Sourdough Pepperoni Pizza Loaf

a day ago

8 min read

If you're craving cozy and savory, this is the loaf for you! My Sourdough Pepperoni Pizza Loaf brings together the chewy, tangy magic of sourdough with nostalgic, pizzeria-inspired flavor. Tomato paste and herbs are mixed right into the dough for bold flavor in every bite, while melty mozzarella and crispy pepperoni are folded in and bed through the loaf. Topped with bubbling cheese and herbs, this loaf smells just like your favorite pizza joint and tastes even better.

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

It’s pizza… but bread. Need I say more? With easy to follow directions, this loaf will make everyone think you spent hours to master it when in reality it comes together with just a few simple clean ingredients! This loaf is hearty and packed with savory flavor, making it the perfect loaf to serve as a appetizer or as a side with hot soup or pasta.

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Tools You’ll Need:

• Digital kitchen scale- for weighing out your ingredients (highly recommended for accuracy). This one linked here is great to start with https://amzn.to/41ADLXw

• Measuring cups & spoons (optional, if you prefer to not use a scale)

•Bowl or straight edge container for mixing and proofing dough- to mix your dough and make sure your dough is rising properly. You can use a clear square Tupperware for this, I don't recommend a bowl as it is hard to assess your rise. I've linked here the container I like to use https://amzn.to/3R20Qwl.

• Bench knife (optional)- for shaping loaf. I use this one all the timehttps://amzn.to/41pGqlk.

• Banneton basket (or a medium bowl lined with a lint-free cloth)- to proof dough. I've linked a quality banneton and cover here if you'd like to see what I use https://amzn.to/4h4kFO6.

• Lint-free cloth or plastic wrap- to cover the dough while resting.

• 5-quart Dutch oven with lid- for baking your loaf. This is an affordable 5-quart Dutch oven that I purchase as my first linked here https://amzn.to/3EVhryP.

Note: you can also use a 9-inch cast iron skillet with a fitted stainless-steel bowl over the top to bake your bread if you aren't quite ready to purchase a Dutch oven.

• Parchment paper or silicone bread sling- To keep bread from sticking to Dutch oven. A reusable bread sling can be really convenient and also helps avoid burning hands on your Dutch oven. I use this set all the time https://amzn.to/3Dnn1cQ.

• Sharp knife or lame for scoring- a sharp knife will work for scoring your bread, but I do recommend investing in a lame (razor blade) which will make the process much easier. Here is a great lame to purchase to start out https://amzn.to/4i0JqM6.

Digital food thermometer (optional) - to check the temperature of your starter and dough, this ensures a more reliable result. I use this one linked here https://amzn.to/3XoLLbC

Bread Knife- for cutting your bread once cooled. I love this bread knife linked here https://amzn.to/41BktkS.

Gather Your Ingredients:

Bread flour or all-purpose flour – the most important ingredient when making bread! If you want a softer loaf, choose all-purpose. If you want a chewier loaf, I recommend bread flour. My only caution is to avoid enriched flours and to make sure your gluten percentage is 12 percent.
Water – for hydrating your dough. Tap or filtered should work fine.
Sourdough starter – this is your natural leavening and what will make your dough rise. If you want to find how to make your own sourdough starter, my guide is linked here.
Salt – to balance flavor and strengthen dough. Any quality salt is fine, I don't recommend salt that is iodized.
Tomato paste – adds the tomato flavor we want without adding excessive moisture.
Olive oil – adds elasticity and depth to the dough.
Dried garlic, oregano, basil, rosemary – for bold Italian flavoring. If you want, you can substitute equal amounts Italian seasoning but I prefer blending my own spices.

Low-moisture mozzarella – adds that cheesy goodness and signature pizza taste to the loaf. Low-moisture cheese is recommended to avoid soggy dough.
Mini or chopped pepperoni – this is optional, but I loved the extra flavor it gave the bread with that pop of pepperoni throughout.

Shredded Parmesan – adds sharpness and browns beautifully on the top of the loaf.
Dried parsley (optional) – balances out the cheese topping.

Now let's bake some bread!

Sourdough Pepperoni Pizza Loaf

Dough:

500g (4 cups) bread flour
350g (1 ½ cups) water
100g (½ cup) active sourdough starter
10g (1 ¾ tsp) fine sea salt
25g (2 tbsp) olive oil
50g (3 tbsp) tomato paste
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary

Inclusions:

100g (1 cup) low moisture mozzarella, shredded
80g (¾ cup) mini or chopped pepperoni

Cheese Topping:

25g (¼ cup) shredded mozzarella
25g (¼ cup) grated Parmesan
1 tsp dried parsley flakes

Step 1: Feed Your Starter the Night Before

To ensure your starter is strong and active, feed it the night before using a 1:5:5 ratio. This means 1 part mother starter, 5 parts (or 5 times) flour, and 5 parts (5 times) water.

