The hydration of the dough is a simple way of saying the ratio of water to flour. Most loaf breads are around 65-75 percent while most pizza doughs are 80-85 plus percent.
Step 1:
You must know the hydration of your recipe along with the hydration of your starter. Most folks use a very wet starter with a hydration oat 100%. This means equal amount of water and flour by weight. You will need a scale to do this. Mine starter is at 75% so it is more dough like.
How to figure the hydration of your recipe
Basic Pizza Recipe
260g water
303g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp (heaping) yeast 3g
1/4 tsp. salt
260g water = .858 x 100 = 86%
303g flour
Now this recipe is simple, it doesn't have honey, butter, and other items that may effect this number. Most of the time this flour to water ratio is good enough since the other ingredients are usually small amounts. If you have other ingredients in the recipe in larger amounts go on line and find what the hydration is of that ingredient so you can add this number to the water number when calculating.
Step 2:
How much starter are you going to use in the recipe?
This is a personal decision you can use a portion of the recipe or 100%. There is an issue that you need to consider. First is your starter active and strong? If not it's best to add a bit of yeast and possibly gluten depending on your starter. To be honest usually my starter needs feeding when making pizza so I use a portion of it in the recipe and add a bit of yeast to help. Using a portion of the recipe with the starter allows the gluten in the new flour to counter act the possibly weak gluten in the starter. So my decision for this recipe is 140g starter.
Lets take this same recipe and use your sourdough starter as part of the recipe.
Sourdough Pizza Recipe
140g Starter (at 100% hydration)
190g water
233g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp (or omit)
1/4 tsp. salt
So if you want to use 140g of starter at 100% hydration how do you know how much flour and water is in the starter. At 100% there is equal weight of water and flour in the 140g of starter so 70g of water and 70g of flour.
From the basic recipe you reduce the water from 260g -70g = 190g. Then you reduce the flour from the basic recipe 303g - 70g =233g. Now you have the correct amount of flour and water using your starter.
My starter is at 75% hydration x = the amt. of flour in the 140g of starter
140g = x + .75x
140g =1.75x
x = 140 = 80g flour
1.75
So if there is 80g of flour in the 140g of starter there is 60g of water.
Using my starter the recipe would be
Sourdough Pizza Recipe
140g starter (at 75% hydration)
200g water
223g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp. yeast (or omit)
1/4 tsp. salt
Step 1:
You must know the hydration of your recipe along with the hydration of your starter. Most folks use a very wet starter with a hydration oat 100%. This means equal amount of water and flour by weight. You will need a scale to do this. Mine starter is at 75% so it is more dough like.
How to figure the hydration of your recipe
Basic Pizza Recipe
260g water
303g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp (heaping) yeast 3g
1/4 tsp. salt
260g water = .858 x 100 = 86%
303g flour
Now this recipe is simple, it doesn't have honey, butter, and other items that may effect this number. Most of the time this flour to water ratio is good enough since the other ingredients are usually small amounts. If you have other ingredients in the recipe in larger amounts go on line and find what the hydration is of that ingredient so you can add this number to the water number when calculating.
Step 2:
How much starter are you going to use in the recipe?
This is a personal decision you can use a portion of the recipe or 100%. There is an issue that you need to consider. First is your starter active and strong? If not it's best to add a bit of yeast and possibly gluten depending on your starter. To be honest usually my starter needs feeding when making pizza so I use a portion of it in the recipe and add a bit of yeast to help. Using a portion of the recipe with the starter allows the gluten in the new flour to counter act the possibly weak gluten in the starter. So my decision for this recipe is 140g starter.
Lets take this same recipe and use your sourdough starter as part of the recipe.
Sourdough Pizza Recipe
140g Starter (at 100% hydration)
190g water
233g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp (or omit)
1/4 tsp. salt
So if you want to use 140g of starter at 100% hydration how do you know how much flour and water is in the starter. At 100% there is equal weight of water and flour in the 140g of starter so 70g of water and 70g of flour.
From the basic recipe you reduce the water from 260g -70g = 190g. Then you reduce the flour from the basic recipe 303g - 70g =233g. Now you have the correct amount of flour and water using your starter.
My starter is at 75% hydration x = the amt. of flour in the 140g of starter
140g = x + .75x
140g =1.75x
x = 140 = 80g flour
1.75
So if there is 80g of flour in the 140g of starter there is 60g of water.
Using my starter the recipe would be
Sourdough Pizza Recipe
140g starter (at 75% hydration)
200g water
223g hard white or hard red wheat flour
1/4 tsp. yeast (or omit)
1/4 tsp. salt
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