After a break last week, I’m back with more of my sourdough series and this is easily my favorite way to use my sourdough starter. I don't know about you all, but for me, good pizza is all about having a good crust. I know that there is something to be said about good toppings, but this crust is so good I’m convinced you can put marinara, cheese and pepperoni on top and it would still be divine. That’s a true testament to how good this recipe really is.
I’m having a hard time conceptualizing how one, as a human being, doesn’t like sourdough or pizza? (Dietary restrictions aside.) They’re truly God's only gifts to this green Earth—I live and breathe so that I can eat pizza and sourdough. (Well, maybe that’s a little too dramatic, but I really love these foods.) Now, I’ve found a way to combine them so I no longer have to choose between the two. Heaven is real, y’all, and it comes in the form of sourdough pizza.
Although this is not Chloe’s favorite food like it is mine, she did tell me she was impressed by my crust. It was thin and it had a lot of chew while still being light and springy—just as good pizza crust should be. So after she gave it a few licks, Chloe graced this pizza recipe with a 10/10! Not too shabby.
Chloe wasn’t the only one who was diggin’ the pizza crust because my dad, who is quite the pizza aficionado, was very complimentary. In some circles (those circles being our friends and family) he’s known as the king of homemade pizza, but I think I gave him a good run for his money. In fact, after a couple glasses of wine, the king of pizza himself told me he was jealous of my crust. Jealous? Of my crust? Amazing! You all have to try it and here’s how you can get a pizza this delicious recipe! (I am cringing at that one too, but just bear with me.)
Lastly, I wanted to give credit where credit is due and tell you that I did not develop this recipe. I've borrowed this from Joshua Weissman and if you want to watch him make this you can check out his video here!
Notes
Pizza Toppings
You can put anything you want on these bad boys! This recipe makes enough for four small-ish sized pizzas (they’re basically the size of a personal pizza) so there’s a lot of opportunity to get creative. I made a margarita pizza for myself and a few other creations that were courtesy of my dad and what was in the fridge, but it didn’t seem to matter what we put on the pizza because it was all delicious! In case you were curious, some of the other things we used to make our pizzas were mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, pesto, marinara sauce, sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, basil and garlic. Yummy!
To Pizza Stone or Not to Pizza Stone
I know this is an expensive tool that not everyone has, but I truly think this pizza wouldn’t have been half as good without it. It almost tasted like it was from a wood-fired oven and that is so hard to achieve at home! So if you’re as serious about pizza as my family is, I really think it’s worth the investment.
But, if you don't have one, don't fret, this pizza crust is still going to be delicious without the illustrious pizza stone. I suggest that you preheat your baking sheet in the oven at 450 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes with a little oil in the bottom of the pan before baking the pizza to ensure that the crust gets nice and crispy on the bottom.
Sourdough Pizza Dough
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes per pizza
Total Time (including rise and rest time): 21 hours, 28 minutes
Yield: 4 small, personal sized pizzas
Ingredients
655g unbleached all purpose flour
45g whole wheat flour
14g salt
98g mature sourdough starter
490g filtered water (@ 90 degrees F)
Directions for Making the Dough (and suggested dough making schedule)
4 PM Mix together the unbleached all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl combine mature sourdough starter and filtered water (that’s been warmed to 90 degrees F) until the ingredients are well combined.
Next, combine the water mixture with the flour mixture until it’s thoroughly mixed and well combined.
After the ingredients have been well combined, you’ll begin a kneading process called the rubaud method (which is a technique used to knead very wet dough). First, wet your hand and pull up the dough from the bottom of the bowl, scoop it up and slap it back down against the bowl. (This is an important step because it’s not only mixing the dough more thoroughly but developing the gluten strands. This is where the elasticity of the dough comes from so DON’T SKIP THIS STEP). Knead the dough using the rubaud method for 5-8 minutes. (You’ll likely need to take a break because this is a very intense arm workout.)
