Sourdough Pizza

I've made this pizza recipe many times now and it always comes to the party with amazing results! 

Adding to the amazing results, I added some semola flour (re-milled durum wheat semolina) in the dough, it really adds to a super delicious crunchy crust, so I highly recommend using it if you can.

I cooked these on a pizza stone in my oven, if you don't have one then a pizza tray will work perfectly ok as well. 

~This recipe makes 4 medium or 3 large sized pizzas~

Ingredients for the dough:

• 800g flour (I used 750g 00 flour and 50g Semola)

• 520g water (65% hydration)

• 160g active starter (20% inoculation)

• 16g salt (1.8%)

• A splash of extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Mix all ingredients together into a rough dough then let rest for 30mins.

Perform 3 sets of stretch and folds every 30mins. 

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 4 to 5 hrs for an average room temperature of about 21-22°C. 

(Depending on your room temperature this may need to be adjusted slightly, longer for cooler and shorter for warmer.)

At this point you can put the dough in the fridge for the next day, just make sure it's covered in and airtight container. I love the extra tasty flavour this brings to the dough and the flexibility in scheduling. The dough can last up to 3 days in a really cold fridge, so you could make this days in advance. 

Before you continue with the rest of the method bring the dough back to room temperature, this can take up to 2hrs.

Once the dough has risen considerably and is lovely and bubbly, turn it out onto a lightly floured bench and divide. 

Gently roll each of them into balls and place on a well floured tray, dust tops with more flour, cover with a tea towel and let prove for 1 to 2 hrs.

While the dough is proving, pre-heat your oven to 220-230°C and place in your pizza stone if using.

By now the little doughs will have grown and spread out, they should also be really soft. Don't worry if they're all touching and stuck together a little, just cut them away as you take each one out.

Before you begin stretching out each one, coat the dough in a shallow bowl of semolina flour all over (this helps with easier handling)

Stretch out one at a time by dimpling your fingers in the middle while slowly pushing the dough out like a turn table. Pick the dough up if needed and let gravity help (this is lots of fun!)

Add your sauce and toppings and cook for 15/20mins.

Buon appetito! 

TIPS: 

• If cooking straight on a pizza stone make sure you use lots of semolina on the bases, even sprinkling extra on the stone so they don't stick. 

• If your oven is anything like mine, cook the bases with only the sauce for the first 10mins then add the toppings with the cheese and cook for a further 5/10mins. This gives the base time to completely cook through first without your toppings burning.