Neapolitan Style Sourdough Pizza

There is no food more debated than pizza. From crust, to sauce, to shape, toppings, cooking, cutting, it’s the most controversial food in the world. It’s also probably one of the best. Being from Chicago I’ve made my fair share of deep dish at home but I truly believe its something better left up to the pros. But when it comes to thin crust, that I’ll rock with any day.

Being that today is national Sourdough day, I went with a sourdough crust. Tangy, bubbly, and crunchy, there’s nothing better than the classic. I won’t get into the sourdough vs yeast debate because I like them both, but I think yeast should stick to cracker and tavern crust. Anyway, here’s my sourdough crust recipe and I’m throwing in my pizza sauce recipe because unlike my real red sauce recipe, it’s not a hundred year old secret.

Side note, this can be made in one day but I like to relax so I like the overnight method.

This can also be done without using a stand mixer and all by hand but when it comes to pizza dough I much prefer a mixer to hand kneading.

Also, when using fresh mozzarella, only put it on a minute or two before the pizza is done to prevent it from drying out. And if you can for your other cheese, make sure its freshly grated as well, no one needs that plastic stuff.

Basic Pizza Sauce

three cloves of garlic, minced

one fourteen ounce can of whole tomatoes, preferably san marzano

one six ounce can of tomato paste

three tablespoons of Villa Graziella herb vegetable seasoning

two tablespoons of crushed red pepper

three tablespoons of sugar

two tablespoons of salt

Drain and pulse tomatoes until almost completely blended but still some small chunks. This can also be done by hand.

In a pan on medium high heat, simmer garlic in olive oil until cooked, about thirty seconds.

Add tomato paste to pan, mix around until smooth.

Add blended tomatoes and mix.

Add seasonings and mix.

Allow to simmer on low heat occasionally stirring for about ten minutes at least. Then leave on very low heat or covered to stay warm.

Sourdough Pizza

makes three eight-to-ten inch pizzas

four hundred grams of flour, plus fifty for surface flouring

two hundred grams of sourdough starter

two hundred and fifty grams of water

thirteen grams of fine sea salt

seven grams of granulated sugar

two tablespoons of Villa Graziella olive oil

In a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add water, sugar, and salt. Mix for a few seconds to max sure everything dissolves.

With the mixer on low, slowly add in flour and sourdough starter in batches. You may need to add a small amount of extra flour or water depending on your starter’s hydration level, but be careful not to make this dough overly tacky or overly dry.

Once everything is incorporated, allow the dough to be kneaded in the mixer for ten minutes. The dough should be smooth with a slight spring.

Using either the mixer bowl or a new bowl, round the dough and cover it with a wooden board or a damp towel. Here is where you can leave it in the fridge for twenty four hours or leave it at room temperature for six to eight hours if making that day.

After the first fermentation, remove the dough and cut into thirds, it should be about two hundred and seventy per portion. Roll the portions into a ball, taking the torn parts and tucking them underneath with the roll and pressing out the air, then rerolling against the counter. It should kind of look like the picture below. Place the three balls in a tray, making sure they are far enough apart to expand and not touch, and cover with a towel. Here you can do eight hours in the fridge or three hours at room temperature.

I did three hours in the fridge and three hours out just because I started early today

Preheat your oven to five hundred degrees for forty five minutes with the pizza stone in.

Once the dough is ready it is time to start shaping. This can be scary for people who have only used a roller to get their pizza flat and worry about the showy dough spin or not being able to get a solid circle. Let me ease your fears: pizza isn’t perfect. It’s messy, dough can be finicky, and shaping takes practice, but these instructions and pictures should help.

Take the dough, bottom/soft side faceing up on the counter, and press the center in to make a well. Slowly push against the well’s edges to push the dough further and further out into a circle. Once it is about four or five inches wide, place both your hands in the center as fists and gentle bounce the pizza off your hands, this should force the weight of the edges of the dough to drop and expand farther. You can keep doing this method until it hits about eight to ten inches or you can grab the edges of the dough and spin them around vertically, also pulling on the weight to help it expand. Either way, you should get a decent circle.

Making a small well in the middle and pushing out toward the edges

After spinning off my fists, a ten inch circle appears with slightly raised edges. NO ROLLING!

Here is the other home oven trick since most home ovens don’t go above five hundred degrees: Ten minutes before you put your pizza in, open your oven slightly for about twenty seconds so the internal thermometer sees a drop and then change it from bake to broil. This will allow the broiler to turn up to full blast, giving you more heat throughout the over as well as the broiling effect on top to get some great crunchy crust.

Now for the placement. If you don’t have a pizza peel, I recommend a well floured piece of cardboard or a rimless baking sheet. Place the pizza on your peel or peel replacement, top with sauce and toppings, drizzle with some Villa Graziella Olive Oil, and bake for eight to ten minutes.