How to Make a Pizza Crust Using a Sourdough Starter

What is sourdough?
Here is some wiki knowledge.

How to make it?
Follow this link to find out more!

I was lucky enough to be given a 100 year old sourdough or, at least, that is what the person who gave it to me was told. What matters more than the age of this starter is the fact that it is very vigorous and strong.

Recipe #1

Adapting the poolish style of pre-fermenting dough adding discarded sourdough as the primary fresh starter. Go here for additional details: Poolish Starter and Pizza: Easy Recipe

Ingredients (possible all organic):

• gr. 400 white all purpose flour or bread flour
  
• gr. 200 sourdough
• gr. 300 water
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (about gr.5)
• Salt (gr.10 to gr.15)
  

Step 1
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, let it rest for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature. Cover the bowl with a lid, or plastic wrap and a towel.
Set in fridge for at least 24 hours.

Step 2
Remove from fridge and let rest between 1 and 2 hours. The dough's surface should start showing the formation of bubbles, the size will develop also.

Step 3
Add gr.200 of white flour and salt, gently mix until you have a well formed dough. 

Step 4
Set it in a bowl, covered and let it rest at room temperature (21C - 71F) until it doubles its size.

Step 5
Remove it from the bowl and set it on a floured surface, cut the dough in four to create four separate panetti (ball shaped dough, each should weight approximately about gr.270.)

Step 6
Set the panetti in a wide container like a pan to give enough space between each ball (~3.5 - 4 inches), cover the pan and let the panetti double their size.

At this point be ready to start making some awesome pizza!

Recipe #2

If your sourdough starter is not very strong you might consider add between gr.5 and gr.10 of dry active yeast. This additional yeast will boost the dough levitation.

Therefore you will have the following:

Ingredients:

• gr. 400 white all purpose flour or bread flour
  
• gr. 200 sourdough
• gr. 300 water
• gr.5 to gr.10 of Active Dry Yeast 
  
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (about gr.5)
• Salt (gr.10 to gr.15)
  

Follow the rest of the steps like in Recipe #1

Recipe #3

Instead of holding the levitation in the fridge, once you completed either Recipe #1 or #2 - let the fermentation process happen at room temperature.

After about 12 hours (or over night), carefully monitor the state of your dough and make sure that it maintains consistency with a health sponge like texture. The dough should have a nice sourdough smell (not too acidic).

Once the dough is ready, see Recipe #1 and continue following from Step 3 on.

Recipe #4 

This recipe, instead of 12 hours in the fridge is 24 to 72 hours.

• gr. 400 bread flour
• gr. 500 sour dough
• gr. 200 water (room temperature)
• gr. 5 Turbinado sugar
• Salt (gr.10 to gr.15)
  

After 24 to 72 hours of rest (in the fridge) combine another gr.400 to gr. 500 of bread flour. Mix, add salt, let it rest until the size doubles.

From Recipe #1 proceed with Steps 5 and 6.
 

Happy pizza making!