How to make the perfect sourdough pizza according to 10 top chefs

Pizza – has there ever been a more perfect dish? The concept is simple… a base to hold while you eat, a thin layer of sauce to add a base flavor and then any topping you can think of to finish it off… Our pizza obsession has led us to study 10 great chefs to learn their secrets. Dozens of recordings later and hours spent reviewing their techniques has led us to these tips.

There is a difference between a sourdough pizza and a yeast-dough pizza: sourdough pizzas have a smaller crust, are chewier and tangier. While the best pizza doughs are made with sourdough starters, the ease and convenience of commercial baker’s yeast mean that most pizzerias cut corners.

The perfect sourdough pizza needs to have 5 things:

1. A base packed with flavor.
2. A thick and chewy crust that one can hold and yet light enough not to be “bready”.
3. A thin crust at the center, barely enough to hold the toppings yet not so thick as to overpower the toppings.
4. A light and tasty tomato sauce.
5. A set of toppings that tantalise the taste buds with every bite.

How to make a good pizza base?

To make a good pizza crust, a leavening agent such as yeast is required. This leavening agent helps the dough rise, become bubbly and lighter. Without yeast, the pizza base would be a flat, cardboard-like substance, similar to a cracker. Yeast is found either in a sourdough starter or can be bought as a commercial baker’s yeast.

What are the 4 most common leaving agents?

• Baking Powder: Baking powder is normally used for cakes and tends to create a fine textured crumb. This leavening agent is activated in 2 stages: once it is wetted (i.e. once it comes into contact with a liquid such as water) and once when it comes into contact with heat (i.e. once the dough is in the oven). This agent works by releasing tiny carbon dioxide bubbles which are perfect for any dough that does not need to have too much structure or gluten. The resulting pizza base will be more like a crumpet or muffin, with little extra taste and a very fine crumb. While useable, it will not taste or feel right.
• Bicarbonate of Soda: This rising agent is similar to baking powder except that it has an extra component that is required as it is activated once it comes into contact with an acid such as tartaric acid. This product is the predecessor of baking powder and tends to be used in older recipes and where the final product should have a mild, acidic or tart taste. This makes it a close replacement for soudough starter in terms of taste but not texture.
• Baker’s Yeast: This is the best known leavening agent and is routinely used in baking breads and related products. This is a specifc strain of yeast which is sold either as a dried produt or as a fresh one. The dried version is the most popular as it tends to come in pre-weighed sachets and does not need to be looked after like a sorudough starter. The end product has a grwat texture but tastes more bland like regular bread as it lacks the additional lacto-bacteria which give the sourdough starter its distinct flavor. Most pizzas are made with commercial yeast as it is fast-acting and easy to use.
• Sourdough Starter: This is a cultivated yeast which started in the wild. The wild yeast is found in the air and on various products such as apples, grapes, flour, etc. The environment is full of different wild yeasts and bacteria which compete for food sources. This wild yeast is “tamed” over a week or two by a baker until a stable culutre of desirable yeast and bacteria are developed. We have a guide on how to prepare a sourdough starter and a troubleshooting guide for when things go wrong… you could also have a look at our cooking book collection for ideas.

How Is Sourdough Pizza Different?

Flavor

Pizza made with baker’s yeast tends to be more “bready” and bland. Yes, if allowed to slow-ferment, such a dough will develop deeper flavors, but will never come close to a proper sourdough.

Sourdough pizza bases are often allowed to slow-ferment for up to 48 hours, meaning that the lacto-bacteria have had time to multiply and create the lovely acidic fermented taste of this technique. Depending on the proofing temperature, the dough can go from subtly sour to extremely sour, along with a range of complex flavors from the fermentation byproducts.

Texture

In addition to its unique flavor, the dough develops a special elasticity in the proofing process, The resulting crust tends to be denser and thinner, with some extra-large air bubbles when compared to a yeast-based dough. This is the same when comparing sourdough bread to regular bread.

Commercial yeast tends to multiply faster and be more active than wild yeast, thus giving the dough far more “spring”. A sourdough starter in contrast could be more sluggish or active, depending on how frequently it is fed, when it is used, and what the proofing temperature and time were. Less active starters will give much denser crusts.

Preparation

Sourdough preparation is an art and a science. Not only does the starter have to be refreshed prior to use, adding several hours to the process, but the technique itself is slower to allow the additional flavors to develop.

usually, one has to start a sourdough pizza at least one full day prior to use, preferably 2 days ahead. This means planning is crucial to avoid running out of dough.

