If you’re new to the pizza or baking game, you might not be familiar with the concept of a levain starter, nor think it has anything to do with pizza. But for Hawaii-based New York Times bestseller and chef Ken Forkish, incorporating a levain – an offshoot of a mature sourdough starter – into pizza dough does wonders to enhance its taste and aroma. All you need is flour, water, and time for the ingredients to incorporate the wild yeasts in the air and ferment before it's added to the dough for extra tasty results.
As the author of “Evolutions in Bread,” “The Elements of Pizza” and “Flour Water Salt Yeast,” which won both James Beard and IACP awards, we trust Ken’s methods. And if his recipe writing expertise weren’t enough, he’s also the founder of Ken’s Artisan Bakery and Ken’s Artisan Pizza, the latter of which was named one of the best in the country by 50 Top Pizza in 2022.
This recipe requires more time and planning than Ken’s “I Slept in But I Want Pizza Tonight” Dough, but trust us: it’s well worth it. A little effort goes a long way, and as Ken writes in “Flour Water Salt Yeast,” “You too can enjoy the pleasure that begins with a leap of faith and ends with figuring out what to do with the culture once it’s active.” Get ready for a pie with a greater depth of flavor that will have you (and your guests) clamoring for more.
Reprinted with permission from The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish, copyright © 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.