Sourdough Pizza Dough
Use your sourdough starter to make this sourdough pizza dough! It's cold proved over 2 days for maximum flavour and the crusts have a soft, airy open crumb.
Servings: 4 Crusts
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Digital Food Probe
- Dough Scraper
- 4 Round Storage Pots With Lids
- Pizza Oven
Ingredients
Feeding Your Sourdough Starter
- 60 g Sourdough Starter
- 60 g Water (@ 25.5°c/78°f)
- 30 g Strong White Bread Flour
- 30 g Strong Wholemeal Flour
Pizza Dough
- 600 g 00 Flour (See Notes)
- 355 g Water (@ 25.5°c/78°f)
- 80 g Mature Sourdough Starter (100% Hydration)
- 19 g Fine Sea Salt
Instructions
Feeding Your Sourdough Starter
- Feed your starter as you normally would but use at least the quantities of flour, water & starter above. This makes enough starter for this batch of dough with some remaining so that you can continue feeding it.
- Leave your starter at room temperature until it has risen to its peak & just before it starts to fall. This should take between 4-6 hours.
Autolyse
- An hour before your starter is ready, add the flour & water for the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer then mix on a low speed (with the dough hook) until just combined. Don't over mix the dough, a few dry patches are fine.
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel then leave to autolyse at room temperature for 1 hour, or until your starter is ready.Don't worry if the autolyse lasts slightly longer than an hour!
Mixing The Dough
- Once your starter is ready, weigh 80 grams of it into the dough then mix on a medium-low speed until combined.
- Add the salt to the dough then continue mixing on medium-low, until the salt is mixed in and the dough is smooth & coming away from the sides of the bowl. This will take around 4-6 minutes of mixing.
- Once mixed, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl then cover with a damp tea towel.I'd recommend using a glass bowl, so you can keep an eye how the dough is fermenting.
Bulk Ferment
- Let the dough prove at room temperature and perform a set of coil folds every 30 minutes until the dough passes the windowpane test. This will take around 4-6 sets of folds.If you're not familiar with coil folds or the windowpane test, there's guides to both in the post above.
- Once the dough has passed the windowpane test, let it prove at room temperature until it has risen in size by 50% & there's lots of tiny bubbles around the edges. The total time for the bulk ferment (including the coil folds) will roughly be between 4-7 hours.It's key to give the dough a long enough bulk ferment, otherwise it will puff up too much in the middle when you cook it! You'll know when it's done when the dough has risen in volume & there's signs of fermentation (lots of tiny bubbles).
Dividing The Dough & Cold Ferment
- Once the dough has proved, transfer it to a clean work surface then use a bench scraper to divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a tight ball with your hands. Each piece of dough should weigh around 260 grams.
- Lightly oil 4 round storage containers then place a ball of dough into each. Cover each container with a lid then place the dough in the fridge & leave to ferment for 36-48 hours.You can leave the dough in the fridge for up to 72 hours but for the best flavour, I like to go as close to 48 hours as possible. A dough tray will work as well, if you'd prefer.
Making Pizza
- Take the dough out of the fridge & leave to sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours before using. You'll know when the dough is ready to use when it has risen in size by almost 50% & will no longer feel cold.
- Whilst your dough is coming up to temperature, preheat your pizza oven to 400°c – 450°c (750°f/840°f), allowing plenty of time for the stone to saturate with heat.
- To make a pizza, first tip the dough out onto a semolina dusted work surface then flip over so that the dough is facing the same was as it was in the container.Fine semolina is best! I use Caputo Semola Rimacinata.
- Using your fingertips, press the dough into a disc. Starting from the centre & working to the edge, making sure to leaving a 1-2 cm border (this will be the crust).
- To open up the dough, I like to use a method know as "The Steering Wheel" stretch. Here's how…Using both hands, pick the dough up from one edge & hold it in front of you like a steering wheel. Now rotate the dough in your hands, pinching to form a crust as you do so. As the dough rotates, gravity will stretch it into a large circle.With this method you have full control on the thickness of the crust. If you'd prefer a thinner crust, pinch the dough nearer the edge. For a thicker crust, pinch more towards the centre.
- Top the dough with a light layer of toppings then transfer to a peel. Gently stretch the dough out to a 10-12 inch circle (depending on how thick you want the crust to be) then redistribute the toppings.
- Cook your pizza in your preheated pizza oven for 1-1½ minutes turning regularly with a peel to stop it burning.I use a Gozney gas pizza oven for my pizzas. For this dough, I cook the pizzas with the flame on medium-low then turn it up at the end if the toppings need some colour.
Notes
1. Flour - A good quality 00 flour works best for this pizza dough, I used Caputo Nuvola. Make sure to use a 00 flour with a protein content of at least 12.5% & a W rating between 260-300 (this is how the strong the flour is, a higher W rating means that the flour can withstand a longer fermentation).
2. Sourdough Starter - For this dough, you'll need a mature sourdough starter, that's been fed with equal amounts of flour, water & starter (100% hydration). If your starter has been in the fridge, I'd recommend getting it out at least 2 days before using, giving it 2 feeds a day.
If you haven't got a starter, take a look at our sourdough guide for more info on how to make one! For pizza dough, I feed my starter like normal with strong white & wholemeal bread flour (50/50). If your starter is made with just white flour, that's fine too.
3. Fermenting Time – You’ll know when the dough has finished its bulk ferment when it has increased in volume by around 50% & there’s lots of tiny bubbles on the sides. If your room temperature is lower than 20°c-25°c (68°f-77°f) the bulk ferment will take longer whereas if its’ warmer, it will take less time.
4. Crust Size - This dough is designed to make pizzas with a fairly thick, open crumbed crust. You'll easily make a 10" pizza per dough ball but you can make the crusts a bit thinner & make larger pizzas if you'd prefer!
5. Pizza Oven – For the best results, use a pizza oven to cook your pizzas! I use a Gozney pizza oven & find that this dough cooks best at a temperature between 400°c – 450°c (750°f/840°f). Make sure to let the stone saturate with heat before cooking!