Baker’s yeast doughs are much faster to make, at the very fastest, 2 hours, as one can simply add more yeast to speed up the process.

Switching from one to the other is simple. Just remember to add the amount of flour and water in the sourdough starter to the recipe’s quantities to determine the whole amount of water and flour present, then add yeast accordingly. Going the other way, subtract the amount of flour and water in your starter from the yeast recipe… then allow at least an extra day of proofing for the flavor.

Sourdough mixes also tend to have a higher hydration, so you may need to add 10% or 20% more water when switching to this technique or reducing in the opposite direction. The first batch of dough will let you know!

Is Sourdough Pizza Better?

This is a personal choice, which evolves as we age. As a teenager, any pizza is great, just like simpler drinks are preferred, then as we get older, our tastebuds appreciate more complexity, more interest and we progress to white wines, then older red wines… The same happens to our choices of pizzas and their toppings. True Sourdough pizzas are a rare find and you notice the difference when you eat one. The crust gives you more of a mouthful and the chewiness makes you want to eat it. The subtle taste is also unique, which intrigues the tastebuds. This pushes these pizzas from standard fare to a unique experience. However, pizza is pizza, right? So as long as it is good, it is perfectly fine!

What Styles Of Pizza Use Sourdough?

Most pizzas use commercial yeast. The best-known pizzas outside of Italy are New York-style pizzas or Chicago-style pizzas (thin base and deep-pan) and the recipes that I can find are always yeast-based.

Traditional Italian recipes from Rome and Naples tend to use sourdough, with Neopolitan pizzas having to adhere to the AVPN rules.

Top Tips for making Paul Hollywood’s sourdough pizzas

1. Make sure to use an active starter. The more active the starter is, the better the dough will be.
2. Give the dough enough time to develop flavor. Letting this dough sit in the fridge for some 24 to 48 hours allows the tue sourdough flavors to develop. The base is as important as the toppings!
3. Stretch the base thinly, leave the edges thicker. A great pizza will have a nice chewy crust for those who like it.
4. Knead the dough for a good 10 mintues right at the start of the process. Paul hollywood makes it seem to simple, but it is not! The first 2-3 times that you do this, you may be tempted to add more flour to make the handling easier. This is the worng step, rather wet your hands to avoid any stickyness.
5. If you can, use Typo 00 flour, as it has the right grind to make a silky-soft dough but enough gluten to make a stretchy dough.

Top tips for making Yottam Ottolenghi’s pizzas:

1. Play around witht he toppings. They are as important as the dough.
2. Add in pecorino cheese where you can pair it with great flavors. Do not be afraid to lose the tomato base. A white pizza with pecorino is a delight of itself.
3. Handle the dough as little as possible. A good dough needs to be light and air. Overworking this dough means that your rise will be inconsistent and the crust too flat.

Can the same sourdough starter be used for making both pizza and baguettes?

Yes, the same sourdough starter can definitely be used for making both pizza and baguettes. Using your delicious sourdough baguette recipe, you can create a versatile starter that adds wonderful flavor and texture to both of these beloved dishes. Enjoy experimenting with different recipes!

Top tips for making Jamie Oliver’s pizzas:

1. Add up to 20% semolina flour to your regular flour. This will yield better color and flavor.
2. Use a pre-heated granite stone in the oven to dry the base faster and give the characteristic hard crust.
3. If not using typo 00 flour, make sure that the flour you use is high (>11%) in protein as this will make more gluten.
4. Hand stretch the pizza dough by letting gravity help and rotating the dough between your fingers. This will give you a thinner center and thicker edge.

Top tips for making Davide Negri pizzas:

1. Knead by hand or use a planetary mixer allows you to add more water, giving you bigger bubbles.
2. Get your hydration just right – hydration helps with making a light dough.
3. , Use a very hot oven drives off the extra moisture faster. This creates steam required to make the honeycomb structure in the crust.
4. Place the bare base in a cooking pan over a fire to get the base just right, then take off the heat, add the toppings and finish the pizza right under the grill at full blast.

Top tips for making Gordon Ramsay’s pizzas:

1. Drizzle some olive oil just prior to cooking the pizzas. It sounds counterintuitive when one considers the fats in a pizza, but oil helps propagate heat in an oven and a little goes a long way.
2. Avoid mass-produced white flour. It has been bleached and all taste stripped out.
3. Add a little olive oil to the dough to give it a subtle flavor and color.
4. After you roll out the pizza base, put it in a very hot pan on the stove with a little olive oil. Once it is half-cooked, take it off the heat, add the toppings and finish it under a very hot grill.