Einkorn Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe Brick Oven Style

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My dream is to someday have an outdoor kitchen where summertime brings many meals including brick oven pizza. Making an einkorn sourdough pizza crust in an outdoor kitchen just sounds so romantic. I don’t have an actual outdoor oven, but I do have a pizza stone and this stone is pretty good at giving the same brick oven style crust.

To go a step further, I use sourdough starter to rise the dough. One step further than this and you’ll see I also use all-purpose einkorn flour. This is not your typical pizza, but perhaps more like the original pizza served hundreds of years ago.

What is Brick Oven Pizza?

As the name suggests, true brick oven pizzas are baked inside brick ovens. Professional brick oven bakers use a hot environment ( we’re talking 700 degrees F!) to cook the pizza quick. This roasts the outside a bit while creating a soft inside with quick rising bubbles in the bread.

If you’ve looked at the environment needed to create sourdough bread without a dutch oven, you’ll notice, heat is at the top. The way we mimic the hot environment a brick oven provides is to use our own version of brick: a pizza stone. A pizza stone is a very good conductor of heat when allowed to preheat for a long time. Here’s where I got my beloved stone and why I love it.

Why All Purpose Einkorn Flour

My previous einkorn pizza recipe used active sourdough starter but instead of AP einkorn or all-purpose einkorn, I used whole wheat einkorn flour. It was a nutritious and protein dense pizza for sure. My kids loved it but I wanted to make a lighter version that still had more bubbles in the crust.

I’m using all-purpose einkorn flour for it’s health benefits, digestibility, taste and better rise than whole wheat.

Einkorn wheat is the original wheat meaning it’s thousands of years old and has never been changed. The 14 chromosomes in einkorn flour are nothing compared to 42 in our modern day wheat. Why is this significant? Because when chromosomes are added, digestibility gets harder and harder for our bodies. Yes, sourdough can help break down the grain a bit before you eat it but it’s benefits go further. Einkorn has huge amounts of nutrients. You don’t find this much nutrition density in other grains. For example, einkorn lutein is 215% higher and B12 is 55% higher than modern soft wheat. Find our more about the nutrition of einkorn in THIS post.

What about gluten sensitivity? It’s true that this ancient grain is a wheat. If you are sensitive to wheat it may not be for you. However, the grain itself is made to be anti-inflammatory. Many who suffer from gluten intolerance can actually eat this wheat due to the weak gluten structure. Know though, this doesn’t include celiac disease. While einkorn won’t produce as drastic of a reaction as modern wheat, it’s still considered unsafe for celiac patients.

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need

Pizza Stone

The best way to conduct the heat needed for a brick oven style pizza crust is using a baking stone. You’ll want to leave it in the oven to preheat for an hour before inserting your pizza in.

Pizza Peel

If you’re using a pizza stone, you’ll need something to transfer the pizza to the oven. This is your pizza spatula also known as a pizza peel.

Large Bowl

Naturally you’ll need a bowl to mix your dough in. A large on is best.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Active Sourdough Starter

Make sure your sourdough starter has been fed in the las 3-8 hours and looks bubbly. I like to keep my starter the consistency of thick pancake batter.

You’ll need 1/3 Cup Sourdough Starter.

Warm Water

Added water should be about 100 degrees F. This is warm enough to activate the organisms in the starter but not hot enough to kill them.

Use 1 Cup Warm Water.

All Purpose Einkorn Flour

There is no need to sift the flour in this recipe. You can see where I get my einkorn flour HERE.

You’ll need 3 Cups all-purpose einkorn flour.

Sea Salt

Salt does more in a recipe than just giving flavor! It can help strengthen gluten, extend the rise and more.

Use 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt in this recipe.

Honey

Honey, though not required, infuses a little sweetness that can add to flavor.

I use 1 Tablespoon honey.

Einkorn Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe

Mix together your sourdough starter and water. Add in the einkorn flour, salt and honey. Mix until it begins to come into a ball. I like to stretch and fold to bring into a ball.

Cover the dough ball with plastic wrap and leave in the bowl to rest for about 15 minutes. This allows the hydration to completely absorb into the einkorn. Because einkorn is an ancient grain, it absorbs hydration much slower that modern grains.

After 15 minutes flour a surface and take the dough ball out to stretch and fold 5-8 times. Folding the dough invites in air, creating the ideal places for air bubbles to rise in the oven. See more on this HERE. Place the ball back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 6-8 hours. Note that warmer rooms will need less rise time and cooler rooms will need longer rise times.

Take the risen dough out of the bowl onto a well floured surface. Divide into three equal pieces with a knife or bench scraper. Take pieces one at a time and repeat your stretching and folding several more times. Then begin pushing your dough out from the middle to stretch it to a 10-12 inch pizza crust. Flip over and re-flour your surface if needed. You’ll want the dough to have flour underneath it so it doesn’t get sticky!

Once the crust has been stretched, make sure it has enough flour underneath to avoid sticking to the surface. Then cover with a tea towel and let it continue resting and rising. Continue to stretch each piece of dough.

Turn the oven on to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and preheat your Pizza stone on one of the bottom two racks for one hour. Place desired pizza toppings on your first crust and transfer to the pizza stone using your pizza spatula. I find it helpful to turn the dough in a circular motion while transferring it to the pizza spatula. That way it doesn’t stretch and tear.

Little vibrations or shakes also help to transfer the pizza from the pizza peel to the baking stone. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Remove from the oven with your pizza spatula and let cool for five minutes before cutting into pieces.

Tips for Baking Your Pizza

Crust too tough? Try lowering the pizza stone rack.

Crust burnt on the bottom? Raise the pizza stone up a rack.

Topping Options

Ham and Pineapple

Basil, mozzarella and tomato ( known as Neapolitan)

Sausage, dill and potatoes

Taco seasoned ground beef, cheddar, salsa and olives with lettuce and sour cream at the table

I’d love to hear how you use this recipe! Happy pizza night!

From the Hilltop,

Krista