Sourdough Pizza

Process

The sourdough starter has been fed 8 hours prior to starting the dough.

Take 200g of starter and mix in the other base ingredients with only 3 tbs olive oil (we’re saving the other half for a later stage) in a stand mixer until all the flour has been hydrated.

Turn up the stand mixer speed and knead the dough for 15 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Smooth out the dough into a tight ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with a tbs of olive oil and place the ball of dough in. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 45 minutes.

After the first rest, oil your hands and stretch and fold the dough into itself (I usually do 6 stretches and folds) then smooth out into a tight ball again and leave it back in the oiled bowl to rest.

Repeat this stretching and folding process every 45 minutes 4-6 times until you’re happy with the elasticity achieved.

Preheat the pizza stone in the oven at 225°C.

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and dust with a little flour to gently stretch each piece to your desired thickness, leaving slightly thicker edges to hold the filling in.

Spoon over some passata and season with salt and pepper.

Layer over combinations of toppings and finish with a layer of cheese, oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.

Bake on a pizza stone in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Ingredients for base

Makes 4 large pizzas

200g sourdough starter
250ml water
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
6 tbs olive oil
350g double zero “00” flour or Italian flour, plus a little extra for dusting over during shaping