The Sourdough Dough Guide

Pizza, burger buns & pita - one dough to rule them all

Before You Begin

This guide assumes you already have an active sourdough starter. If you don't have one yet, start with the companion guide: Your Sourdough Starter - How to Get One, Keep It Alive, and Use It.

This is a 70% hydration all-purpose dough that cold-ferments in the fridge. Cold fermentation means the dough develops slowly and on your schedule, not on the yeast's. You mix it, let it do its thing in the fridge, and use it when you're ready - anywhere from 24 to 72 hours later. It also freezes beautifully, which means you can always have dough on standby.

The Recipe

Makes 2 portions. Each portion makes one medium pizza, two burger buns, or four pita breads.

• 450 g all-purpose fine wheat flour
• 300 ml water
• 100 g sourdough starter (straight from the fridge)
• 10 g salt (approximately 2 tsp)

Kneading Equipment

Option 1. A stand mixer with a dough hook will give you a better gluten structure than hand mixing. Any stand mixer will do.

What we use: We have - and used for this guide, a planetary dough mixer Pastaio Gourmet G20145 by G3 Ferrari. We are not affiliated with this brand in any way. It was a compromise on our part since we don't have a stand mixer and they are generally very expensive. This fit the budget and it does the job beautifully. It is also super compact and easy to clean. 

Option 2. Your Hands. If you're mixing by hand, that's completely fine - you'll just need to knead for 12-15 minutes instead of 5, and put some real effort in to develop the gluten properly.

Other Equipment 

• Kitchen scale
• Two round oiled containers with lids (plastic containers work great - write the date on the lid and stack them easily)
• A bowl for the autolyse rest
• Rice flour for dusting the peel

Making the Dough

Step 1 - Combine Flour and Water (Autolyse)

Add 450 g flour and 300 ml water to your mixer bowl. Mix on the lowest speed for 5 minutes until fully combined and no dry flour remains.

Turn the mixer off and let the dough rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes. This is the autolyse - it allows the flour to fully absorb the water, which makes the dough significantly easier to work with and helps gluten development begin before the real mixing starts. Don't skip it.

Why autolyse? Hydrated flour is more extensible. That 30-minute rest does quiet work - by the time you come back, you'll notice the dough has already changed texture.

Step 2 - Add Starter and Salt

After the rest, add 100 g of starter straight from the fridge and 10 g of salt. Mix on low-medium speed (one step up from your lowest setting) for 5 minutes.

The dough should feel smooth, slightly tacky, and elastic by the end of this mix. It won't be perfectly smooth yet - that comes with the folds.

Note: Add the starter cold. There's no need to bring it to room temperature first - it goes straight from fridge to dough. This is part of what makes this method so low-effort.

Step 3 - First Rest

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl (this also frees up your mixer to clean). Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Step 4 - Fold

Perform 8 folds: imagine the dough as a compass. Grab the north edge, stretch it up gently, and fold it to the center. Repeat going south, east, and west - that's 4 folds. Do the same circuit again for 8 total.

Cover the bowl and rest for another 30 minutes.

Optional second round: If time allows, do one more set of 8 folds and another 30-minute rest. This builds more structure and gives you a slightly more extensible, easier-to-shape dough. If it's late and you don't have time, skip it - the dough will still be excellent.

Step 5 - Divide and Refrigerate

Divide the dough into two equal portions. Shape each loosely into a ball and place into a lightly oiled round container. Seal with a lid and write the date on top. Let sit on the counter for 2-3 hours to ferment at room temperature first then put both in the fridge.

The dough is ready to use after 24 hours and will keep happily in the fridge for up to 72 hours (3 days). Having two separate portions means you can use one on day 1 and the other on day 2 or 3 - no need to use both at once.

Cold fermentation tip: The slow, cold fermentation is what gives this dough its depth of flavor and open, airy crumb. The longer it goes (up to 72 hours), the more complex it tastes. Plan ahead and you'll be rewarded.

Using the Dough: Pizza

This dough makes exceptional pizza. Here's the full process from fridge to table.