Feed Starter:

• 20g (1 tbsp) ripe mother starter

• 100g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) water (slightly warm, 80 degrees)

• 100g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) all-purpose or bread flour

Using a spatula, mix your starter, flour, and water together very well in a glass jar. Cover loosely with lid (don't screw it down, just rest it on top). Place jar on a cookie sheet in your oven with the light on overnight if your home is very cold.

Starter should be bubbly and doubled in size when it's ready to use, and the top should be flat not domed. It's a good idea to use a rubber band to mark the volume of your jar before letting it rest overnight to make sure your starter is doubling properly.

Starter should be doubled and bubbly when ready to use.

Step 2: Mix the Dough (Morning)

Mix together your bubbly starter, tomato paste, water, salt, olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, dried rosemary, and dried oregano with a dough whisk until you have roughly dissolved the starter and tomato paste into the water.

Add your flour, and combine your dough into a rough ball. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes before beginning stretch and folds.

While dough is resting, measure out your mozzarella and chop pepperoni if needed.

Temperature Note: I find that my dough is best at 73-75 degrees F. To check your dough temperature, use your meat thermometer and probe the dough and check. If your dough is warmer than this, it may be sticky and hard to handle. If its colder, your dough may take longer to proof.

Step 3: Add Mix-in's and Strengthen the Dough (Stretch & Folds)

Before your first set of stretch and folds, add the shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni to your bowl of dough.

To develop structure and gluten and mix in inclusions, perform 3 sets of stretch and folds at 30-minute intervals.

1. Grab one side of the dough, lift it up, and fold it over the center.

2. Rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. Your inclusions will become more incorporated as you continue your stretch and folds, don't worry if it isn't perfect.

3. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes between each set.

This strengthens the dough without kneading. Continue until all 3 sets have been performed. Cover and allow dough to finish bulk fermentation.

Step 4: Bulk Fermentation (6-7 Hours)

1. Keep the dough in a warm spot (73-75°F) for 6-7 hours. The dough should rise close to 100% in volume, meaning doubled in size. When your dough has risen this much, its ready to shape.

Step 5: Pre-Shaping the Dough

Flour your work surface well and turn out the dough gently. Pre-shape by gently stretching it into a loose oval. To shape your loaf, fold the right side over the center. Next, fold the left side over the center like a letter. You will now have created a long log shape. Next, roll the dough into a ball by rolling the log up. Pinch all of the seams together and use a bench scraper or your hands to gently shape your ball. Pop any large air bubbles.

Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes uncovered on your work surface before returning to final shape. See below for a guide on how to shape your loaf.

Step 6: Refrigerate the Dough

1. Transfer the shaped dough into a flour-dusted banneton (or a medium bowl lined with a cloth and dusted with flour).

2. Cover with a lint-free cloth or plastic wrap.

Transfer loaf to a floured bowl or banneton and refrigerate overnight

Cold Proof Options:

• Minimum: Refrigerate for 2 hours before baking. This is for the same-day recipe option.

• Best Flavor: Refrigerate overnight for deeper sourdough complexity and longer fermentation.

Step 7: Preheat the Oven & Bake

Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) convection bake. Place a Dutch oven inside the oven and preheat with Dutch oven inside.

Note: If you choose to use the cast iron skillet and stainless-steel bowl as a lid, you will only preheat the cast iron skillet.

Take the dough out of the fridge. Turn it out onto parchment paper or bread sling dusted with flour. Use a lame or sharp knife to score the top (a simple single slash works or an "X"). This cut should be about 1/2 inch deep. Be aware dough that hasn't been refrigerated as long may be more difficult to score or cut. This score helps the loaf retain a nice shape while it rises and expands in the oven.

Carefully transfer the dough into the hot Dutch oven (using parchment paper for easy lifting). Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 40 minutes with the lid on.

Step 8: Cheese topping

While loaf is baking, combine mozzarella, parmesan, and parsley in a bowl.

When loaf has completed baking for 40 minutes with the lid on, remove the lid and top loaf with cheese mixture.

Bake loaf for another 10 minutes with the lid off.

Step 9: Cool Completely Before Slicing

Once baked, remove the bread from the Dutch oven and transfer to a wire rack carefully.

Let it cool completely (at least 1-2 hours) before slicing. Cutting too soon will result in a gummy crumb because the inside is still setting!

Yields 1 loaf

Enjoy your Sourdough Pepperoni Pizza Loaf!