Sourdough pizza

SOURDOUGH PIZZA
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​On pizza nights, rules fly out the window. Any shape, any sauce, any toppings are possible, without the need to compromise. You don’t like pineapple on your pizza? Then make your own.

I have struggled to settle on my optimal pizza recipe over the years. Recipe after recipe, formula after formula, they always ended up too slack, too stiff, too sour, not sour enough, too tough, too chewy, too delicate, or too plain ole finicky. Plus, the best recipe for a sizzling hot pizza oven is very different from the best recipe for a home oven, even with the best stones, steels, and peels at your disposal. 

This, my *ahem* pizza de resistance, came from a few months of recipe testing and crucial knowledge from Andrew Janjigian, who dedicated all of November to sharing his pizza tips in his phenomenal newsletter. The recipe is exceedingly flexible and utilitarian—while I wouldn’t use it for deep-dish (but why would you make deep-dish?), it could be used for just about any other pizza style you’re craving.

​PRE-RECIPE NOTE
​The pizza dough should be prepared and refrigerated at least a day before baking. You can let it chill in the fridge for up to 5 days before stretching, topping, and baking, but note that the sourness and slackness of the dough will increase with time. I’ve found 1 to 2 days to be the sweet spot.

This recipe also assumes you are using a strong, active sourdough starter at 100% hydration to seed the levain. If your starter has been in the fridge for a week, add at least a day to the recipe timing below to allow for 2-3 feedings (spaced 8 hours apart) before mixing your levain. If it has been in your fridge for longer than a week, add at least two days to the recipe timing to give it enough time to return to full strength.

And finally, fermentation fluctuates with temperature. These instructions work best if your kitchen ranges from 68-72 degrees F. If your house runs a little warmer, use cooler water and/or store your flour in the freezer. If your thermostat registers a bit cooler, use warmer water (never hot) or try storing your levain and dough in the oven with the light on while it's fermenting.
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TOTAL TIME: 1.5 days   ACTIVE TIME: 1.5 hours   INACTIVE TIME: 35.5 hours
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ACTIVE LEVAIN MIX TIME:  15 minutes
INACTIVE LEVAIN FERMENTATION TIME:  6-8 hours   

ACTIVE FINAL DOUGH MIX & FOLD TIME:  30 minutes
INACTIVE FINAL DOUGH FERMENTATION TIME:  4 hours
ACTIVE FINAL DOUGH SHAPING TIME:  15 minutes
INACTIVE FRIDGE FERMENTATION TIME:  24 - 120 hours (1 - 5 days)

INACTIVE ROOM TEMP. REST & OVEN PREHEATING TIME:  1 hour
ACTIVE SHAPING, TOPPING, & BAKING TIME:  30 minutes

RECIPE YIELD: 2 x 450g large pizza crusts or 4 x 225g personal pizza crusts

LEVAIN
20g starter
30g AP flour
30g wheat flour
60g water

FINAL DOUGH
115g levain
270g water
20g olive oil
240g all-purpose (AP) flour
240g whole wheat flour (preferably a lower protein content variety, like Warthog, and not a high protein bread flour)*
12g sea salt (non-iodized; I use Diamond Kosher Sea Salt)

*If you prefer less wheat for a lighter texture, you can decrease the whole wheat flour to 80g,  increase the AP flour to 400g, and decrease the water to 250g in the final dough recipe.

BAKERS PERCENTAGES (OVERALL)
61% water
50% whole wheat flour
50% all-purpose flour
3.7% olive oil
3.7% sourdough starter
2.2% salt


INSTRUCTIONS

MIXING

​1. About 6 to 8 hours before you plan to mix your pizza dough, build your levain by mixing 20g of sourdough starter with 60g of room temperature water, 30g AP flour, and 30g wheat flour in a container large enough to allow it to expand three times over. Cover and leave to ferment at room temperature.

​2. When your levain has more than doubled in size and has a subtly domed surface with shiny, protruding bubbles, it’s ready for mixing.

​3. Take 115g of your levain and mix with 270g room temperature water and 20g olive oil. Add 11g salt and 240g each of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour, mixing until combined and homogeneous. I prefer to use my hands, but you may also use a spatula or the low speed of a mixer with a bread hook. If the dough feels too tough or dry, add water in tbsp increments until the dough comes together and feels pliable.

​4. Cover the dough with a dish towel or lid and leave it to rest at room temperature (70-72 F) to bulk ferment for 4 hours total, with two sets of folds to build its strength at the 1-hour and 3-hour marks. When folding the dough, you want to test its elasticity by picking up one side of the dough, stretching it out as far as you can without tearing, and then folding it back over the dough. Rotate and repeat three more times, one for each side, during each series of folds (note that the dough will stretch less and less as you rotate and repeat; that's normal!).

SHAPING

1. The dough will go from shaggy and a tad sticky to smooth and extensible during the course of the bulk fermentation. An hour after the last fold, lightly flour a clean surface and turn out the dough onto it. Pat the dough down to release any air and gently stretch it into a rough rectangle before dividing into two. 

​2. Taking one piece of dough, stretch and fold each corner into the center, fold the entire package in half so that the smooth surface is facing up, and then shape into a ball. Repeat for the other piece.
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3. Lightly spritz or roll the dough in olive oil, then cover (plastic, unfortunately, works best here) and refrigerate if you plan to bake in the next five days. If making farther in advance, you can freeze your dough after 24 hours in the fridge and then move it back to the fridge the day before to defrost.

BAKING

Folding

Shaping

1. One hour before you plan to shape and bake your ‘zas, take the wrapped dough balls out of the fridge to allow them to come to room temperature. This will also help them loosen for easier shaping. To prepare for the coming inferno from your oven, consider turning down your heat or turning up your A/C at this point.

2. If you’re using pizza stones, steels, or cast iron pans, place them in your oven and turn it to pretty much as hot as it can safely go (50 degrees less than its max, so often 500 - 550 degrees for a home oven) when you remove your dough from the fridge. If you’re not using any of those accoutrements, you can wait to heat the oven until about 30 minutes before baking. If you have a not-so-nice baking sheet, you can place that in the oven to pre-heat with it.

Stretching

​3. Assemble your sauces, cheeses, and toppings and cut two pieces of parchment paper to be a bit larger than your desired pie size. The 450g dough balls are usually just right for a thin-crust 14” or a slightly thicker 12” pie. The smaller 225g dough ball is perfect for a personal size, 4-slice pie that fits into a 10" cast iron pan. If you will be baking on a pre-heated surface within your oven, place the parchment paper on an upside-down baking sheet or a peel for easy oven transfer. If not, you can simply place the parchment on a right-side-up baking sheet.

​4. Unwrap the pizza dough and lift it up, with one half hanging down, letting gravity start to stretch it out. Work your hands clockwise around to allow the dough to stretch evenly, taking care not to let it tear. When it is sufficiently stretched, place it on the prepped parchment paper. Press and stretch any thicker pockets so that it is an even thickness, with the outer inch thicker than the rest. Poke holes into the center of the dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles.

5. Top with your sauce, cheese, and toppings of choice. If using a pre-heated surface within your oven, slide the pizza (parchment and all) off the pan and onto the surface. If not, simply place the pizza on the pan into your oven.

6. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until the crust is just-blistered and bronzed. If you’re lucky enough to have a top-broiler on your home oven, turn it on for the final minute to get your cheese and toppings nice and toasty.

Pizza al taglio (pizza by the cut)

Pizza bianca (white pizza)

​7. Repeat for the other pizza and enjoy the fruits of your labor!