Pizza dough..

This recipe utilises my master recipe as a base, and the dough is made with Cotswold Flour pizza flour, link below. This flour has been created specifically for making pizza bases (but is also great for making sourdough loaves too as I can fully attest) and is made with strong white bread flour plus a flour conditioner, vitamin C powder (aka ascorbic acid), which helps to produce not only a great structure in the dough but mostly to give us a wonderfully relaxed and easy to stretch dough which is ideal for making pizzas. 

If you don’t have access to this flour, try using straight strong bread flour, all purpose flour or type 00, the same guidelines will apply, all you may need to do is tweak the amount of water but I’d still suggest using my quantities as your starting point. Or you could try adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to your mix or some vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid) to see how it changes the feel and behaviour of the dough. 

What you need to know about my pizza dough recipe…

Water: I have got 2 versions of the same recipe, the only difference being how much water is used in the mix. I never talk about hydration percentages as I find it redundant information, I’m only using them here as an example to explain what I’m sharing. For information only and to compare, my standard master recipe is 70% hydration; all that means is that as a standard, the water content (350g) is 70% of the flour content (500g).

The first version of the recipe therefore uses what equates to 60% hydration and the second version equates to 65%. The one with less water is a perfect starting point for your pizza making as it produces dough that is easy to work with and not too soft and scary. This version is also ideal if you are doing the first mixes in an electric mixer.

If you feel comfortable with that level of water then try to slightly higher one and see how it feels.

Both options produce perfectly light and airy pizza crusts and tasty bases.

Starter: I have used less starter than usual in these recipes as it is summer at the moment, and summer is often a pizza making time. Feel free to increase it to my standard 50g if you feel it’s needed taking into account all of the information about making sourdough and how it is affected by the weather and heat. 

Yield: as there are 3 of us in my family, these recipes produce 3 balls of dough, and each ball is perfect for a 12” pizza base. 

You can easily scale this up or down based on your requirement.

Flour: As mentioned above, click HERE for the pizza flour I have used in these recipes.

Timing: these doughs REALLY benefit from a long rest in the fridge, 2-3 days works well, I’ve even left them for 5 days before using the dough balls and they’ve been fine. This can really help with planning ahead.

Equipment: a covered pan like the one I use is perfect for proving the dough balls in the fridge, if you can I highly recommend getting one or some, plus these will work well for making focaccia and other things. Mine is a ‘Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Quarter Sheet with Lid, Aluminium Baking Tray’.

You can find the ones I use here in the US. Or here in the UK.

Also needed:

Mixing bowl

Digital scales

Bowl scraper 

Shower cap 

Version one (60%):

20g starter

270g water

450g pizza flour (see intro)

Salt to taste 

Version two (65%):

20g starter

290g water

450g pizza flour (see intro)

Salt to taste 

Fine semolina flour or rice flour 

Method 

Step 1: late afternoon/early evening, roughly mix together all the ingredients in your mixing bowl, cover with your shower cap and leave the bowl on the counter.

Step 2: after 2 hours, perform one set of pulls and folds on the dough, lifting and pulling the dough up and over and across the bowl, repeatedly, all the way round and round the bowl, until it becomes smooth. The dough will be stretchy. Cover the bowl again and leave it on the counter.

Step 3: After 1 hour, perform two more sets of pulls and folds, each time the dough should come into an easy bouncy smooth ball. Each time it comes into a ball, cover the bowl again and leave it on the counter. These actions do not need to be a set time apart. 

For more details about how I make my dough and what this recipe is based on, visit my full master recipe: https://foodbodsourdough.com/the-process/

Step 4: Leave to prove overnight/until doubled in size. 

Step 5: Split the dough equally into 3 pieces. Sprinkle semolina or rice flour in your pan/tub and over the counter. Shape the dough pieces into tight balls, place them smooth side up in your prepared pan, cover it, and place it into the fridge. It will prove again and the dough will develop into the beautiful orbs of dough you can see in my photos.

Step 6: to then use the dough, my pizza advisor, Scott’s (see below) best advice, and what I’ve been doing as a result, is to take the covered pan holding the balls of proved dough from the fridge a few hours before needing to use them, this helps the dough to relax which makes them easier to stretch and handle. 

To use: shape your base, top with your favourite toppings and cook/bake it as you always do. 

Or for lots of tips and to see and hear more about this, watch our new podcast episode with Scott and see him give me a lesson in shaping pizza bases – and in that episode I am using sourdough pizza doughs made exactly as above so you’ll be able to see it in action. Have your dough made and ready! 

Listen:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-foodbod-pod/id1670904926?i=1000665566081

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1a7lsV2w51qYRq8zSw5ucx?si=IK29cjJ0T8a5wu1CjRSuVA

Or search for the Foodbod Pod on all podcast platforms.

Watch:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/xWwv1-6IK0o?si=40MUvD_Gx26Lk7YJ

Me with my first ever Ooni cooked sourdough pizza –
all coming up on the next episode!

Stuffed pizza rolls

I am very excited to share a recipe from my upcoming new book with you! These stuffed pizza rolls are perfect for a family get together, pretty much for any meal, for a pack up, a picnic, a party, a snack, breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, and really any event. They also freeze and defrost perfectly, and are fun to make yourself or with kids or as a shared baking project. There’s minimal shaping, the muffin tin does it all for you, just roll them up, chop them up, stuff them into the muffin pan wells and bake!

