Ingredients
Scale
For the Pizza Dough:
- 530 g bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 320 g water
- 110 g sourdough starter (fed or discard)
- 10 g sea salt
For the Toppings:
- Marinara sauce
- Shredded mozzarella
- Pepperoni slices
- Dried oregano or basil, to sprinkle
- Sea salt, to sprinkle
Instructions
- Mix the dough. Combine your sourdough starter and water in a large bowl and stir briefly. Add the bread flour and sea salt, then mix with your hands or a dough scraper until no dry flour remains. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Begin stretch and folds. Over the next 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, spacing them 30 minutes apart. To do one set, grab the dough from one side, stretch it up, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat 3 more times.
- Bulk ferment. After completing the folds, leave the covered dough at room temperature (around 75°F / 24°C) for 4 to 6 more hours until it has grown by about 50% and looks bubbly at the edges.
- Shape and add toppings. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press it into a large oval or rectangle. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the surface, scatter shredded mozzarella and pepperoni slices, then fold the dough over itself like a letter and shape it into a round boule or oval batard.
- Cold proof. Place the shaped dough seam-side up into a floured banneton or a bowl lined with a floured kitchen towel. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 16 hours (overnight works great).
- Preheat your oven. About 45 minutes before baking, place a Dutch oven with its lid inside your oven and preheat to 500°F (260°C). The very hot Dutch oven is what gives you that crackly crust.
- Score and bake. Remove the dough from the fridge. Carefully flip it onto a piece of parchment paper. Score the top with a sharp lame or razor blade at a 45-degree angle. Lower it into the hot Dutch oven using the parchment as a sling, add lid, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Finish uncovered. Remove the lid, reduce the oven to 450°F (230°C), and bake another 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown. Sprinkle dried oregano and a pinch of sea salt over the top in the last 5 minutes if you like.
- Cool before slicing. This part is hard, I know, but let the loaf rest on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before cutting in. Cutting too early lets all the steam escape and makes the crumb gummy.
Notes
- Don’t skip the cold proof. Refrigerating the shaped dough overnight makes it firmer and much easier to score cleanly. It also deepens the sour flavor considerably.
- Use a Dutch oven if you can. The trapped steam during the first 20 minutes is what makes the crust crackle. A baking steel or stone works too, but you’ll need to add steam another way (like a tray of boiling water on the lower rack).
- Quarter your pepperoni slices. Cutting round slices into fourths means they distribute more evenly inside the dough without creating pockets of grease in one spot.
- Check the bottom. If your oven tends to run hot on the bottom, place a baking sheet on the rack below the Dutch oven to shield the base from burning.
- Freeze extras. This loaf freezes beautifully. Slice it first, wrap individual slices in parchment, and freeze in a zip-lock bag for up to 2 months. Pop slices straight into the toaster from frozen.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Sourdough Fermentation: 8–12 hours
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg