When I want pizza and haven’t planned ahead, I make a yeasted dough and add some of my sourdough starter for same-day flavor complexity. This is a combination of my regular pizza dough adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Pizza Napoletana and my sourdough pizza adapted from Maurizio Leo’s recipe.
This dough makes the same amount as my other recipes, but I divided it into four pieces for bigger pizzas, about 12-inch diameter with thin crust. If you are looking to keep the dough refrigerated or frozen, I recommend using my regular pizza dough as the sourdough gets more and more sour with age. (If you want to try your hand at 100% sourdough pizza crust and have three days lead time, I have a recipe for that too!)
Same Day Pizza Dough
makes dough for four individual pizzas, 12-inches each; adapted from Peter Reinhart's Pizza Napoletana in The Bread Baker's Apprentice and Maurizo Leo's Sourdough Pizza Dough from The Perfect Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (or instant yeast)
- 1¾ cups water 400–450 grams
- 1 tablespoon sugar or honey 12 grams
- 4½ cups 00 pizza flour 580 grams; Highland Harmony Farms is wonderful
- ½ cup sourdough starter, 100% hydration, recently refreshed 125 grams
- 2 tablespoons olive oil 26 grams
- 2 teaspoons salt 12 grams
Pizza
- cornmeal for dusting peel or pan optional, use parchment instead
- sauce and cheese for pizza making
Instructions
Pizza Dough
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Measure water into glass measuring cup, ensure it is not too hot or it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast into the water, add the sugar or honey, stir and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. (If your yeast is instant, you do not need to proof it. Just mix everything together and proceed with the next step.)
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Using an electric stand mixer mix the flour, sourdough starter, olive oil, salt, and the contents of your yeast-sugar/honey-water measuring cup until combined (paddle or dough hook), then turn off the mixer and let dough rest 5 minutes.
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Knead 5 minutes using the dough hook until you have a smooth dough that actively gathers around the hook.
If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If the dough is too dry, dribble in additional water a tablespoon at a time.
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Shape dough into a ball and transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 60–90 minutes.
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Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and gently round each into a ball. Lightly oil the surface of each and transfer to a covered container to rest until an hour or two before pizza baking time.
Pizza
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Remove the dough balls from the refrigerator one to two hours in advance of pizza making time.
Lightly dust counter with flour, flatten each dough ball slightly, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for an hour or two.
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If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven. Preheat oven to 475°F.
If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan or a pizza pan. Do not preheat the pan, just get the oven nice and hot.
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Working one at a time, turn dough upside down and using your hands in a "V"-shape, lightly press the dough from the center towards the edge, leaving the edge untouched to create a puffy edge of dough around the pizza. Flip and repeat on the other side.
Transfer the dough to your fists and work to gently stretch and ease the dough close to 12-inches in diameter. Transfer to a pizza pan or piece of parchment paper.
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Lightly top each pizza with sauce, cheese, and toppings using a less less-is-more philosophy. Slide each pizza in turn onto the stone (or put pizza pan or pizza-topped sheet pan in oven) and bake 8–10 minutes. Slice, or not, and eat!
