Sourdough Pizza Crust
Egg free, Nut free, Soy free
Ingredients
- 300 g (1⅓ cup) lukewarm water
- 100 g (6 tbsp) active bubbly sourdough starter (aka natural yeast, wild yeast)
- 20 g (2 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
- 5 g (1½ tsp) sugar
- 7 g (2 tsp) salt
- 500 g (3¾ cups) bread flour
Instructions
- Mix the water, sourdough starter, olive oil, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until mostly combined.
- Add the bread flour and combine everything until a rough shaggy dough ball is formed. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Do the initial shaping of your dough. Pull from the bottom and bring that piece of dough over the top and push it into the center. Do this about 20 times, working your way around the dough, to make a smoother ball. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Begin your stretch and fold series. You will do 3 total with 30 minutes of rest between each. Pull up one side of the dough, stretch it up, and then fold it over the top. Do 4 of these, turning the bowl 90 degrees each time, to make it around the circle. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat this two more times to complete your 3 "stretch and folds".
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled. This will take about 5-8 hours. If your home is on the cooler side, you can let it rise in the oven with just the light on to help.
- About 30 minutes before you want to eat, preheat your oven to 475F (246C).
- Lightly flour your work surface. I like to use GF all purpose flour or rice flour for this, but you can use regular flour as well.
- Turn your dough out of the bowl and onto the floured surface. Divide it in half and roll each half into a 12in. circle.
- Dust your pan with cornmeal (optional- see substitutions above). I like to use regular 12in pizza pans you can get at the grocery store, but you can also use a baking sheet, or pizza stone.
- Place the dough circles onto your pans and add your toppings. e.g. sauce, cheese, pepperoni, oregano.
- Bake in your preheated oven for about 14-17 minutes. The pizza is done when your crust is browning, your cheese is starting to brown, and the bottom is starting to brown. I like to bake both pizzas at the same time, but switch racks halfway through, to get a more even bake.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and cut it into slices.
- My favorite way to finish off our homemade pizza is with a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes! You can also brush some melted butter and sprinkle garlic salt on the crust. Enjoy!