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Recipe
6 min read
Sourdough Pizza with Roasted Aubergine, Whipped Ricotta & Basil Oil: The Slow Late-Summer Bake Worth Making Before September
A rich, late-summer sourdough pizza topped with smoky roasted aubergine, whipped ricotta and fragrant basil oil. A weekend bake worth the wait.
Photo by David Todd McCarty on UnsplashThe smell of aubergine collapsing in a hot oven is one of those late-summer things that makes you feel okay about the season turning. It goes soft and smoky and a little sweet, and when it lands on a blistered sourdough base with a cloud of whipped ricotta underneath it, the whole thing feels genuinely special without being complicated.
This is the pizza I end up making every August when the aubergines at the market look too good to ignore. It is not quick in the way a Tuesday night dinner is quick, but it is easy, and it rewards you for being unhurried. The base uses a same-day sourdough dough that ferments for a few hours at room temperature, which means you can get things moving after lunch and be eating by early evening. The toppings are minimal but considered: roasted aubergine, a lemon-spiked whipped ricotta, and a basil oil you blitz together in a few minutes that makes everything taste more like a restaurant than a home kitchen. If you have been making sourdough pizza for a while and want something a bit different from the tomato-mozzarella rotation, this is it.
Dough
- 350g strong white bread flour (or tipo 00)
- 245g water (at room temperature)
- 70g active sourdough starter
- 8g (1.5 tsp) fine sea salt
- 10g (2 tsp) olive oil, plus extra for the bowl
Roasted Aubergine
- 2 medium aubergines
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- Flaky sea salt and black pepper
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
Whipped Ricotta
- 250g full-fat ricotta
- Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Basil Oil
- 30g fresh basil leaves
- 80ml extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Baker's Tips
- Your starter should be fed and active before you mix the dough. If you are unsure how to judge that, the DoughRise Starter Calculator can help you work out feeding ratios and timing to get it ready on schedule.
- Salting the aubergine before roasting draws out moisture and gives you a better texture. Do not skip the 20-minute rest with salt, even if you are in a rush.
- If you want personalised help getting this dough to behave in your specific kitchen conditions, the DoughRise Coach can build you a bake plan around your setup, your starter, and your timeline. Well worth a look if you are troubleshooting or want to level things up.
METHOD
- Mix your dough first thing. Combine the flour, water, starter, and olive oil in a large bowl. Mix until no dry flour remains, then cover and leave for 30 minutes. After the rest, add the salt and work it in by squeezing the dough through your fingers until fully incorporated. The dough will feel a little rough at this point. That is fine.
- Over the next 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, roughly 30 minutes apart. Grab one side of the dough, stretch it up as far as it will go without tearing, then fold it back over itself. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Do this 4 times per set. After the final set, the dough should feel noticeably smoother and a little more alive.
- Cover the bowl and leave the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature for a further 2 to 4 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. In a hot late-summer kitchen you will likely be at the shorter end of that range. You are looking for the dough to have grown by around 50 to 75 percent and to feel puffy and aerated when you press it gently.
- While the dough ferments, prepare the aubergine. Cut into roughly 2cm cubes, toss with a generous pinch of flaky salt, and leave in a colander for 20 minutes. Pat dry, then toss with olive oil, the sliced garlic, and chilli flakes if using. Spread on a lined baking tray in a single layer and roast at 220°C (fan 200°C) for 25 to 30 minutes, turning halfway, until deeply golden and soft. Set aside to cool slightly.
Why this works
Salting aubergine before cooking draws out excess water through osmosis, which prevents the flesh from steaming instead of roasting. Less moisture in the pan means more direct heat contact with the tray surface, which gives you better browning and a more concentrated, savoury flavour. It is a small step with a big impact on the final texture.
- Make the whipped ricotta. Beat the ricotta in a bowl with the lemon zest, olive oil, and a pinch of salt until light and a little fluffy. A fork works fine here. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Blitz the basil oil. Combine basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, and salt in a small blender or use a hand blender. Blitz until smooth and vivid green. Pour into a jar. This can be made ahead and keeps in the fridge for a couple of days.
- Once the dough has finished bulk fermentation, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces. Shape each into a round ball by folding the edges into the centre and then flipping seam-side down, using your hands to drag the ball across the surface to create tension. Place each ball on a lightly oiled plate, cover with cling film, and leave to rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour before shaping. This rest is not optional: the dough needs time to relax or it will fight back when you try to stretch it.
INTO THE OVEN
- Place a baking stone, steel, or heavy upturned tray in the oven and preheat to as high as your oven will go, at least 250°C (fan 230°C). Give it a good 45 minutes to an hour to fully come up to temperature. The hotter, the better.
- To shape the pizzas, take one dough ball and press it out from the centre with your fingertips, working outward and leaving a thicker rim around the edge. Then lift it, drape it over the backs of your hands, and gently stretch by moving your hands apart. Aim for a rough oval or round, around 28 to 30 centimetres across. It does not need to be perfect.
- Lay the stretched base on a lightly floured peel or a piece of baking paper. Spread roughly half the whipped ricotta over the base, leaving the rim clear. Scatter over half the roasted aubergine.
- Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until the crust is deeply coloured and blistered in places. Keep an eye on it from about 8 minutes in as every oven is different. Remove and immediately drizzle generously with basil oil. Repeat with the second pizza.
- Eat immediately, straight from the board. This is not a pizza that improves with sitting around.
Want to dial in this recipe? Use the free DoughRise Hydration Calculator to calculate exactly the right ratios for your flour and batch size.
Happy baking! Find everything you need at doughrise.store
Photo by David Todd McCarty on Unsplash
