Sourdough Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

An incredibly delicious sausage and mushroom pizza with a sourdough crust slathered in a creamy white sauce. This pizza is the ultimate homemade pizza for a movie at home.

Make Pizza With Us

For the longest time in our home, I would try to make Fridays special in some way. After all, Fridays do have a unique feel since they mark the end of the work or school week. In our home we love a pizza night and if this coincides with an old movie, even better. Combining all three I think is something we can all appreciate. Our take on movie night is old movies and when I say old, I mean the days of James Stewart and beautiful Grace Kelly on the screen. When life seemed simpler and glamour was at an all time high. Some of our favorites include, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and Rope to name but a few.

Back to the real reason you came here, a darn good pizza recipe. One of the good things about the sourdough base of this pizza is how simple it is to throw together the night before or even earlier in the day. But you can also opt to use a yeast dough or even store-bought dough should you forget to prep your dough in advance. Whichever type of crust you use, this is next level pizza and a family favorite.

To get a nice crispy crust we will be doing what is called par baking. This technique will yield the very best results from a home oven and especially when using my sourdough pizza dough recipe. There is no need for a pizza peel or a preheated stone, as a baking sheet works nicely for this homemade pizza. 

This Sourdough Pizza Is…

• The best sourdough pizza recipe.
• The perfect pizza for a movie night or a fun Friday night dinner.
• Made with an active sourdough starter that goes through the fermentation process for its dough rise.
• Slathered with a creamy pizza sauce and a hearty sausage mixture.
• Easily made without a pizza stone or baking steel.

Ingredients

Sourdough Crust- to make my sourdough pizza dough recipe you will need an active sourdough starter, and bread flour or all-purpose flour.

Sausage- I like to use mild Italian sausage for this but if you like it spicy you can opt to use hot Italian sausage. You can also use turkey sausage if that suites your needs.

Mushrooms- I like to use button mushrooms or baby Bella mushrooms. You can opt to use a mixture or all of one type if you like.

Cheese- Standard shredded mozzarella cheese works best over fresh mozzarella for this.

Milk- I like to use whole milk or 2% for the best results.

Herbs- fresh oregano gives this pizza the most delicious herb flavor. Use fresh oregano over dried if you can as it does make a difference.

Flour- I use a blend of King Arthur all-purpose flour and bread flour. Bread flour is used to help create a nice crispy pizza base and all-purpose helps to thicken the béchamel sauce. On the sourdough pizza base, you can use all-purpose if you’d like and it will yield similar results.

Seasoning- I like to use sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper but standard salt and pepper is fine too. Just make sure if using standard table salt, to use a little less than the recipe at first and add more as needed since table salt is a little more salty than sea salt. Nutmeg is also added to help flavor the béchamel sauce.

Butter- I use salted butter but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.

Tools

Baking Sheet or Pizza Stone

Pizza Cutter

Bench Scraper

Directions

Mix and bulk ferment the pizza dough (as directed in the recipe). When ready, punch down the dough. Oil a baking sheet and flip the dough directly on top. Press your hands into the dough to stretch it the edges of the pan and dimple the dough with your fingertips. Par bake the sourdough pizza dough (as directed in the recipe). 

Brown the sausage in a skillet. Add the mushrooms and allow them to cook all the way. Add a little of the oregano but save the remaining oregano for topping the pizza. Strain the excess grease from the mushroom and sausage mixture. Set aside.

For the Béchamel  Sauce: In a sauce pan heat the butter until melted. Sprinkle over the flour. Mix it in with a whisk and then slowly pour in half the milk. Allow it to thicken before pouring in more. Whisk consistently until the cream sauce has thickened then add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Remove the par baked pizza crust from the oven when lightly golden brown (about 12-15 minutes). Make sure to use a heat safe glove and be careful. Spread the base with the béchamel sauce leaving about 1/2 inch from the edges. Evenly top with the sausage and mushroom mixture. Top the pizza with the cheese and sprinkle the chopped oregano evenly over.

Pop the pizza back into the oven to bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

• You can opt to use a store bought crust over a sourdough pizza crust or even a pizza crust made with yeast.
• Make sure to start this recipe either the night before or the morning you are wanting to bake it to ensure enough time for the bulk fermentation time needed for the dough to rise properly.
• When making the béchamel, it is important to add the milk slowly to the roux so that it thickens gradually. If your béchamel sauce is too thick you can heat is on low and whisk in a little more milk until it is a night creamy consistency.
• Baking the pizza at a high heat prior to topping allows for a crispier crust. 

How To Store

A great way to store any leftover pizza is an airtight container or by covering tightly with plastic wrap. You can also place the pizza slices into a plastic bag with a zip top. Allow the pizza to come to room temperature before storing. Leftover pizza should be stored in the fridge and is easy to reheat in a toaster oven or regular oven. Sourdough sausage and mushroom pizza is good for up to 3 days when stored properly.

FAQ’s

Can I use turkey sausage instead?

Absolutely! Mild Italian turkey sausage is a great substitute for the pork sausage in the recipe. 

What to do if my béchamel is too thick?

If your béchamel sits for a little bit and thickens, reheat it and add a little milk to help thin it out. Add a tablespoon at time to make sure you don’t make it too thin. You want the sauce to be creamy but not thick like country gravy.

Can I make this pizza vegetarian?

Yes, many times I leave off the sausage for a vegetarian version, and it just as tasty without it. Both versions are delicious! Even meat lovers enjoy the vegetarian version of this recipe.

Can I make this with a tomato sauce instead of a white sauce?

​Yes, that works too. Keep in mind, it will completely change the flavor profile of the pizza but still yield a tasty pizza with a great flavor combination.

What herb can I use in place of oregano? 

Fresh Basil works well for this pizza or a mixture of Italian flat leaf parsley and basil together give a nice herb taste. Using fresh herbs over dried will yield a fresher taste. If using dried, remember the ratio for fresh herbs to dried herbs is 3 to 1.

This means that you will need three times the amount of fresh herbs than you would dried as dried herbs are typically more potent in flavor. So if using dried oregano, less is more, sprinkle it lightly over the assembled pizza before baking. 

Shop This Post

• Martha Stewart Baking Sheet
• Sourdough Baking Set
• Artisan Pizza Steel

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If you try this recipe and love it, I would appreciate you coming back to give it 5 stars!