Sourdough Pizza Margherita

Sourdough Pizza Margherita is an amazing pizza you have to try! It starts with a dough that is easy to put together with your sourdough starter. Fluffy and lighter than a typical dough with a light sourdough tang. An incredible pizza for pizza night the whole family will love!

Sourdough Pizza Margherita

This post was originally posted in August 2012 and slightly updated on October 18, 2019.

It’s really not that difficult to make your own dough. And once your dough is ready, all the hard work is done. You roll out your pizza dough and toss on your favorite toppings. Enjoy a glass of wine and  relax while it bakes into pizza perfection.

My mom happened to be here yesterday to join us for dinner and let’s just say, I couldn’t contain my excitement over this dough. Do you ever brag so much about something you make that your mate or your entire family and friends tell you, “Alright, enough already. YES! IT’S AMAZING! Can we just eat?!?”

Sometimes that happens over here. Last night I wasn’t bragging about the dough because I was actually not sure how to describe how AMAZING it was. So I reached out to my mom sitting to the left at me for her opinion.

Me, “Mom. The dough is so…”
My mom doesn’t miss a beat thinking I finished my sentence, “It is.”
Me (slightly perplexed), “It is what?!?”
My mom, “Fluffy and perfect. I thought you had just said that it’s fluffy and perfect and I was agreeing.”

Ok, sometimes we pretend we hear things because we are so enthralled in our food and really don’t want to talk about how good it is. This was one of those moments.

I LOVE this pizza dough. I like how the good people at King Arthur’s Flour describe the dough:   “The vigor of the starter enhances the pizza dough’s rise. Even the merest hint of tang comes across as rich flavor, which marries beautifully with the usual pizza toppings of tomato, cheese, veggies, and meat” I kept my pizza simple this time. I usually like to add either some combo of veggies or anchovies (gasp! I know! anchovies. What can I say. My dad is Sicilian and I can’t get enough of anchovies.)

That’s what it was. It was that subtle tang and the rich flavor. It also was the lightness of the dough. A lightness I’ve never experienced with my usual pizza doughs. My hubs makes a much thinner pizza crust. My mother-in-law Teresa in Italy makes a crust that is almost just like this. This pizza recipe is a reason to keep sourdough starter around.

Guess what? I’m proclaiming tomorrow another pizza night!

I know you are sitting on the edges of your seats wondering how in the heck do you make your sourdough starter, Lora? It is all in this post! If sourdough has never thrilled you and maybe even scared you a little, I’ll try to walk you through it.

It all starts out with this baby here…(maybe I should name him??)

What tomato sauce is best for pizza?

My Italian chef-husband taught me that it is best to keep it simple with a raw tomato sauce. The flavor is fresh and light. We use pureed San Marzano DOP canned tomatoes. Feel free to use Italian plum tomatoes, a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and salt. That is all it takes.

It’s best to spread on a not too thick layer of the sauce. A thick layer will weigh down the dough and stop the crust from crisping up.

What is the best mozzarella for pizza?

We love fresh mozzarella that is not packed in water. Grated cheese does not work for this recipe.

We love the Bel Goioso brand. I find it every market (or buy something similar).

The cheese is cut into 1/2-inch cubes and sprinkled over the pizza. You may only find a water packed mozzarella. That’s fine, just be sure to pat it dry before placing it on the pizza.

How do you make a Sourdough Pizza Margherita?

