Salesforce Culinary TeamThe Chef's Counter

Sourdough Pan Pizza

Pizza must-haves: the undercarriage needs to be crispy but not too thick. The dough, chewy but not too soft. The sauce, bright and fresh, not over reduced. The cheese melted properly, not overcooked and “broken”. Add some sea salt and nice parm to finish and you have yourself a world class pizza. Not every style of pizza can be made well in a home oven, but pan pizzas turn out great. This recipe uses a sourdough starter and shaping techniques borrowed from focaccia and bread baking. Yes, it is a more involved and time consuming process, but is absolutely worth it.

Recipe bySlav Dobrow

Sourdough Pan Pizza
Makesone pizza
DietariesVegetarian

Ingredients

Ingredient quantities shown in U.S. units.

Levain

  • ⅓ cup50 gSourdough starter
  • ⅓ cup50 gAll-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup50 gWater

Pizza Dough

  • 4 cups500 gAll-purpose flour
  • 1.5-1.75 cups375 gWater
  • ⅔ cup150 gLevain, ripe
  • 1.5 Tbsp13 gDiamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp30 gExtra virgin olive oil

Tomato Sauce

  • 28 oz794 gCanned tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp10 gDiamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp30 gramsExtra virgin olive oil

Assembly

  • to tasteto tasteMozzarella, low moisture and diced small
  • to tasteto tastePepperoni
  • to tasteto tasteBasil leaves
  • to tasteto tasteParmesan, freshly grated

Special Equipment

  • Pizza Pan. I prefer Lloyds 12 x 16

Method

Preparation

  1. Before you begin: This style of dough requires time. The mixing process occurs over 5-6 hours with an additional 2 hours to rise. You can mix the dough on day 1 and bake on day 2 to break up the process or get an early start for a 1-day project. Check out the notes for making the dough ahead of time.

Levain

  1. Mix equal parts starter, flour, and water 4 hours before making dough. Cover and let rise at room temperature.

Pizza Dough

  1. About 3.5 hours after making Levain, start on the dough. Mix water and flour thoroughly until no dry clumps remain. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This step is called autolyse and is mostly you just letting the water and flour rest.
  2. Add levain to dough and gently mix by pressing the levain in and folding the dough over a few times. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
  3. Add salt and olive oil and mix gently with your hands until the dough looks smooth and uniform.
  4. Transfer to a square pizza tray coated in olive oil. Perform a stretch and fold and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for another 1.5 hours, adding a stretch and fold every 30 minutes.
  5. The dough is now ready to either refrigerate overnight or let proof for 2 hours before baking.

Pizza Sauce

  1. Combine ingredients and blend until smooth.

To Assemble

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F/232°C and position the rack in the lower part of the oven.
  2. Gently stretch the proofed pizza dough until it evenly covers the entire pan.
  3. Mix one cup of tomato sauce with 1 cup water and spread evenly on the pizza. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
  4. Take pizza out of the oven and check the bottom, it should be crispy. The top should have a dark spot or two but shouldn’t be burnt. The watered down tomato sauce should look dry now.
  5. Spread pizza sauce evenly all over top of the pizza, add cheese and any other toppings you are using. Bake for an additional 4-8 minutes.
  6. Transfer to a wire rack, you do not want the bottom to steam and lose any crispiness.
  7. Top with sea salt, fresh basil, and good quality parmesan.
  8. Enjoy with a chilled red wine or crisp beer. You’ve earned it.