Sourdough pizza is forgiving once you know what to watch for, but a few common missteps trip up a lot of home bakers. Here's how to avoid them.
Skipping the rest after thawing
Cold dough straight from the fridge is tight and resists stretching, which leads to tearing or an uneven shape. Let thawed dough sit at room temperature for 30–60 minutes before you try to shape it — it makes a bigger difference than most people expect.
Using a rolling pin
A rolling pin presses out the air bubbles that developed during fermentation, which flattens out the texture you were fermenting for in the first place. Stretch by hand instead, working from the center outward.
Not preheating the baking surface long enough
A pizza stone or steel needs real time to fully heat through — 30 to 45 minutes at high heat isn't excessive, it's necessary. Sliding a pizza onto a surface that looks hot but isn't fully heated is one of the most common reasons for a pale, soft bottom crust.
Overloading the toppings
Too many toppings, especially wet ones, add moisture that the crust has to fight against while baking, often resulting in a soggy center. Keep toppings balanced and add anything watery — fresh tomatoes, certain cheeses — a little more sparingly than you might with a thicker, commercial-yeast crust.
Baking at too low a temperature
Sourdough pizza wants high heat. If your oven tops out well below what a pizzeria oven reaches, get it as hot as it will go and use a preheated stone or steel to make up the difference as much as possible.