Manchester's Ancoats-led pizza style: long-fermented sourdough base, Italian flour, local milled stone-ground when available, fior di latte mozzarella, San Marzano sauce.

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.

Where to eat Manchester sourdough pizza in Manchester

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Make it at home

Serves 424 hrIntermediate

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

  1. Combine the flour and starter with the cold water in a large bowl. Mix to a shaggy dough, then rest 30 minutes (autolyse).
  2. Sprinkle salt over and knead 5 minutes by hand until smooth. The dough should be soft and only slightly tacky.
  3. Bulk-ferment at room temperature for 4 hours, performing one stretch-and-fold every hour for the first 3 hours.
  4. Divide into 4 equal balls (around 230g each). Tuck each into a tight ball and place in an oiled container.
  5. Cover and cold-ferment in the refrigerator for 18 to 24 hours.
  6. Pull the dough out 90 minutes before cooking to come to room temperature.
  7. 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.
  8. Stretch each dough ball gently by hand into a 30cm round; never use a rolling pin.
  9. Top with 4 tablespoons crushed tomato, 75g torn mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil and a few basil leaves.
  10. Slide onto the steel/stone and cook 5 minutes at 250C (or 90 seconds at 450C). The crust should char in spots.

Editor tip. 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.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy.