Easy Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe & Video Guide
A guide to my naturally leavened pizza dough. This dough can be used in your in Ooni pizza oven or indoors on the Baking Steel. I hope this can serve as a starting point for you on your own dough adventures. I don’t label my pizza as one particular style as I’ll often use the same dough for multiple styles of bakes. I think of it as an “artisan style” dough as in care is taken at every step of the process from the organic and minimal processed ingredients to a slow and long fermentation using natural methods. My goal is delicious pizza. I hope this guide gets you making and eating some!
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Sourdough Pizza Crust
The Santa Barbara Baker naturally leavened (sourdough) pizza dough recipe and guide. This dough is designed for Ooni pizza ovens, the Gozney Roccbox or indoors on the Baking Steel. When prepared and baked properly the pizza should have a crisp yet tender bite with beautiful leopard spotting. A slice that crunches a bit when you can pick it up and can hold substantial toppings. The interior moist, airy and never bland.I think of it as an "artisan style" dough as in care is taken at every step of the process from the organic and minimal processed ingredients to a slow and long fermentation using natural methods. The goal is delicious pizza. This dough can be used the same day or cold fermented, best used within 4 days. Important: This dough recipe was developed using organic flours from Central Milling. The protein content and processing of flours can vary widely from brand to brand and may have a significant impact on your final product.
Ingredients
Starter
- 25 g Sourdough Culture The 25g is pulled from your mother culture also commonly called a "starter." I like to use a freshly fed culture. You can build one easily yourself, just need some flour, water, and time. I like the method in the Ken Forkish Book: The Elements of Pizza
- 100 g Bread Flour I use Artisan Bakers Craft+ Organic Bread flour from Central Milling.
- 100 g Water Room temperature filtered water.
Final Dough Mix
- 225 g Starter (from above) Should be about doubled in size, 6-12hrs from mixing the starter.
- 400 g "00" Flour I use "00" Normal from Central Milling. 11.5% protein (Caputo "00" Pizza Flour is 12.5% protein)
- 285 g Bread Flour I use Artisan Bakers Craft+ Organic Bread flour from Central Milling. 11.5% protein. (King Arthur Bread Flour is 12.7%)
- 50 g T85 Flour (or whole wheat mix, see video) I use T85 Flour or "Old World Bread Flour" (T80)
- 25 g Salt I use kosher salt or sea salt.
- 10 g Olive Oil I use California grown extra virgin olive oil.
- 440 g Water Filtered room temperature water. If it's especially warm out I'll make part ice to keep the temperature down.
Instructions
Make the Starter (6-12 hrs before final dough mix)
- Add 100g water to a 1-quart deli container.
- Add 25g sourdough culture to the water and mix with your hand, pinching to break up the culture.
- Weigh 100g bread flour in a small bowl.
- Add flour to water and culture mixture, stir to all dry flour is absorbed.
- Cover. Let rest at room temperature for 6-12 hours. It should double in size. Time and activity will vary by location and conditions.
Final Dough Mix (at least 8 hours before baking pizza)
- Add "00" Flour, Bread Flour, T85 Flour to the mixer bowl. Mix on lowest speed
- Add 450g filtered water to the starter and and mix by hand till the starter is mostly dissolved into the water.
- Turn mixer off and add the starter and water mix. Mix on lowest speed just till the dry flour is incorporated. Cover and let rest in mixer bowl about 25 minutes.
- Add 25g salt to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed. After the salt is worked into the dough slowly add 10g extra virgin olive oil with mixer running. Mix about 3-4 minutes on low to medium speed. The dough should look mostly smooth.
- Re-weigh your dough to get your final dough ball size (divide total by 4 or 5 depending on desired pizza size, 4 for a 13-15in pizza 5 for 10-12in).
Balling the pizza dough balls
- Lightly oil a half sheet pan or dough tray. (I place the dough ball(s) I plan to use the same day on their own sheet or plate)
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour. With floured hands remove the dough from the bowl.
- Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour.
- Using a scale as you go. Divide the dough into 4 -5 portions. (4 dough balls for 13-15 in. pizzas, 5 for 10-12 in.) I use a bench scrapper to cut the dough.
- Working with the dough in your hands form into balls, making sure to close. Watch the video to learn how.
- Place on half sheet pan or dough tray. Cover tightly. Let ferment at room temperature till dough balls are looking nice and perky with micro bubbles visible when looking at the surface of the dough. 1-4 hours, actual time depends on your environment.
- For cold fermentation, refrigerate dough balls for up to 4 days for best results. For same day, enjoy!
Tempering the Dough (at least 1.5 hours before baking pizzas if dough has been cold fermented)
- Temper the dough by removing from the refrigerator and allowing to come to room temperature before using. You may carefully remove individual dough balls and temper on an oiled, covered plate reserving additional dough balls for later use.
Notes
Updated 6/9/2021, 7/7//21.
If you enjoyed please subscribe to the Santa Barbara Baker YouTube Channel and share with your pizza friends and fam. Thank you and much love to all that have! One Love!
