Sourdough pizza dough natural (Print Version)

Natural sourdough dough yielding chewy, crisp artisan-style pizza crust with simple, quality ingredients.

# What You Need:

→ Dough

01 - 3⅓ cups bread flour
02 - 1⅓ cups plus 1 tablespoon water, room temperature
03 - ½ cup active sourdough starter
04 - 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
05 - 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional for softer dough

# How To Make It:

01 - In a large mixing bowl, combine bread flour and water. Stir until just combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
02 - Add sourdough starter and salt to the bowl, plus olive oil if using. Mix by hand or with a stand mixer until a sticky dough forms.
03 - Knead for 5–7 minutes until smooth and elastic, or use the stretch-and-fold technique every 30 minutes for 2 hours, completing 4 folds total.
04 - Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 6–8 hours, or until doubled in size and bubbly.
05 - Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half for two large pizzas. Shape each piece into a tight ball.
06 - Place dough balls on a tray, cover, and let rest for 1–2 hours at room temperature, or cold ferment in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours for deeper flavor development.
07 - Preheat oven to the highest temperature setting, ideally 475–500°F, with a pizza stone or steel positioned inside.
08 - Stretch each dough ball into a 12-inch round. Add your preferred toppings.
09 - Transfer to the hot stone or steel and bake for 10–15 minutes, or until the crust is puffed and golden with crisp edges.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Your kitchen will smell like a wood-fired pizzeria for hours, and guests will think you're a genius.
  • The long fermentation means the dough develops real depth—no yeasty funk, just honest bread flavor that tastes like it came from somewhere special.
  • You can make the dough one day and bake pizza whenever the mood strikes, because cold fermentation is your secret weapon for flexibility.
02 -
  • Your starter must be active and bubbly at its peak—if it's sluggish or past its rise, the whole dough will move slowly and taste flat.
  • The bulk rise is where the magic happens; rushing it or trying to speed it up by using a warm spot will give you a one-dimensional dough that tastes aggressively yeasty instead of complex and nuanced.
  • Cold fermentation isn't a backup plan—it's actually superior for flavor and flexibility, so if you have time, always refrigerate for at least 8 hours after shaping.
03 -
  • If your dough feels sticky or slack, don't panic—slightly wetter dough actually makes for a more open crumb and better chew; just flour your hands and work surface generously.
  • Stretch the dough gently from the center outward, avoiding the edges; those edges are where the crust puffs up and creates those gorgeous air pockets.
  • Bake two pizzas one at a time rather than trying to fit them both on the stone at once; they'll both come out better, and your stone will stay hot.
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