Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust
Here is my guide for making sourdough pizza crust at home. Made with all-purpose or bread flour and no autolyse or preferment, the dough comes together simply: everything gets mixed together at once, and you are on your way! 🍕🍕🍕 \n**Attention Pizza Fans**: My pizza cookbook, Pizza Night, is now available everywhere books are sold. Get your copy here: Pizza Night \nWhat you need to make this recipe...: \n \n...a sourdough starter. Ideally, you want to use your starter 4 to 6 hours after you feed it, when it has doubled in volume and is very bubbly and active. You can build a starter from scratch in just about 1 week. Or you can buy one. Here are two sources: \n \nBreadtopia \nKing Arthur Flour \n \n \n...time. Once your starter is ready to go, this recipe requires an initial 6 - 18 hour rise, followed by at least 6 hours in the fridge or up to 3 days. \n \nTiming/Schedule: \nThe timing will depend heavily on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen. In the summer, because it is warm and humid, the first rise (bulk fermentation) of all my sourdoughs takes between 6 - 8 hours; in the winter it will take longer, 10 to 12 hours. \nIt is best to rely on visual cues. For the bulk fermentation, you want the dough to double or less than double: I now end my bulk fermentation when the dough has risen by 50% to 75% in volume. This is why I cannot recommend using a straight-sided vessel (as opposed to a bowl) enough. It makes gauging the first rise easier. \nIf at any point you are worried the dough will over-ferment — say, for example, the bulk fermentation is nearly complete but you are tired and want to go to bed — stick the vessel in the fridge and pick up the process in the morning. (Note: If your dough rises above double, don't despair ... my dough has tripled in volume during an overnight rise, and the resulting dough still had plenty of strength and spring.) \nSchedule: I like mixing this dough in the evening, performing 4 stretch and folds before I go to bed (if time permits), then letting the dough complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature (68ºF) overnight or in the refrigerator (especially in the summer, when my kitchen is much warmer). In the morning, it's typically ready to be portioned (if it rose at room temperature), transferred to storage vessels, and stashed in the fridge. If I had let my dough spend time in the fridge for the bulk fermentation, I remove it in the morning, and let it complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature. Once complete, I portion the dough and stash it in the fridge. Sometimes I'll use the dough that same evening; sometimes I'll use it the following day or the next. I encourage using the dough within 3 days. \nIn short: If you want pizza for the weekend, mix your dough on either Wednesday or Thursday. \nTroubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes. \nWater: If you live in a humid environment or if you are making this on a particularly humid day, consider starting with less water, such as 335 grams of water, which will bring the hydration down to 70%. This amount of water will still produce a light airy crust but the dough will be more manageable. \nFlour choice: \n \nYou can make this dough with all-purpose flour or bread flour, and it works beautifully. You can use Tipo 00 flour if you want, but you'll likely need to reduce the amount of water. Start with 350 grams and adjust moving forward based on your results. \n \nCan You Freeze Sourdough Pizza Dough? \n \nYes. But, in my experience, the pizzas made from frozen dough do not spring as high upon being baked. They will still taste delicious as long as the time spent in the freezer is relatively short: the more time sourdough spends in the freezer, the more air bubbles it loses. After 1 week in the freezer, my dough will bake up fairly well. After 3 weeks in the freezer, my dough will be less bubbly and will bake into a thinner and crisper crust. \n \n \nTo freeze sourdough pizza dough: make it through step 4 in the recipe below or until after you transfer the portioned rounds to quart containers. At this point, transfer the quart containers to the freezer. To thaw, remove a container (or more) and let thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day or thaw at room temperature for 8 hours. Then, proceed with the recipe. \n \nFavorite Pizza-Making Tools: \n \nBaking Steel \nPizza Peel \nParchment Paper: I bake my pizzas on parchment paper on my Baking Steel. Parchment allows for easy transfer from peel to steel. \nCast Iron Skillet: If you do not have a Steel or stone, you can use a cast iron skillet. Rub a half teaspoon of oil over its surface, transfer a stretched dough round to the skillet. Top as desired. Bake at 450ºF for about 15 minutes. \nI love these Kevjes containers.
