Sourdough Pizza Dough Neapolitan Style
This Sourdough Pizza Dough recipe brings a slice of Naples right to your kitchen! The sourdough twist not only enhances the texture and taste but also deepens the aroma for all bread making (and eating!) enthusiasts. Plus, with awesome ingredients like cold-smoked Scamorza and fresh Pizzarella cheese from our friends at Vannella Cheese, this pizza in a word, is sensational. We don't stop there, though—top it off with some hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes and a few slices of spicy salami for an extra kick.
Servings 4 SOURDOUGH PIZZA DOUGH BALLS
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Plastic wrap
- Pizza tray or air tight container
- Pastry scraper
- Pizza peel
- Ladle
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 100 g/3.5oz sourdough starter 100% hydration, ripe
- 1.36 cups/340g water cool
- 550 g/19.4oz plain flour or 00 Flour
- 10 g/0.3oz sea salt
- Semolina flour for stretching the dough
For the toppings:
- 1 tin of San Marzano tomatoes crushed
- Extra virgin olive oil EVOO
- Grated Pecorino cheese
- A fresh bunch of basil
- 1 stick of spicy salami thinly sliced
- 230 g/8.11oz smoked Scamorza
- 250 g/8.82oz Pizzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the starter to the water, and stir it through with a spatula until dissolved.
- Then, add the flour, then salt, and stir together until combined.
- Next, cover tightly with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Slightly dampen your hands with water then transfer the dough onto your bench.). Stretch, fold, and turn the dough, to develop structure for 1-2 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a tight ball and place it back in the mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest at room temperature for 2 hours (if it is a particularly cold day, it will need longer, ie: up to 3 hours).
- Transfer the dough onto the bench and divide it into 4 equal portions of 250g, then shape these into tight balls.
- Then, place the pizza dough balls into a tray or container which has an air-tight seal, allowing some space between them to grow in size.
- Refrigerate overnight for a minimum of 12 hours or up to a full day.
- Remove the dough from the fridge 1-2 hours before you are ready to start baking, keeping them completely covered so they don’t form a dry skin.
- Dust each pizza dough ball with semolina. Then using a pastry scraper, carefully remove the dough and place it into a bowl with semolina flour.
- Carefully, coat each side of the dough then using the flat part of your fingers, gently indent or press the centre to flatten it out without touching the edges. Flip it over and repeat on the other side.
- Gently, transfer the dough to a pizza peel and continue to flatten, stretching it until it reaches the desired size.
Making the toppings
- Start by slicing the Pizzarella cheese and smoked scamorza into long strips and cutting the salami into rounds.
- Next, ladle a generous amount of crushed San Marzano tomatoes onto the center of your stretched pizza. Using the back of the spoon, spread the sauce evenly.
- Then, add fresh basil, slices of Pizzarella, smoked scamorza, and a sprinkle of pecorino.
- To finish, add the salami and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
- Before baking, give the dough one last stretch by hooking your fingers underneath and gently pulling it outward in all directions.
Cooking the pizza
- Carefully, place the pizza in the oven. Watch the side of the pizza closest to the flame, and once you see the crust browning, rotate the pizza to ensure even cooking on all sides.
- Regularly, check the bottom of the pizza for leopard spots.
- Finally, bake the pizza for a total of 90 seconds (depending on your pizza oven).