In a large mixing bowl, combine the water and bread flour. Mix until combined, the dough will be very “shaggy.”
225 g water, 400 g bread flour
Mix in the sourdough starter, olive oil, and salt. You may need to use your hands to work the dough together.
125 g ripe sourdough starter, 25 g olive oil, 15 g sea salt
When it is mostly combined, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and allow it to sit for 4 to 6 hours, completing 4 sets of stretches and folds (see next step) every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours.
After the first 30 minutes, do a set of stretches and folds, lifting the edge of the dough on the side furthest from you and folding it up and over to the side closest to you. Turn the bowl 90 degrees counter clockwise, perform another stretch and fold, etc. until you have stretched and folded the dough from every side.
Allow the dough to sit, covered, for another 30 minutes and repeat the set of stretch and folds. Do this two more times (a total of four times) and then leave the dough to rest for another 2-4 hours, allowing it to expand and rise by about 50%.
After this initial “bulk fermentation”, divide the dough into two or three sections, place in plastic bags, and store in the refrigerator overnight or until ready to use.
Several hours before you’d like your pizza ready, remove a ball of dough from the refrigerator. Set it out on the counter (still inside the plastic bag) until it reaches room temperature.
Set out a sheet of parchment paper; drizzle a bit of olive oil onto both the paper and your fingers.
Remove the dough from the plastic bag and use your fingers to press it out into a pizza crust shape. You can make the crust very thin or with a bit of thickness.
The pictures here show a “thick” crust made with half the dough recipe.
Brush the dough with olive oil and cover with a damp towel or with plastic wrap.
Set in a warm place to rise for 2 to 3 hours or until puffy. The dough is ready when it bounces back just
slightly, leaving a small indent in the dough when pressed with your fingertip.
Toward the end of the rise time, heat a cast iron pizza pan or pizza stone in the oven at 500°F for at least 30 minutes. (please check the maximum temperature a pizza stone can withstand and adjust if needed).
Place the pizza dough onto the hot pan (you can leave it on the parchment paper during cooking) and bake for an initial 5 minutes.
Add desired sauce and/or toppings to the partially baked pizza crust and return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until crust is browned and cheese is melted and bubbly.