Prepare Your Toppings First (This Is Important)

Once you start shaping the dough, timing is everything. The shaped dough is on the peel and waiting - you don't want to be chopping vegetables or hunting for spoons while it slowly absorbs the dusting flour and starts to stick. Have everything ready and on the counter in front of you before you touch the dough. The toppings have 4 elements: 1) roasted veggies - zucchini & mushrooms in this case 2) smoked tofu - your meat substitute, buy it ready 3) sauce 4) cheese.

1) Roasted Veggies

Slice zucchini and mushrooms, spread on a baking tray, spray lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast at 200°C (390°F) for 30 minutes.

2) Smoked Tofu

While the vegetables are roasting, finely slice the smoked tofu. A sharp knife works well - a potato peeler also does a great job for very thin, even slices. By the time the vegetables are done, your tofu is ready too.

3) Sauce

Use a good ready-made tomato sauce - the kind you'd normally buy for pasta. Look for one that already has olive oil and basil in it for extra flavour. If you want to mix things up, a pepper sauce or pesto works beautifully as well, either on its own or swirled together with the tomato sauce.

4) Cheese

We use a pourable, dairy-free cheese that firms up when baked. It keeps in the fridge for days and can be drizzled over anything you bake. Here is the recipe. You can just use store-bough plant-based cheese - easy!

Tip: Roasted vegetables, sliced tofu, and homemade liquid cheese - can be made well in advance and kept in the fridge until needed. On baking day, just bring everything out to the counter before you start shaping.

Baking

Preheat your baking surface for at least 30 minutes before you need it. A cold stone or surface will not give you a good crust. Options:

• Pizza oven - follow the manufacturer's instructions for temperature
• Home oven with a pizza stone - as hot as your oven goes, stone in from the start
• BBQ with a pizza stone - remove the Flavorizer bars (or equivalent) so the flame is direct, place the stone in the center, heat on high for 30 minutes

Bring the Dough to Temperature

Take the container out of the fridge at least 1 hour before baking. Remove the lid and cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel - you want it to breathe, not dry out. Let it warm up on the counter while your oven or BBQ heats up.

Shape the Pizza

Dust your pizza peel generously with rice flour. Rice flour is key here - it acts like tiny ball bearings under the dough and is far less likely to make the dough soggy than regular flour.

Take the dough out of the container and place it on the peel. Using your hands, press outward from the center, working your way to the edges and leaving a thicker rim. Don't use a rolling pin - you want to preserve the air bubbles in the rim that give you that fluffy, characteristic crust.

A random tip: oil your hands to work with the dough - or use food-grade disposable gloves, in case something goes wrong and you need to move quickly - changing gloves is faster than washing your hands from a sticky dough. 

Work quickly - once the dough is on the peel, you're racing the clock. The dough will gradually absorb the flour and start to grip the peel. Load your toppings fast and get it into the oven.

Add Toppings and Bake

With your toppings already prepared and within arm's reach, work in this order: lay down the roasted vegetables and smoked tofu slices first, then spoon the sauce over the top of them. Putting the sauce over the toppings rather than directly on the dough is the key to avoiding a soggy base - the vegetables and tofu act as a barrier. Finally, drizzle the cashew cheese generously over everything as the last layer.

Slide the pizza onto the stone and close the lid fully. The trapped heat surrounds the pizza from all sides - the stone drives heat from below while the hot air above cooks the toppings. Bake for 7 minutes.

Slice, serve, and enjoy immediately.

Using the Dough: Burger Buns

One dough portion makes two generous burger buns. They bake low and slow in the oven and come out soft, pillowy, and golden - with a little sesame crunch on top that makes them look as good as they taste.

Shaping

Take one dough portion out of the fridge about 1 hour before you plan to bake. Divide it into two equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, tight ball by pulling the surface down and under, pinching the seam closed at the bottom.

Place the shaped buns seam-side down on a lined baking tray, leaving plenty of space between them - they will spread and rise. For larger flatter buns, shape into thick disks (as illustrated below). Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and leave at room temperature for the full hour. This resting time allows the buns to relax and puff up before they hit the oven.

Tip: For rounder, taller buns, place them inside a lightly oiled ring mold or ramekin. The sides will support the rise and give you that classic burger bun shape.

Coating and Baking

Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Place your baking rack at the bottom of the oven - the lower position gives a gentler, more even bake that keeps the inside soft while the top browns gradually.

