Sourdough Pizza

Breadtopia Blog Recipes
22

Melissa

Jul '18

@fossilgal I didn’t go into this in the recipe blog, because stone practices/recommendations vary, but I have put my pizza stone on my gas grill and made pizzas there, comparable to indoor oven results.

@Rico613 it’s hard to say without seeing your pizza, but off the top of my head, too little water in the dough or too little fermentation could cause overly hard chewy crust

@singkevin thanks for the tip on the steel!

@wendyk320 the extra starter is just so people don’t stress about scraping their jar and spoon. I probably should mention that :slight_smile: I’d use the extra 15g but back into the mother jar is good too.

@Bakerboy500 I’ve read that freezer up to 3 months is okay but I don’t have personal experience with freezing dough.

Maybe others can weigh in on optimal dough freezing practices and timeframe.

@fossilgal I agree with Melissa, I have a stone in the kitchen oven and one on the grill which both make great pizza but each has its peculiarities. Have to play with each a bit to get the right heat and time. Opening the grill too much screws up the bake.

@Rico613 Have had the issue also but found it more trying to bake pizzas at home. Was much easier in my pizzerias in the commercial ovens. Anyways I use the same recipe for whole wheat (varying the grains) and varying whether I use rye starter or instant yeast (works better) and found it is more of a temperature issue. On my grill I heat the stone up VERY slowly over an hour with one of 3 burners on low. Just before time to bake I crank it up all burners 100% to over 500 degrees and set the pie. Then I turn down the middle flame to low. After 4 minutes I check the bottom which is lightly browned then crank up the middle burner again 100% for another 2 minutes. The crust comes out crispy with a slight chew no matter what I use (EXCEPT EINKORN). My recipe is 80% whole wheat with 20% Durum flour to assist with the crunch. The pie crust does soften after setting on the serving board but initially when you cut it there is a crunch.

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The pie in the picture was made with 80% Turkey red hence the dark crust. Last 2 were made with Khorasan and the Durum which turns the dough into a lighter color.

If anyone wants the recipe would be glad to share. This is not the recipe used in the pizzerias with bread flour.

@Bakerboy500 In my mini-mart we used all frozen dough for bread, pastries and pizza. All of which came from a distributor and who knows how long it was stored there. Some of mine was over a month as I bought in bulk. At home I have dough and starter that is months old, wouldn’t worry about it, 3 months, 6 months all good.

23

Thanks for this info – your strategy for using the stone in the grill is really helpful.

24

Hello!

How much should the dough rise after making into balls? Should it be at double, and then the shaping of pizza crust take place?

25

I’m all over the place on this. I either refrigerate for hours or proof at room temperature until all my toppings are set out and ready and oven is preheated. In this case, for me, it’s less about the dough and more about the prep work.

26

Is it possible to freeze the dough? if so at what point of the instruction would one place in the freezer?
Thank you!

27

I haven’t done it, but at the end of the bulk fermentation seems to be optimal… then you combine thawing and the final proof

28

Hi! I really want this dough to work but it is entirely two sticky and wet. I’ve made it twice now and its soooo sticky by the time I take it out of the fridge. The first time I made it I left the dough in the fridge for 3 days. The flavor was fantastic but almost impossible to shape because of the stickiness. I made the second round yesterday and just took it out of the fridge to shape. I think its still too sticky. Any suggestions? I did the slap and fold etc I’ve tried it all

29

Which flour are you using?

30

Caputo 00 flour and 90 grams of whole wheat.

I’m also wondering. The total amount of starter that goes into the total recipe is 120, right? (that IS the levain we make, aka theres no extra starter added, just the 120 levain that ferments and then is added/)

31

Sounds like the right flour. Let me take a look at the recipe.

32

Thank you! Yes I want it to work so badly because the flavor was fantastic. Just doesn’t seem normal to have it be that sticky.

33

One more question. Are you using Caputo 00 pizza flour! Or AP flour? What does it say on the packet?

34

I believe it was the pizza flour (I used up the last of it and threw it out). I just got more of the caputo 00 Pizza flour so i can play around with that too

how about the 120 starter question I had? :slight_smile: wanting to get it right!

35

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 510g tipo 00 flour (3 1/2 cups)
  • 90g whole grain turkey red wheat flour (1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp)
  • 390g water (1 2/3 cup)
  • 120g sourdough starter (~1 cup stirred down)
  • 14g olive oil (1 Tbsp)
  • 12g salt (2 tsp)
  • 2-3 Tbsp additional flour for kneading
  • 1-2 Tbsp additional oil for coating the dough bowl and the proofing pan
  • 1/4 cup of cornmeal to dust the pizza peel

Baker’s Percentages

  • 85% tipo 00 flour
  • 15% whole grain turkey red wheat flour
  • 65% water
  • 20% sourdough starter
  • 2.3% olive oil
  • 2% salt

So that is 120g starter or levain. A levain is an off shoot starter. If you keep little starter at any one time then build a levain. Or feed your starter with how much you wish to use then use that in the recipe when mature. But it definitely is 120g and its 100% hydration!

For your starter are you weighing or using cups? What is the hydration of your starter?

36

Yes definitely did all of that! I’m not sure what happened. Guess I’ll have to keep trying!

37

Tell me more about your starter.

Flour
Hydration
Maintenance
Did you weigh it for the recipe?

38

Starter:
every day around 10 am and 10pm I feed my starter (twice a day)
I use 75 grams of starter, 150 grams of flour (half AP half whole wheat) and 150 grams of water. This is what is in the Tartine bread cookbook and ive been doing that since. However, I could be feeding it all wrong for pizza.

I always weigh the recipe using my kitchen scale.

39

Sounds like you’re doing everything just perfect.

The only thing I can say is perhaps the wrong flour was used when you tried this recipe and the one you’ve ordered will be better. I think the flour used comes in at about 13.5% protein. So quite strong.

Secondly, why not build a levain and feed it like Eric maintains his starter as in the link in the recipe. 120g of 100% hydration bread flour starter. Use when bubbly. But I’d give it a feed of something like this the night before to be used the next morning…

  • 10g starter
  • 55g water
  • 55g strong bread flour

See how that goes. When it comes to shaping use flour to help you stretch out the dough ball. Watch videos on how pizza is shaped. The dough might be sticky but with well floured hands and top it should be fine as you aren’t making a tall loaf.

40

Hmmm ok so weird! Let me try that type of feeding. I actually just tried stretching the dough and it made a tear soooo easily. Even with floured hands and top. So it either has to do with my flour or the way I’m mixing it.

Also, can this be mixed in a kitchen aid? And if so how long and on what speed do you recommend? You’ve been so helpful! Thank you!

41

Well the levain feed allows you to keep your starter the Tartine method and at the same time use a starter like Breadtopia in the recipe.

Can’t comment about an electric mixer as I do everything by hand but here’s how I would approach it…

1: mix the 510g bread flour and 90g wholegrain wheat in a bowl. Add in 390g water and mix just until there’s no dry flour left. Cover and let rest for 30 min - 1 hour.

2: Sprinkle the salt over the dough, followed by the levain and olive oil. Dimple it all in then fold and squeeze the dough till everything is fully incorporated. Cover the bowl and leave to rest.

3: Every half an hour do set of stretch and folds till you’ve completed 4 sets in total (add another one if you think the dough needs it). Then cover and rest till the dough is 30-50% risen.

4: Do a final set of stretch and folds then cover the bowl and refrigerate till the next day.

5: Divide the dough while cold and preshape into balls. Rest till they come up to room temperature and have relaxed enough to be able to shape.

6: Carry on as per the recipe using flour to aid shaping.