HOW TO M A K E
SOUR DOUGH PIZZA
I succumbedtotheallureof
bakinghomemadesourdough
whileI hadmoretimeathome.
I’vebeentinkeringwith
sourdoughpizzafora coupleof
monthsandthisrecipeiseasy
tomakeanddoesn’tinvolvemuchmoreeffort
thana littleforwardplanning.Ifyou’renot
yeta sourdoughfanaticI’vegivenanoption
forusingregularyeast,butstillwitha long
provetogetmaximumflavourinthecrust.
Bellissimo! FOODEDITORJENBEDLOEEscape to Italy in your own garden
HOWTOMAKEA SOURDOUGHSTARTER
If youdon’thavea starter(atangyhomemade
culturethatnurtureswildyeastandaddsthe
sourflavour)it’ssimpletomakeone.Allyou
needarethreeingredients:strongwhitebread
flour,ryeflourandwater– pluspatienceas
youneed8-9daysforthestartertodevelopand
becomestrongenoughtobakewith(don’tbe
putoff– it takesverylittleofyouractualtime).
Forstep-by-stepinstructions,search
‘sourdough’atdeliciousmagazine.co.uk.
If youpreferyoucanusecommercialyeast
tomakethedough– replace50gsourdough
starterwith5g(1tsp)fast-actiondriedyeast.Tips from the expert
BY KRISTIAN TAPANINAHO, FOUNDER OF THE
RENOWNED OONI PIZZA OVENSCAN YOU SUBSTITUTE OTHER FLOUR FOR BREAD FLOUR?
Yes, you can use all-purpose plain flour, but
you’ll need to reduce the amount of water by
about 5% (13g less than in the recipe overleaf ).HOW LONG CAN YOU LEAVE THE DOUGHBALLS TO
PROVE (RISE) IN THE FRIDGE?
Once you’ve shaped your doughballs you can
cold-prove them in the fridge for between 8 and
72 hours, then bring the doughballs back up to
room temperature (about 2 hours). If the
dough isn’t at room temperature before you
start stretching, it will be too tight to stretch.CAN YOU FREEZE LEFTOVER DOUGH?
Yes: put the balls in the freezer on baking paper
and open-freeze for an hour. Remove and
tightly wrap each ball in cling film, then freeze
for up to 3 months. To use: unwrap, then thaw
at room temperature for 5 hours with the cling
film loosely draped over to stop a skin forming.TRICKS FOR GETTING A THIN, CRISP CRUST
It’s best to stretch rather than roll. Once you’re
ready to stretch, push your fingers into the centre
of the dough – don’t be afraid to use strength.
Push all the way out to the edge so the crust
(or cornicione) is filled with air. This ensures
the perfect, pillowy crust. Use your knuckles
to stretch the dough from underneath and let
gravity do the work as you rotate the base. For
th perfect thin base, hold up the stretched
dough to the light to check how translucent it is.
For a Neapolitan-style base, you should be able
to see quite a lot of light coming through. RECIPE: JEN BEDLOE. PHOTOGRAPHS: CHRIS COURT. FOOD STYLING: KIRSTEN JENKINS
90 deliciousmagazine.co.uk