4:10 PM Allow the dough to bulk ferment for 2 hours at 78 degrees F (putting it in an off oven with the light on is the best way to achieve this).
4:40 PM Next, stretch and fold the dough. Do this by wetting your hand, reaching underneath the dough and pulling a piece of that dough up as far as it will stretch without breaking, and folding it over the top of the dough. Do this all the way around the entirety of the dough ball (about 4 stretches and folds). Then cover the dough again and place it back in your 78 degree F environment.
5:10 PM Stretch and fold the dough again using the same method. Cover the dough and put it back in your temperature controlled environment.
5:40 PM Perform a final stretch and fold. After this one, cover the dough and put it back into your temperature controlled environment. Leave the dough alone for the rest of the bulk ferment.
6:00 PM Pre-shape your dough by pulling it out of the bowl and onto an un-floured work surface. Using a bench scraper and your hands, push the sides of the dough underneath itself while twisting it clockwise to tighten the ball of dough. Work the dough gently until it’s a taught ball.
Then, lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough into it.
6:10 PM Next, cover your bowl well so no air can get in, and refrigerate your dough overnight (or for 14 hours).
8:40 AM (the next day) Carefully work the dough out of the bowl and onto an un-floured work surface. Begin shaping the individual dough balls by dividing the dough into four equal pieces (you can use a scale to do this if you want) and cut the dough using your bench scraper.
Start shaping each piece of dough by grabbing the sides up to the center and pinching them all together. Continue to pull the sides up and pinch them until it’s well sealed and you have a taught ball (be careful not to pinch the middle of the dough and ensure that you’re just pinching together the sides). Then, flip the dough over so the seam side is down, and start twisting the dough in a circle so it starts to look like a ball. Next, using your pinkies, pull the bottom of the dough in and towards you so the dough is being pulled into itself. You should feel the dough getting tighter using this method. Continue to twist and pull the dough underneath itself until you have a tidy and taught ball of dough. Repeat with all the remaining balls of dough.
8:50 AM Transfer the dough balls to a rimmed baking sheet that has been greased with olive oil. Lightly dust the tops of each dough with flour and cover it with another inverted baking sheet (or, if using plastic wrap, dust the tops with flour very well) and allow the dough to proof for 4-5 hours.
1 PM Your dough is now ready to bake with! (Or can be covered and refrigerated for 1-2 days to bake with later.)
Directions for Cooking the Pizza
Preheat your oven and pizza stone at 500-550 degrees F (as hot as your oven will physically go) and let them both preheat for 45 minutes.
Take one of your dough balls and place it on a well floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with more flour and use your fist to flatten out the center of the dough. (Essentially, you're pressing out a crust for your pizza. Ideally you want to leave ½” of crust for your pizza, but however thick or thin you’d like your crust to be is up to you).
Once you’ve gotten your crust to your liking, pick up your pizza dough and rest it on both of your fists and allow gravity to stretch your dough out further. Move your fists in a circle (the motion reminds me of turning the wheel of a car), stretching the whole dough until it’s as thin as you would like it to be. Then, place the pizza dough back down on a very well floured pizza peel and start adding your desired toppings.
Turn your oven on broil for 5 minutes before you’re ready to put the pizza in the oven. (This will superheat the stone and give you a nice, crispy crust.)
Once you’ve assembled your pizza and you’ve broiled your pizza stone, turn broil off and gently slide the pizza onto your pizza stone. Allow the pizza to cook for 5 minutes at your oven’s highest setting (500-550 degrees F).
Then, turn broil back on for 2-3 minutes and allow your pizza crust to get crispy. (You’ll know your pizza is ready to take out of the oven if the crust is dark and your pizza is sturdy enough to be held upright by a pair of tongs.)
Take your pizza out of the oven and let it cool before eating.
Repeat this process with your remaining dough and enjoy!
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These look really good. I think that I might give them a go this weekend.