Sourdough Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 200 grams Sourdough Starter
• 280 grams Water
• 20 grams Honey
• 20 grams Olive Oil
• 500 grams Bread Flour
• 20 grams Salt
• ----- Second Version -----
• 500 g bread flour
• 325 g warm water
• 100 g active starter
• 10 g salt
• 10 g olive oil, optional

Steps

1. 1Measure out the sourdough starter, water and honey (and yeast if you want to add it). Stir together until the sourdough starter and honey are dissolved into the water.
2. 2Now, add the oil, flour and salt into the bowl and gently stir together with a dough whisk or knife. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to sit for around 30 minutes. The dough will seem a little dry and shaggy and that's ok!
3. 3Now, tip the dough out onto the counter and knead it really well using your hands. This is a lovely dough to work with and with the right kneading, it will become soft and silky. It takes around 10 minutes to come together when kneading by hand.
4. 4Once the dough is silky and elastic, pop it into a warm bowl (warm a bowl with water and then dry it to speed up the rising). Cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until it has doubled.
5. 5Once the dough has doubled, separate the dough into smaller balls for rolling out. Use 200g per pizza, but you can go from 200g to 300g.
6. 6To make your bases, press the dough into a pizza round. If you need to stretch the dough, pick it up and move your hands around the edges to allow it to stretch out into a round. Avoid using a rolling pin to maintain the sourdough character.
7. 7Place your pizza dough onto pizza peels ready to top. Pre heat your oven to 230C/450F and ensure it's HOT. Bake your pizzas for around 15 minutes until cooked, or use a wood-fired oven for 2 minutes at 350C – 400C.
8. 8--- Second Version ----- Mix everything until no dry flour remains. Rest 20 minutes. Knead briefly, or perform 3 sets of stretch-and-folds about 20 minutes apart. Cover and let rise somewhere warm for 3–5 hours, until visibly airy and about 50–75% larger. Divide into two balls. Cover and rest 45–90 minutes. Stretch, top lightly, and bake. Preheat your oven and pizza stone or steel at its highest setting—ideally 500–550°F (260–290°C)—for at least 45 minutes. Bake until browned, generally 5–10 minutes depending on the oven.