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Sourdough pizza dough

A crisp, flavourful sourdough pizza dough that works in a home oven and delivers genuine sourdough character: subtle tang, open bubbles at the crust edge, a crisp base. Makes four individual pizza bases perfect for family pizza night. At 65% hydration the dough is firm enough to stretch without specialist equipment. Plan it for the same day and it works on a weeknight.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 pizza bases · about 280g each

  • Bread flour or 00 flour600g
  • Water390g
  • Active sourdough starter90g
  • Fine sea salt12g
  • Olive oil18g

65% hydration

  • Kitchen scale
  • Large mixing bowl, 4–5 litres
  • Bowl cover, a shower cap, plate or cling film
  • Bench scraper, metal
  • Baking steel or stone, or an upturned baking tray
  • Small containers, 4, oiled, with lids, one per dough ball
  • Pizza peel, or a large flat tray
  • Pizza wheel, or a sharp knife
Alternatives, sizes and where to buy

Method

  1. 1

    Mix starter and water

    5 min

    Add 90g active starter to 390g water at 22–24°C / 72–75°F and swirl with your hand or a dough whisk until the starter is dissolved and the water looks cloudy. Dissolving it first means it blends evenly through the dough.

  2. 2

    Add flour and autolyse

    25 min

    Add 600g flour to the bowl. Mix with your hand until no dry flour remains, about 3 to 5 minutes. The dough will feel firm and smooth. Cover and rest 20 minutes.

  3. 3

    Add salt and olive oil

    10 min

    Sprinkle 12g fine sea salt over the rested dough and add 18g olive oil. Work both in using pinch-and-fold motions for 3 to 5 minutes until smooth and slightly supple from the oil.

  4. 4

    Bulk fermentation with coil folds

    4 h 30 min

    Cover and leave to rise at room temperature, 22–24°C / 72–75°F. Do 3 sets of coil folds at 30, 60 and 90 minutes, then leave it completely undisturbed. This first rise (bulk) is done when the dough has grown by about half, shows bubbles and feels airy when gently shaken. At 22–24°C / 72–75°F with 15% starter this takes about 4–6 hours.

    At 20–24°C / 68–75°F this usually takes about 4½ hours; a warm kitchen (24–28°C / 75–82°F) can be ready in about 3½ hours, a hot one (28°C+ / 82°F+) sooner still, and a cool kitchen (below 20°C / 68°F) may need about 6 hours.

  5. 5

    Divide and ball

    15 min

    Turn the risen dough onto an unfloured bench. Using a bench scraper and scale, divide it into 4 equal pieces of about 277g each. Shape each piece into a tight ball: fold the edges into the centre, flip it over so the folded side is down, cup your hands around it and roll it on the bench in circles. Place each ball in a lightly oiled container of its own.

  6. 6

    Cold retard (overnight)

    12 h

    Place the covered containers in the fridge at 4°C. Bake any time between 8 and 24 hours from when they went in. Leave them at room temperature for 1–2 hours before stretching: cold dough tears.

  7. 7

    Temper (bring to room temperature)

    1 h 30 min

    Remove dough balls from fridge 1–2 hours before stretching. Leave in covered containers at room temperature. After 1–2 hours balls should feel soft, slightly puffy, and yield easily when pressed. If still tight after 1 hour, give another 30 minutes.

  8. 8

    Preheat the oven and baking surface

    60 min

    Place baking steel or stone on highest oven rack. Set to maximum temperature, 250–280°C / 480–535°F. Preheat 45–60 minutes. Start when you take the dough out of the fridge.

  9. 9

    Stretch, top, and bake

    45 min

    Stretch each tempered ball on floured or semolina-dusted bench using fingertip pressing and knuckle-stretch technique. Top lightly. Transfer to hot baking surface. Bake 8–12 minutes at maximum temperature until crust golden and blistered. Dough that has rested in the fridge stretches more easily, so stretch it gently.

  10. 10

    Rest and serve

    3 min

    Rest 2–3 minutes after oven. Slice and serve immediately.

Keeping it

  • Dough balls: up to 72 hours in the fridgeIn individual covered containers.
  • Dough balls: up to 3 months in the freezerFreeze them before the cold rest, in lightly oiled bags. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
  • Warm it upBaked pizza: 220°C (200°C fan) / 425°F for 5–8 minutes, or 10–12 from frozen. Not in the microwave.

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