Sourdough Margherita
Classic Margherita with sourdough crust — tangy, complex flavor from a long ferment with traditional toppings.
Recipe by the Pizza Planet team · Published
Sourdough pizza is yeasted pizza's introspective older sibling. It takes 48 hours to make, behaves differently in the oven, and asks more of you at the stretch — but the flavor is in a different league. We use a young starter (12 hours from peak) for our doughs because mature starter goes sour fast and overwhelms the toppings. The dough is more extensible than yeasted dough, which means it stretches easier but tears easier too. Work gently. Slap-and-fold, don't punch. Push the cold ferment past two days on a weaker flour, though, and you will find the dough has gone slack — 48 hours is the safe ceiling.
Flour: Caputo "00" Chef's Flour (blue bag) (13% protein) — read the review
Dough Formula
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|
| Flour (13% protein) | 570 g | 100.0% |
| Water | 367 g | 64.4% |
| Salt | 15.8 g | 2.8% |
| Starter (100% hydration) | 127 g | 22.3% |
Makes 4 balls of ≈270 g
Ingredients
Dough
- •4 balls Pizza dough (see formula above)
Sauce & Toppings
- •400g, crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- •250g Fresh mozzarella
- •handful Fresh basil
- •drizzle Olive oil
- •pinch Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1
Make the dough: mix 127 g active 100%-hydration starter with the flour, water and salt per the formula above. Bulk ferment 4 h at room temperature, then cold ferment 24 h in the fridge.
- 2
Divide and ball, then give the balls a 3 h room-temperature proof before shaping. Confirm the dough has completed its full cold ferment and proof before you stretch.
- 3
Shape gently — sourdough is extensible but tears easier than yeasted dough.
- 4
Top with crushed tomatoes, torn mozzarella, and olive oil.
- 5
Bake at 480-510°C (900-950°F) for 60-90 seconds, or home oven at max for 6-8 min.
- 6
Finish with basil, flaky salt, and olive oil.
Tips
- →Hands-on time is about 22 minutes; allow the dough its full ferment — see the calculator schedule
- →Sourdough needs a longer proof — be patient
- →The tang intensifies with longer cold ferments (48h > 24h)
- →Handle gently — overworking deflates the open crumb
- →Works best at slightly lower temps of 470-495°C (880-920°F)
How to Make Sourdough Margherita
Video coming soon
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Flour
Caputo "00" Chef's Flour (blue bag)
Buy the blue bag if you cold-ferment 24–72 hours. It is the 00 that survives a long ferment, which is also what lets it brown in a home oven.
$19.99· as of Aug 30, 2026
i
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Check price on Amazon →Read the review →Ingredient
La Valle San Marzano D.O.P. Whole Peeled Tomatoes
The consortium's protected-origin mark: variety and ground audited. The catch is that La Valle publishes no product page, so the mark is read off the tin and the listing, not a maker's record.
$26.59· as of Aug 30, 2026
i
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Check price on Amazon →Read the buying guide →Ingredient
BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella Ball
Fresh mozzarella, the wetter style by definition: right for a 60-to-90-second bake, wrong for a home oven, where it weeps onto the base instead of flashing off.
$4.49· as of Aug 30, 2026
i
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Check price on Amazon →Read the buying guide →Equipment
Original Baking Steel
6.4 mm is the home compromise: enough stored heat to bake two pies back to back, in a slab that will never crack the way a cordierite stone eventually does.
$139.00· as of Aug 30, 2026
i
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Check price on Amazon →Read the review →Equipment
Skyflame Aluminium Pizza Peel (14 × 16 in)
The single peel to own if you own one: thin enough to launch from, rigid enough to turn and retrieve with, at the size a home oven door takes.
$26.99· as of Aug 30, 2026
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Check price on Amazon →Read the review →
If this goes wrong
Pizza dough didn't rise
Either the yeast is dead, it was killed by hot water or direct salt contact, or your kitchen is simply too cold for the amount of yeast you used. Proof the yeast to find out which, then match the dose to your temperature and timeline.
Pizza dough over-proofed (smells of alcohol)
The yeast has run through its sugars and enzymes are now cutting the gluten faster than it can hold. Get the dough cold immediately, re-ball it to rebuild what structure is left, and bake it within the hour.
Cold-fermented dough went slack and won't hold shape
The ferment ran past what your flour can carry and enzymes have cut the gluten. Chill the dough hard, re-ball it gently to rebuild tension, rest 40 minutes, and bake it thinner — then match flour strength and yeast dose to the length of the ferment.
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