PSA: No fancy tools needed! I have been wanting to make pizza at home for a long time, but I always thought I needed a special oven or even a pizza stone (which I don't currently have room for in my kitchen). This homemade MARGHERITA PIZZA PIE is made in a cast iron skillet, in a regular old kitchen oven and is absolutely mouth-watering. The secret is in the pizza dough. . . which is actually sourdough! Next time you go to make sourdough bread, skip the final rise and instead, divide and shape the dough to make it into a pizza pie. The result? An airy, crisp AND chewy crust. Here, we've topped it off with homemade marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella and farmer's market basil, along with a drizzle of olive oil and flaky sea salt for the ultimate DIY pizza night at home.
Follow along with me HERE
INGREDIENTS
for the pizza dough
200 grams of sourdough starter
285 grams of filtered water
25 grams of raw honey
30 grams of olive oil
20 grams of fine sea salt
500 grams of bread flour
for the marina sauce
1 whole yellow onion
1 x 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp of dried herbs of choice (or fresh, add more)
Salt + Pepper to taste
Olive oil
Additional:
Fresh mozzarella
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt
DIRECTIONS
for the pizza dough
Combine starter, water, honey and olive oil in a bowl. Stir with a fork until everything is fully incorporated.
Add the salt and bread flour - a scale works well to measure out 500 grams ( about 4 cups ) - to starter mixture using a fork to combine, until a "shaggy dough" begins to form.
Ditch the fork and mix the rest of the dough with your hands, ensuring the flour is fully incorporated.
Let dough sit, covered with a damp cloth, for 30 minutes ( autolyse ).
Mix the dough really well, you can turn it out on a floured surface and knead if you like or just mix it in the bowl for about 3 minutes.
Begin your first set of stretch & folds. Slip one hand under the dough, stretch it up & fold it over itself. Rotate your bowl 90 degrees & stretch dough up & over itself. Another 90 degree rotation, stretch & fold dough over itself. A final 90 degree rotation, stretch dough up & fold over itself. It's like a little square. Cover with damp cloth and let sit for 30 minutes. Perform one additional stretch & fold, then let the dough sit covered until it has doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 6-9 hours. If your home is warmer, it's going to take less time to ferment. You are looking for your dough to have doubled in size and a few bubbles to be forming on it's surface - when this happens bulk fermentation is done (the texture and flavor develop during this time)
Flour your work surface and remove dough from bowl with a bench scraper.
Divide the dough in half, and then divide the halves in half. Shape the quartered dough, then cover it with a cloth and let it sit for 30 minutes. At this point you can take the remaining dough, shape it and continue with the final rise if you'd like to bake it into bread. Or if you want more than 1 pizza, do the same as above by shaping and covering it with a cloth for 30 minutes. This gives the gluten time to relax - making it a bit more pliable.
Pre-heat the oven to 475°F with the cast iron skillet inside.
Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and use your hands to stretch the dough - letting it hang (it's own weight will stretch it!). Use your fingers to pinch the edges (the crust) to make sure it's nice and thin.
Place your pizza dough on the parchment paper and slide it into the cast iron skillet in one swift motion - be careful as the skillet will be piping hot!
Carefully add your sauce and mozzarella to the top.
Turn the oven temperature down to 450°F and place the cast iron skillet in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes*.
Remove from oven and add fresh basil, olive oil and salt!
Divide and serve!
*I like to slightly undercook the crust, if you'd like to cook for longer, place the pizza dough in the oven and let cook for 8 minutes, then add the sauce & mozzarella and cook for an additional 10 minutes!
DIRECTIONS
for the marinara sauce
Cover the bottom of a cast iron pot with olive oil and heat it over medium heat.
Chop up the onion and add it to the pot, turn the heat down to low and cover it. Let the onions sweat for 15-20 minutes.
Add in the can of tomatoes and stir, let it sit for 10 minutes.
Add in dried or fresh herbs and salt + pepper to taste.
Using an immersion blender (or regular blender), blend the sauce until it's smooth.
Let it sit for another 30 minutes or so on low heat!