Just before baking, brush the top of each bun generously with soy milk - this gives them a beautiful golden color. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top immediately after brushing, while the surface is still wet so they stick.

Bake at the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes. The buns are ready when they are golden on top and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Leave to cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Note: Soy milk browns well in the oven and gives a clean, slightly glossy finish. Any plant milk works in a pinch, but soy gives the best color.

Using the Dough: Pita Breads

One dough portion makes four standard pita breads or two large wraps. They cook in minutes on a lightly oiled pan or BBQ griddle and puff up dramatically - which is half the fun. That puff is what creates the pocket.

Dividing and Shaping

Take one dough portion out of the fridge. Divide it into 4 equal pieces for standard pita breads, or 2 pieces for large wraps.

Place all the pieces on a single sheet of baking paper, spacing them apart. Using your hands, press and flatten each one into a round about 5 mm thick. They don't need to be perfectly round - rustic is fine. Once all four are shaped, cut the baking paper into quarters using scissors - first one long cut down the middle, then one across - so each pita ends up on its own piece of paper. You can cook them straight away - no resting time needed.

Cooking

Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add a small amount of oil. Let it get hot before you add the dough - a properly hot surface is what triggers the puff.

Pick up one pita with its baking paper and place it into the pan dough-side down, with the paper facing up. Cook for 2 minutes without pressing or moving it. Peel off the baking paper, flip the pita, and cook for another 2 minutes on the second side until golden with light char spots. Wipe the pan and add fresh oil between each pita.

Remove and wrap in a clean kitchen towel while you cook the rest. Keeping them wrapped traps the steam and keeps them soft and pliable.

Watch the heat - if your pan is too cool, the pitas won't puff, they'll just dry out. If it's too hot, they'll scorch before the inside cooks through. Medium-high is the sweet spot. The first one is always the test.

Tip: Pita breads are best eaten the day they're made. If you want to prep ahead, cook them, let them cool completely, and store in a zip-lock bag. They reheat well in a dry pan or directly over a gas flame for a few seconds each side.

Quick Reference Roadmaps

Use these timelines to plan your bake. All three assume the dough is already cold-fermented and ready in the fridge.

Pizza Roadmap

1. Day before (up to 3 days ahead): Make dough, fold, refrigerate
2. 1 hr 30 min before eating: Take dough out of fridge, remove lid, cover with kitchen towel
3. 1 hr before eating: Start preheating oven, BBQ, or pizza oven with stone in place
4. 45 min before eating: Roast vegetables at 200°C for 30 minutes. While they roast, finely slice the smoked tofu
5. 15 min before eating: Set out all toppings and tools on the counter - sauce, cashew cheese, spoon, peel. Everything within arm's reach
6. 10 min before eating: Dust peel with rice flour, shape the dough from center outward keeping the rim thick
7. Now: Layer toppings fast - vegetables and tofu first, sauce over the top, cashew cheese last. Slide onto the stone, close the lid, bake 7 minutes. Slice and serve immediately

Burger Buns Roadmap

1. Day before (up to 3 days ahead): Make dough, fold, refrigerate
2. 1 hr 30 min before eating: Take one dough portion out of the fridge, divide into 2 pieces, shape into tight balls
3. 1 hr before eating: Place buns on lined tray, cover with kitchen towel, leave to rise at room temperature. Preheat oven to 160°C
4. 5 min before baking: Brush buns generously with soy milk, sprinkle with sesame seeds
5. Now: Bake at bottom of oven for 30 minutes until golden. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before slicing

Pita Breads Roadmap

1. Day before (up to 3 days ahead): Make dough, fold, refrigerate
2. 30 min before eating: Take one dough portion out of the fridge, divide into 4 pieces (or 2 for large wraps)
3. 20 min before eating: Roll or press each piece to about 5 mm thick
4. 15 min before eating: Heat pan or griddle with a little oil over medium-high heat until hot
5. Now: Cook each pita 2 minutes per side - watch for the puff before flipping. Wrap in a kitchen towel to keep soft. Fill and serve

Dough Storage

• Fridge: Up to 72 hours (3 days) in a covered, oiled container. Ready to use from 24 hours onwards.
• Freezer: Portion into balls, freeze on a tray, then transfer to bags. Defrost overnight in the fridge before use.

Happy baking!