Sourdough Pizza Margherita

Dough

1 cup sourdough starter unfed (straight from the fridge)
1/2 cup warm water
1 packet instant yeast (King Arthur’s Flour recipe has 1/2 tsp.I used more for faster rise)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour (you could use all-purpose flour if you prefer)
1 tbsp. salt

Topping

1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup fresh mozzarella, diced
fresh basil

Dough Directions

In a large bowl, pour in warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let whisk it together. Let it sit for a few minutes. Pour in the sourdough starter, flours, and salt. Stir together with a wooden spoon until combined. Place the sourdough starter in a bowl. Add in the warm water, flours, salt and yeast. Stir until a slightly sticky and malleable dough forms. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl (I cover with a kitchen towel) and let stand in a warm spot to rise (until dough is about doubled in size). Since I’m in Florida, it’s easy to find a warm spot and it usually rises in less than an hour.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 420 F. (I know some people make their pizzas on much higher heat. This temperature works fine for my pizza). If you’re using a pizza stone, now is the time to preheat it. I would preheat it toward the last 1/2 hour of the dough’s rising time.

My dough at just one hour of rising time. Very ready to gently deflate.

Pizza making time!
Place the deflated dough on a lightly floured clean counter. Roll out the dough to your desired size for your pan. Brush the perimeter of the dough with olive oil.

Spoon on the sauce in the middle of the pizza dough. (I made two pizzas. One on my pizza stone and one on my pizza pan. I wanted to test the crust texture difference and they were pretty much identical).

Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

Toss on the mozzarella pieces, drizzle on some olive oil and bake another 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and has a little color. Let pizza cool slightly before slicing.

PIN for later!

dough recipe: slightly adapted from King Arthur’s Flour

Buon appetito!

More sourdough recipes:

sourdough starter

sourdough pie crust

sourdough banana bread

sourdough pumpkin coffee cake

sourdough einkorn bread

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Sourdough Pizza Margherita

Sourdough Pizza Margherita is an amazing pizza you have to try! It starts with a dough that is easy to put together with your sourdough starter. Fluffy and lighter than a typical dough with a light sourdough tang. An incredible pizza for pizza night the whole family will love!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time22 mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pizza, sourdough starter

Servings: 2 large pizzas

Author: Lora

Ingredients

• DOUGH
• 1 cup sourdough starter unfed straight from the fridge
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 packet instant yeast King Arthur’s Flour recipe has 1/2 tsp.I used more for faster rise
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup bread flour you could use all-purpose flour if you prefer
• 1 tbsp salt
• TOPPING
• 1 cup tomato sauce (I use San Marzano DOP tomatoes pureed)
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella diced
• fresh basil

Instructions

• DOUGH
• In a large bowl, pour in warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let whisk it together. Let it sit for a few minutes. Pour in the sourdough starter, flours, and salt. Stir together with a wooden spoon until combined. Place the sourdough starter in a bowl. Add in the warm water, flours, salt and yeast. Stir until a slightly sticky and malleable dough forms. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let stand in a warm spot to rise until dough is about doubled in size (about 1.5-2 hours, depending on how warm the spot in your kitchen is).
• While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 420 (I know some people make their pizzas on much higher heat. This temperature works fine for my pizza). If you’re using a pizza stone, now is the time to preheat it. I would preheat it toward the last 1/2 hour of the dough’s rising time.
• BAKE PIZZA
• Make a quick pizza sauce by pureeing the canned tomatoes and adding in the olive oil and salt. Stir it to combine. Set aside until ready to spoon on top of pizza dough.
• Place the deflated dough on a lightly floured clean counter. Roll out the dough to your desired size for your pan. Brush the perimeter of the dough with olive oil.
• Spoon on the sauce in the middle of the pizza dough. (I made two pizzas. One on my pizza stone and one on my pizza pan. I wanted to test the crust texture difference and they were pretty much identical).
• Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Toss on the mozzarella pieces and bake another 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and has a little color. Let pizza cool slightly before slicing.

Notes

To freeze dough: If preparing the dough in advance: once the dough has rested and doubled in size, separate into two portions, wrap each portion of dough well in plastic wrap, and place  zipped lock freezer bags. Use the dough within 24 hours if keeping in the refrigerator. The dough will stay frozen for  up to 3 months.

To thaw: let thaw in the refrigerator. Then place in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave at room temp for at least 30 minutes prior to using. 

 

 

 

 

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