I hope you will give them a go, give them your own twist, and that you love them…

These pizza rolls are made using one of my favorite processes—stretching out my dough after the main overnight proof, covering it with my favorite ingredients, rolling it up, chopping it up and baking the pieces into filled rolls. In this recipe, I have updated my process and use a standard muffin tray to bake the rolls in. This works perfectly to provide a uniform size but also helps to shape the rolls. It means that even if the dough gets messy or hard to handle, you can stuff it into the muffin spaces and it will still bake up beautifully to even sized muffin shaped rolls.”

🌟🌟🌟 watch the video of my recent international bakealong and you can see me making these rolls in my kitchen 🌟🌟🌟 click here to watch.


Equipment: Have a 12-hole muffin tray ready, preferably nonstick. If your muffin tin is not nonstick, lightly spray or grease inside the wells with a neutral or flavorless oil or butter.

Makes 12 roll ups

Ingredients:

Dough

50 g (1⁄4 cup) active starter

325 g (11⁄3 cups) water

500 g (4 cups) strong white bread flour

7 g (1 tsp) salt, or to taste

Filling

150 g (3/4 cup) pizza sauce

200 g (2 cups) grated cheese (I use hard “pizza mozzarella” that I can grate. You can also use a mix of mozzarella and Monterey Jack)

Additional pizza toppings of your choice (for example, thinly cut mushrooms or sliced meats such as pepperoni or chorizo [avoid anything too thick or chunky])

Method:

Step 1: In the early evening, in a large mixing bowl, roughly mix together all the ingredients, except the pizza sauce, cheese and any other filling ingredients, leaving the dough shaggy. Cover the bowl with a clean shower cap or your choice of cover and leave it on the counter for 2 hours.

Step 2: After the 2 hours, perform the first set of pulls and folds on the dough; it will be sticky at this point, but stretchy. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter.

Step 3: Once the dough has rested for at least an hour, complete two more sets of pulls and folds on the dough throughout the evening, covering the bowl after each set. The dough will be nicely stretchy and will easily come together into a firm ball each time. Complete the final set before going to bed.

Step 4: Leave the covered bowl on the counter overnight, typically 8 to 10 hours, at 64 to 68°F (18 to 20°C).

Step 5: The next morning, place the dough, untouched but still covered, in the fridge for at least an hour, until you are ready to use it; this could be for lunch, dinner or a meal the next day. The dough will firm up, making it easier to work with later.

Step 6: When you are ready to bake, decide whether you would like to bake in a preheated oven or from a cold start. If preheating, set the oven to 400°F (200°C) convection or 425°F (220°C) conventional.

Take your bowl of dough from the fridge. Sprinkle flour over your kitchen counter. Using a bowl scraper or your hands, gently ease the bubbly risen dough from the bowl onto the counter. Use your fingertips to start stretching and pushing out the dough, until it becomes a rectangle that measures 18 x 12 inches (45 x 30 cm) with an even thickness all over. The dough will want to pull back as you stretch it; continue to pull it gently, careful not to make holes in the dough. If the dough starts to tear or seems very hard to stretch, let it rest on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes allowing the gluten in the dough to relax and try again.

Spread the pizza sauce evenly all over the stretched dough and sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top, right up to the edges. If you are adding extra fillings, place them over the sauce and cheese. Roll up the dough from one of the longer edges toward the other to make an even, tight roll of dough. Using a dough knife or sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces, approximately 11⁄2 inches (4 cm) wide. Place them, cut side down, in the muffin pan hollows. If the rolled up portions of filled dough start to fall apart, or you struggle with the dough holding together, push them into the pan hollows however they come. Do not worry about perfect shaping; the muffin pan will create the roll shapes for you as they bake.

Step 7: If you preheated the oven, bake the rolls uncovered for 25 minutes. If you are using a cold start, place the filled muffin pan in the cold oven, set the temperature as above and set a timer for 30 minutes.

Step 8: Once they are baked, remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the rolls and let them sit briefly on a rack before serving. They are best eaten freshly baked, but my testers also informed me that they were still great eaten a few days later and reheated in a microwave for 30 seconds.

Top Tip: If you would prefer to bake them later, follow step 6 to fill, roll and cut the dough up into pieces, and then place the rolls into the muffin tin. Cover the tin with a large plastic bag or damp tea towel and place it into the fridge. When you are ready to bake, you can bake them directly from the fridge, following the directions above.

Happy baking! Happy making, rolling, cutting, baking, and EATING! If you choose to order it, I truly hope you like my new book xx

Introducing my brand new podcast…

🌟🌟🌟 I HAVE NEWS 🌟 I HAVE NEWS!!!!!! 🌟🌟🌟

I am very excited to share that I have launched a brand new food based podcast, The Foodbod Pod, a total celebration of food, by food lovers, for food lovers. Focussed on celebrating home cooks and bakers, I’d love it if you fancied tuning in and having a listen, and let me know what you think.

Find the full details and how to listen on my new website Foodbod Pod, click to visit and hear all about it…

The Foodbod Pod, a brand new podcast, all about FOOD!

We will be bringing you monthly podcast episodes – click over to listen to our very first episode, available NOW, worldwide, and hear us tell you all about it and what’s coming up. I am so excited about this, I truly hope you love it, and that you’ll join us for the ride – let me know what you think!