Old Version
Introduction
Mixing the Starter
Final Dough Mix
Dough Balling & Final Fermentation
Tempering the Dough & Final Thoughts
Homemade Sourdough Pizza Dough (old version)
A guide to my Santa Barbara Baker naturally leavened pizza dough. This dough can be used in your in Ooni pizza oven, Roccbox or indoors on the Baking Steel . I hope this can serve as a starting point for you on your own dough adventures. I don't label my pizza as one particular style as I'll often use the same dough for multiple styles of bakes. I think of it as an "artisan style" dough as in care is taken at every step of the process from the organic and minimal processed ingredients to a slow and long fermentation using natural methods. My goal is delicious pizza. I hope this guide gets you making and eating some!
Servings: 4 dough balls
Ingredients
Starter
- 50 g Sourdough Culture
- Bread Flour I use organic bread flour from Central Milling or King Arthur. Feel free to experiment with blending 50g of other flours; T85 Flour or Rye Flour are great here.
- Water I use room temperature filtered water. If it's especially warm out I'll make part of the 100g ice to keep temps down. In the winter if my starter is not feeling very active I warm the water to 85f.
Final Dough Mix
- 250 g Starter (from above) Should be about doubled in size, 6-12hrs from mixing the starter.
- 300 g Bread Flour I use organic bread flour from Central Milling or King Arthur.
- 250 g "00" Flour I use "00" Normal from Central Milling. If using Caputo, this is the blue bag. The red bag works great too, but less suited for the high heat of the Ooni.
- 90 g Whole Grain Blend In the video I'm using 70g of T85 Flour and 20g of Rye Flour. You can play around with the blend here, but use caution with going to big on heartier grains they can cause the dough to be more difficult to stretch and easier to rip. Even small amounts can add a flavor punch.
- 20 g Salt I use kosher salt or sea salt.
- 10 g Olive Oil I use California grown extra virgin olive oil.
- 1 g Barley Malt (optional) Adds a tiny note of sweetness and can increase fermentation activity. Feel free to leave it out.
- 380 g Water Room temperature. If it's especially warm out I'll make part ice to keep temps down.
Instructions
Mixing the Starter (6-12 hrs before final dough mix)
- Add 100g water to a 1-quart deli container.
- Add the 50g sourdough culture to the water and mix with your hand, pinching to break up the culture. You want it mixed, but it does not need to be fully dissolved. Watch the video for full details.
- Weigh 100g bread flour in a small bowl.
- Add flour to water and culture mixture, stir to all dry flour is absorbed.
- Cover. Let rest at room temperature for 6-12 hours. It should double in size. Time and activity will vary by location and conditions. Watch the starter video for more insights.
Final Dough Mix (at least 8 hours before pizza time, I prefer 24 hours or more)
- Add 350g room temperature water to a small bowl, add starter and mix mix by hand till mostly homogeneous. I mix mine in a 1 quart measuring cup.
- In a large bowl mix 300g bread flour, 250g "00" flour, and 90g whole grain blend (In the video I'm using 70g T85 flour, and 20g rye flour.
- Add the water and starter mixture to the flour and stir just till flour is incorporated. Cover and let rest for 25 minutes at room temperature.
- Mix 20g salt, 30g water, and 1g barley malt (optional) in a small bowl (it will not fully dissolve)
- Begin folding and kneading the dough, working in the salt slurry small amounts at a time till fully incorporated, be patient. This should take 5-10 minutes. Cover the bowl tightly and let rest for 25 minutes. Watch the final dough mix video for full details.
- Gradually knead and fold 10g olive oil into the dough until fully incorporated and smooth. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Re-weigh your dough to get your final dough ball size (divide total by 4 or 5 depending on desired pizza size, 4 for a 13-15in pizza 5 for 10-12in).
- Cover tightly. Let bulk ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes to 4 hours. Watch the video for more insights on this process.
Balling the Dough & Final Fermentation (30 min – 4 hrs after final stage of dough mix)
- Lightly oil 4 1qt glass bowls, dough tray, or a large dinner plate.
- After 30 minutes to 4 hours uncover your dough (you want to see activity in the dough before proceeding but you can adjust your fermentation times between the bulk and ball ferments, if you went short on the bulk, go longer once the dough is balled up before it hits the fridge)
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour. With floured hands remove the dough from the bowl.
- Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour.
- Using a scale as you go. Divide the dough into 4 -5 portions. (4 dough balls for 13-15 in. pizzas, 5 for 10-12 in.) I use a bench scrapper to cut the dough.
- Working with the dough in your hands form into balls, making sure to close. Watch the video for full instructions.
- Cover tightly. Let ferment at room temperature at least till you see activity in the dough (30min-1hr) or up to 8 hours (if using that day).
- For cold fermentation, refrigerate dough balls for 24-72 hours before using. Watch the dough balling video for the full details.
Tempering the Dough (~1hr before baking pizzas if dough has been cold fermented)
- Temper the dough by removing from the refrigerator and allowing to come to room temperature before using. Do not remove from the container they have been fermenting in till they are ready for use. I like to allow at least an hour typically. Keep an eye on it though as you do not want the dough to over-proof (dough will over-expand and eventually collapse). Watch the dough tempering video for full details. If you enjoyed please subscribe to the Santa Barbara Baker YouTube Channel and share with your pizza friends and fam. Thank you and much love to all that have! One Love!
Notes
If you enjoyed please subscribe to the Santa Barbara Baker YouTube Channel and share with your pizza friends and fam. Thank you and much love to all that have! One Love!
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