Sourdough Neapolitan Pizza with Polselli Organic Tipo 00 Flour

Sourdough pizza has a deeper flavor and a lighter crust than pizza made with commercial yeast. The secret is matching the fermentation to your flour. This recipe is written specifically for Polselli Organic Tipo 00 Italian Flour, finely milled in Italy from certified organic Italian wheat.

Meet the flour: Polselli Organic Tipo 00

• Strength (W): 220
• Protein: 11.5%
• Organic: USDA Certified Organic, certified by CCPB S.R.L.
• Clean label: unbleached, unbromated, no added enzymes, no additives, not produced with genetic engineering
• Ingredient: organic soft wheat flour "Type 00". Contains gluten; may contain traces of soy.
• Suggested fermentation: 5 to 6 hours, direct method
• Bakes well at high heat: a great match for wood-fired and pizza ovens

Why this flour needs a sourdough plan of its own

 

At W 220, this is a soft, medium-strength flour that Polselli designs for short fermentations. Sourdough is acidic, and acid weakens gluten over time. If you push this dough through long, aggressive stretch-and-folds and a 48-hour cold rest, it can tear. The fix is simple: moderate hydration, a starter used right at its peak, only two gentle sets of folds, and a 12 to 18 hour cold rest. Follow that and you get a dough that stretches easily and bakes up light and crisp.

Ingredients (4 pizzas, about 265 g each)

 

• 600 g Polselli Organic Tipo 00 Flour
• 372 g cool water, 64 to 68°F (62% hydration)
• 90 g active sourdough starter (100% hydration), used at its peak
• 17 g SoSalt Fine Sea Salt from Sicily

For the topping: 400 g hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes, 320 g fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella (well drained), fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of SoSalt for the sauce.

Why SoSalt fine Sicilian sea salt?

Salt controls flavor, tightens gluten, and slows fermentation. That makes it especially important with a medium-strength flour. SoSalt Fine Sea Salt is hand-harvested from the ancient salt pans between Trapani and Marsala in Sicily and evaporated naturally by the sun. It is all natural and non-iodized, with no additives. Its fine grain dissolves quickly and evenly, so every bite of crust is seasoned the same. Pizzerias can stock up with the 5 kg foodservice bucket. For more on salt in dough, read The Salt Secret in Neapolitan Pizza Dough.

Method

 

1. Activate the starter. Feed it 4 to 6 hours ahead and use it at its peak, doubled and domed. An over-ripe starter adds too much acid for a W 220 flour.
2. Mix. Dissolve the starter in about 340 g of the water. Add the flour gradually and mix until no dry flour remains. Rest 15 minutes.
3. Add salt and knead. Add the sea salt with the remaining water. Knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth. Do not over-knead.
4. Bulk ferment. Cover and leave 2 to 2.5 hours at 72 to 75°F. Do just 2 gentle sets of stretch-and-folds, at 30 and 60 minutes. The dough should rise 20 to 30%.
5. Ball. Divide into 4 balls of about 265 g. Shape with good surface tension and place in a lightly oiled, covered container.
6. Cold rest. Refrigerate at 39°F for 12 to 18 hours, no longer.
7. Temper. Take the balls out 2 to 3 hours before baking. They should be relaxed with small bubbles.
8. Prep sauce and oven. Season the crushed tomatoes with SoSalt and a drizzle of olive oil. Do not cook the sauce. Preheat a home oven to its maximum (480 to 550°F) with a stone or steel on the top rack for 1 hour, or a wood-fired or pizza oven to 800 to 900°F.
9. Stretch. On semolina, press from the center out and leave a 3/4-inch rim untouched. Stretch gently to about 11 inches. This dough is extensible, so let gravity help. No rolling pin.
10. Bake. Top with about 100 g sauce, a quarter of the mozzarella, and a drizzle of oil. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in a home oven (broil for the last minute) or 60 to 90 seconds in a pizza oven, turning often. Finish with fresh basil and raw olive oil.

Tips

• Same-day option: After bulk fermentation, ball the dough and leave it at room temperature for 4 to 5 hours instead of refrigerating. This fits the flour's suggested 5 to 6 hour fermentation window.
• Warm kitchen (over 79°F): Reduce the starter to 60 g.
• Sticky dough: Drop the water to 360 g (60% hydration).
• Want a long, cold ferment or an open-crumb loaf? Try Polselli Organic Type 1 Bread Flour, made for sourdough.

Stock up on Polselli Organic Tipo 00 Flour (5 kg) and SoSalt Fine Sea Salt, and bake pizza the way they do in Naples.