, place this pizza back into the oven, without the parchment paper. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.
• Repeat these steps for the second pizza.
• Slice your pizza and enjoy your delicious meal!

Notes

• Be sure to read the full post for in depth directions.
• **My dough usually comes together with about 1 cup + 1 tablespoon of warm water, but it all depends on location, weather, and flour. Always begin with the lesser amount and add more as needed. If it is summer, or if you live in a humid environment, you will tend to need less. If it is winter or you live in a dry climate you will tend to need more. If spring or fall, or if your house is climate controlled, you will need somewhere in between.
• Use a pizza stone or pizza steel for the best results. Preheat it in the oven for at least 30 minutes before baking your pizza to ensure a crispy crust.
• Don’t over-knead the dough, as this can result in a tough crust. Stop kneading once the dough is pulling from the sides of the mixer bowl.
• Add the water slowly, hydration levels depend on many factors and it will not be an exact measurement for your water. It may even change from one bake to another.
• Allow the dough to rest while shaping to make the shaping process easier.