Everyone loves a good pizza and homemade sourdough pizza is even better. It requires a little advance planning, but the flavor developed from the slow fermentation is well worth it! This recipe makes two personal-sized pizzas and is easily doubled.
INGREDIENTS:
50 grams active sourdough starter
350 grams of 00 Pizza Flour or Bread Flour
10 grams sea salt
245 grams water (filtered or de-chlorinated)
DAY ONE
In a large bowl, mix the active (ie, fed within the last 6-8 hours) sourdough starter into the water. Once mostly dissolved, mix in the flours and sea salt. Stir until incorporated and scrape the sides of the bowl clean and cover with a moist towel. Leave to rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, perform a set of four stretch and folds gently stretching the dough up from the sides and folding it on top of itself, careful not to tear the dough. Do this again one more time after another 30 minutes rest and then leave the dough undisturbed at room temperature for 4 more hours with a moist cloth on top.
Pour about 1-2 tbsp of olive oil into the bowl on top of the dough so there's just enough to coat it entirely. Rotate the ball of dough around the olive oil until it's coated. Cover with a moist towel and place the bowl of dough in the fridge for 12-14 hours overnight.
DAY TWO
The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and place it onto a well floured surface. Split it into two equal portions. Take each portion and working one at a time, slightly flatten them out into a square-ish shape. With the dough in one hand or resting on your surface, use your other hand to fold the corners into the center creating a ball. Flip the dough ball over with the seam down onto your un-floured work surface.
Gently cup the dough and rotate your hands in a circular motion, pulling the dough towards you. Take advantage of the drag from the dough sticking to your work surface. This helps to create tension in the outer layer of the dough, tightening and shaping the dough into a boule (the French term for ball). Repeat this process until a smooth boule is formed and the dough is taut. Place the dough into a well oiled deep baking dish or pan. Repeat with the other ball of dough. Cover the dough with another inverted sheet tray (so the dough doesn't touch) to keep the moisture in and avoid a skin from forming. Leave out for 6 hours at room temperature to proof.
30 minutes before you're ready to start preparing your pizza, place the dough in the fridge (chilled dough is easier to work with) and preheat your oven to 500 F with a pizza stone or baking steel if you have one. Take one of your chilled dough balls and place it on a lightly floured surface. Slowly, starting from the center, coax it out into a large round shape. As the dough resists, take a break for 1-2 minutes in between stretching.
Transfer your formed pizza dough onto a parchment paper-lined, or semolina -dusted pizza peel (or use the back side of a sheet tray). Add toppings to your desire and then transfer the pizza to your pre-heated pizza stone in the oven. Cook for 8-12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until blisters start to form and the crust is browning. Remove and cool on a rack for a few minutes before enjoying.
See our step by step instructions listed above in our Instagram Stories.
Recipe inspired by Joshua Weissman, photo by Julia Street.
TIPS
Here are some bonus tips to help you achieve an even better crust and topping suggestions
- Lightly mist the crust of your pizza with water from a spray bottle when first placing it into your hot oven to create a steamy environment.
- Once the pizza is done, brush the crust with olive oil.
- Favorite toppings: make your own cultured cream and use that as the base of one of your pizzas, add preserved lemons and harissa together for a nice Middle Eastern flare, or try adding onion jam with other savory toppings for a flavor explosion.
