Chewy Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipes

THE SIMPLEST SOURDOUGH PIZZA CRUST RECIPE (WITH A PERFECT CHEW)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the starter, water, and olive oil.
• Add the flour and salt and stir to thoroughly combine. The dough will feel soft and sticky but that is exactly how it should be.
• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap (or a shower cap) and a kitchen towel and rest for 30 minutes.
• Wet your hand with a little water, scoop your hand underneath the dough, and gently grasp one side of the dough. Lightly stretch the dough in your hand away from the main mass, then fold it over. Repeat this motion on different sides of the dough 6 or so more times. (See video above for step by step.)
• Then, flip the whole mass of dough such that the seams of your folds face down against the bottom of the bowl. At this point, the dough will have become considerably more smooth, which is the goal.
• Repeat this process 3 more times: Rest the dough for another 30 minutes, then stretch and fold again exactly the same as before. All in all, you will have rest the dough for four 30 minutes increments and stretched and folded in between. In the end, the dough will be very pliable and elastic.
• Cover once more and ferment for 4 hours at room temperature. Your dough will probably not rise significantly but that is perfectly fine.
• Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Divide the dough evenly into three 8½ oz (240g) rounds.
• Tightly coat the inside of 3 one pint storage containers with oil and place a dough ball seam-side down into each one. Cover with lids.
• Important step: Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using. The dough kept in the refrigerator longer will continue to develop flavor and has a shelf life of 5 days. It can also be frozen at this time for up to 4 weeks.
• To make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a well-floured piece of parchment paper. Coat the dough lightly all over with flour as well.
• With your hands, gently flatten and stretch the dough into a thin circle about 10 inches (25cm). Form a thicker border around the edge for a lovely, bubbly pizza crust. Add pizza sauce, cheese, and desired toppings.
• Bake at 550°F (288°C) for only 8-10 minutes. Enjoy immediately.

SOURDOUGH PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Mix starter, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and flour together in a mixing bowl until it blends and forms a ball (add more or less flour to adjust consistency; if you get it too dry just add a little more starter).
• Allow dough to rest for about 30 minutes (don't look for it to rise, just to get the dough where it is easier to roll).
• Roll out mixture on parchment paper or a lightly floured surface until it fits the size of your pan, turning the dough as you roll (if you want a more even circle).
• Par-bake the crust on a pizza stone or pizza sheet for about 7 minutes, then remove from oven.
• Before topping your pizza with any sauce, cheese, or toppings, brush the top of the crust all over with remaining olive oil (as needed), using a pastry brush (this helps keep soggy moisture out of the crust as it bakes).
• Top as desired and cook until browned and cheese is melted.
• If you use certain vegetables as a topping (onions are the first thing that comes to mind) you might want to cook those about halfway before topping the pizza with them (or they will be too crunchy).

CHEWY SOURDOUGH PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Put all ingredients except cornmeal in bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer.
• Select dough cycle and start.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and form into balls.
• With a rolling pin, flatten the balls into 12- to 13-inch rounds about 1/8 inch thick.
• Fold each round in half and transfer to a bakers peel or thin baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Proof, covered, for about 45 minutes at 85 degrees F.
• Place a baking stone in a cold oven and preheat for at least 15 minutes at 450 to 500 degrees F.
• Add your toppings to the rounds of dough and transfer the pizzas to the hot baking stone (See Note).
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is brown.
• Remove from oven with bakers peel.
• NOTE: It takes practice to transfer the pizza to the stone.
• As an alternative, bake the pizza on a traditional pizza pan sprinkled with cornmeal.

CRISPY CHEWY PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine flour, water and salt and let rest for 20 minutes. Add sugar and yeast and knead on high speed for 8 minutes until smooth and glossy. Pour 2 T. of oil into a bowl and coat the sides. Turn the dough into the bowl and add 1 T. of oil to the top. Let rise for 2-2.5 hours. Preheat oven for 1 hour at 450 degrees. Pout 2 T. of oil onto a baking sheet and coat. Pout dough onto baking sheet and spread out. Poke about 30 holes in the dough with a fork and bake for 20-25 minutes. Top with your choice of sauce and toppings.