sourdough discard pizza

adapted from ken forkish's recipe, this versatile pizza dough is made from sourdough discard and baked in a cast iron skillet pan.

dough formula

toppings

8 am: autolyse

in a medium to large bowl, mix all flours together. slowly add the water, mixing with a rubber spatula, making sure to incorporate the water into the flour well, stopping when all the flour is hydrated. let sit, covered, for 30-60 minutes.
8:45 am: mix
sprinkle salt evenly over autolysed dough. incorporate gently by folding dough over a 2-3 times.
then, measure out discard starter (room temp or from fridge), and add to bowl. mix, alternating with pincer method and stretch and fold, until well incorporated, for about 6 minutes.

9 am: bulk fermentation

this dough needs a bulk rise of about 8-9 hours, until the dough is doubled and gaseous, with 2 stretch and folds in the first 2 hours spaced about 30-45 min apart.
after your last fold, lightly coat dough with olive oil to prevent sticking.

5:30 pm: divide & shape

generously sprinkle flour onto a table and your hands. gently turn your dough out onto your working surface into a somewhat even shape.
using a bench knife, divide dough into equal sections of about 250 g each for a 3 pizzas in a 12" skillet, or about 200 g each for 4 pizzas in a 9".
shape into tight dough balls using stretch and fold method. flip over onto its seam and drag ever so slightly on an unfloured surface to seal. repeat with each dough round.

5:45 pm: proof

place the dough balls on a lightly floured baking sheet or container, allowing for some room to expand. lightly oil the tops, then cover. i use aluminum foil (its recyclable in nyc!) for a baking sheet or just a tupperware cover.
leave in fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours, up to 3 days.

[next day] 6 pm: preheat

preheat oven to 525°F or as high as it will go. put cast iron skillet inside oven and heat for 30 min. if you have a finicky smoke detector like i do, watch out.
it usually takes a full 30 minutes for my ancient brooklyn oven to pre-heat so i usually just leave my skillet in for an hour.

7 pm: stretch

remove dough from fridge.
on a generously floured surface, stretch your dough. gently punch down the center, leaving a thin rim (about ½" - 1") for the crust. flip over and repeat.
i also like to pick up the round, letting the dough dangle vertically, and gently rotate, letting gravity help me stretch and create the final shape.
continue doing these two steps until you get your desired thin-ness. you want it thin, without holes. no worries if holes do appear though -- you can just patch 'em.

7:10 pm: top

have all your pizza toppings ready to go next to your stove.
remove the now piping hot cast iron skillet from oven, and place on a stove burner at high heat.
carefully, with very floured hands, transfer your pizza crust onto the cast iron skillet. gently stretch if needed, but i find that to be very difficult at this stage.
working quickly, top your pizza.
at its simplest: spoon some tomato sauce and arrange some mozz slices. drizzle olive oil and lightly sprinkle sea salt over the top.

7:15 pm: bake

place skillet back into oven for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and crust turns golden brown. check after 12 minutes and keep an eye on it to prevent burning.

7:30 pm: enjoy

let cool for a minute or two before transferring to a cutting board. slice and serve immediately with your favorite italian wine (chianti classico perhaps?).
eat a slice with people you love even more than you love pizza.