History
Manchester's sourdough pizza identity grew from a 2014 Ancoats pop-up: Rudy's Pizza Napoletana, opened by Kate Wilson and Jim Morgan as a gazebo behind Bar Fringe and within a year a permanent room on Cotton Street, brought Neapolitan dough with a 48-hour double prove to the city. By the late 2020s, Honest Crust at Mackie Mayor, Noi Quattro on Thomas Street, Tariff and Dale and Ramona had built Manchester into one of the UK's strongest pizza cities outside London with a distinct sourdough lean.
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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 500g 00 pizza flour (Caputo Pizzeria or equivalent)
- 300ml cold water
- 100g active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
- 10g fine sea salt
- For the sauce: 400g San Marzano whole tomatoes crushed by hand
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch of caster sugar
- 300g fior di latte mozzarella, torn into 2cm pieces and drained
- 20 fresh basil leaves
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Fine semolina for the peel
Method
- Combine the flour and starter with the cold water in a large bowl. Mix to a shaggy dough, then rest 30 minutes (autolyse).
- Sprinkle salt over and knead 5 minutes by hand until smooth. The dough should be soft and only slightly tacky.
- Bulk-ferment at room temperature for 4 hours, performing one stretch-and-fold every hour for the first 3 hours.
- Divide into 4 equal balls (around 230g each). Tuck each into a tight ball and place in an oiled container.
- Cover and cold-ferment in the refrigerator for 18 to 24 hours.
- Pull the dough out 90 minutes before cooking to come to room temperature.
- Heat a pizza steel or pizza stone at 250C (maximum) for at least 45 minutes. If you have a portable pizza oven, set to 450C.
- Stretch each dough ball gently by hand into a 30cm round; never use a rolling pin.
- Top with 4 tablespoons crushed tomato, 75g torn mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil and a few basil leaves.
- Slide onto the steel/stone and cook 5 minutes at 250C (or 90 seconds at 450C). The crust should char in spots.
Tip from the editors. Cold-ferment the dough at least 18 hours; 24-48 hours gives more flavour. A pizza steel preheated 45 minutes is the best home substitute for a wood oven.
Where to eat manchester sourdough pizza
Manchester sourdough pizza in Manchester
Rudy's Pizza Napoletana ★ 4.6
Started as a 2014 Cotton Street pop-up in Manchester; now an AVPN-listed pizzeria. Dough ferments 24 hours, sixty seconds in the wood-fired oven.
OrderMargherita first, then a Diavola with Italian salami if you want heat.
TipWalk-in only at Ancoats; arrive by 17:30 on weekends or expect a queue running across Cutting Room Square.
Honest Crust at Mackie Mayor ★ 4.2
Manchester sourdough-pizza counter inside Mackie Mayor. Margherita at twelve pounds, specials with seasonal toppings around fourteen, communal hall seating.
TryMargherita pizza
Noi Quattro ★ 4.3
Thomas Street pizzeria in Manchester's Northern Quarter, dough fermented seventy-two hours, AVPN-approved Neapolitan crust from the Liverpool team.
OrderThe margherita first; the Nduja with stracciatella second.
TipTwo-for-twenty Mondays are the value play; lunchtime slots take walk-in customers without a queue.
Tariff and Dale ★ 4.2
Northern Quarter pizza-and-plates room in a converted Victorian warehouse, Manchester. Brick walls, open kitchen, sourdough pizza served all day.
OrderWood-fired sourdough pizza; the burrata with peach in summer.
TipThe kitchen runs to 22:00 most nights and 23:00 weekends Walk-ins usually OK.
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