Sourdough Pepperoni
Natural-casing pepperoni on tangy sourdough crust. The slight sourness makes pepperoni taste even better.
Recipe by ThePizzaPlanet.com · Published
Essential tool for this bake
Sourdough plus pepperoni plus hot honey looks like far more effort than it is. The tang of a mature sourdough crust against the fatty-spicy pepperoni against the sweet floral honey is the kind of contrast you can't engineer; it just happens when you put the right three things on a plate. Use natural-casing pepperoni — same rule as the NY slice — and use your most mature starter for the dough. The dough is our standard Central Milling organic 00 build — softer than a bread flour, which is why it wants a gentler hand at the stretch.
Flour: Central Milling Organic Type 00 Pizza Flour (11.5% protein) — read the review
Dough Formula
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|
| Flour (11.5% 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
- Pizza dough (see formula above)4 balls
Sauce & Toppings
- San Marzano tomatoes400g, crushed
- Fresh mozzarella200g
- Natural-casing pepperoni100g, thin-sliced
- Hot honeydrizzle
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. Divide and ball, then give the balls a 3 h room-temperature proof before shaping.
- 2
Stretch sourdough, add crushed tomatoes and torn mozzarella.
- 3
Distribute pepperoni slices evenly.
- 4
Bake at 480°C (900°F) for 60-90 seconds.
- 5
Finish with hot honey drizzle.
Tips
- →Hands-on time is about 22 minutes; allow the dough its full ferment — see the calculator schedule
- →Sourdough tang + pepperoni spice + hot honey = incredible flavor combination
- →Use your most mature sourdough for the best contrast
- →Natural-casing pepperoni is non-negotiable for cupping
Video by Alexandra's Kitchen · 6.2K views · 2 min · on YouTube
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Flour
Central Milling Organic Type 00 Pizza Flour
The one American bag here with a published alveograph number: W280–300 at 11.5% protein. Strength from gluten quality rather than quantity, and built for two- and three-day cold ferments.
$19.78· as of Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the review →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.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.
$31.60· as of Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the buying guide →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.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.
$3.18· as of Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the buying guide →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.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 Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the review →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.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.
$27.99· as of Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the review →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.
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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