Sourdough Pizza
Bath England evokes its Roman heritage. You find this when visiting the world famous Roman Baths museum. We were also pleased to find the Italian influence prominent in the local cuisine. Adjacent to the train station, we enjoyed a dinner of wood-fired sourdough pizzas at Franco Manca Sourdough Pizza. During our three week trip to England, this was the first time we found anything sourdough based, and were very pleased to find this offering on a pizza menu.
This recipe then is a tribute to the sourdough pizzas we enjoyed in Bath England. After trying several variations at home, this is our current favorite.
INGREDIENTS FOR PIZZA DOUGH
The following will make two pizza doughs:
225ml water
60g sourdough starter
6g salt
300g bread flour
TOPPINGS
Pizza sauce
Pesto
Mozzarella cheese
Provolone cheese
Carmelized onions (pizza #1)
Sautéed mushrooms – use a variety of mushrooms (pizza #2)
Tomatoes (optional)
DIRECTIONS FOR PIZZA DOUGH
Prepare The Dough: Combine sourdough starter, salt and water in a large bowl. Stir to combine ingredients. Add the bread flour. Continue mixing to incorporate the flour. Place the dough mixture into a container (straight-sided recommended to monitor rise level). Cover the container with a cloth and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch And Fold The Dough: Pull the dough toward the center and fold as you turn the container, repeating for a couple of turns of the container. Then let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Repeat this process another four times over the next two hours.
Rise And Fermentation: Cover the container with a towel and let the dough rise until it nearly doubles in volume. This will take between 4 to 18 hours.
Segment And Shape The Dough: After the dough has doubled, place it on a floured work surface and form into a ball. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and transfer into separate containers. Place each container in the refrigerator between 6 hours to 3 days.
DIRECTIONS FOR BAKING PIZZAS
Prepare Pizza Dough For Baking: When you are ready to bake the pizzas, take out a portion of the dough from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for one to two hours before baking. Dust some flour on your work surface, and place your dough on top to rest.
Preheat your oven to 475 ºF. Place a baking steel in the oven while it is pre-heating.
Shape the dough into roughly 12-inch rounds. Do not use a rolling pin to shape the dough, rather shape it with your hands. Begin by pressing down on the dough and form a rim around the edges with your hands in the center of the dough. Next stretch the dough by turning the dough and pressing out with one hand, being careful to keep a slightly formed higher edge on the outside of the dough.
Transfer the dough to your baking steel.
Place toppings on the pizza as noted in the ingredients section.
Bake for about 6-8 minutes.
OUR RECREATION OF BATH ENGLAND SOURDOUGH PIZZA
