Sourdough Pull-Apart Pizza Heart

sourdough pizza heart next to a bowl of marinara sauce for dipping

5 from 1 vote

This Sourdough Pull-Apart Pizza Heart uses sourdough pizza dough to make this adorable tear and share heart full of zesty pizza flavor, gooey mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni slices.

Prep Time20

Cook Time27

Rise time7

Total Time7 47

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Emily Christensen

Equipment

Ingredients

Sourdough Pizza Dough

350 grams water warm, 1½ cups
600 grams bread flour 4 ½ cups
150 grams active sourdough starter ⅔ cup
20 grams honey 1 Tablespoon
30 grams olive oil 2 Tablespoons
10 grams salt 1 ½ teaspoons

Filling

60-70 grams 30-40 pepperoni slices
335 grams mozzarella cheese shredded, 3 cups

Topping

30 grams olive oil 2 Tablespoons
1 gram italian seasoning ½ teaspoon
sprinkle parmesan cheese freshly grated

Garlic Butter

28 grams butter salted or unsalted, 2 Tablespoons
4 grams garlic minced, 2 teaspoons

Instructions

Add all the dough ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer, and with a dough hook knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it is not add a little bit more flour. Alternatively, you can mix the dough by hand in a mixing bowl and then knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface until it is soft and forms a smooth ball.
350 grams water, 600 grams bread flour, 150 grams active sourdough starter, 20 grams honey, 30 grams olive oil, 10 grams salt
Let the dough rise covered in a warm spot at 80 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-6 hours until doubled in size. Alternatively you can leave the dough to rise for a longer period of time at cooler temperatures.
After the dough has doubled, punch it down and dump it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in 2.
On a lightly floured surface, begin rolling out half of the dough into a rectangle. Start making the heart shape by pulling the middle section down towards the center and rounding out the tops. You can use a bench scraper to cut sections as needed and attach them to other spots. Fold it in half vertically to see if it is symmetrical. My heart ended up being about 12 inches wide and 14 inches tall.
Complete this step again with the second half of the dough. Use the first heart as your guide and try to get the size and shape the same.
Before assembling the pizza heart, place the bottom heart on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cheese and add a single layer of pepperonis. Place the other half of the heart on top and pinch the edges together to seal it.
60-70 grams 30-40 pepperoni slices, 335 grams mozzarella cheese
Place a heart cookie cutter in the center of the pizza dough and press slightly to indent. If you don't have a heart cookie cutter you can trace a heart in the middle with a toothpick.
Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut 1-inch strips in the dough, starting from the bottom of the heart and working your way up each side. Cut the slices all the way to the middle heart.
Twist the two bottom strips away from each other 2-3 times and then squeeze the ends together. Next, twist each strip 2-3 times towards the bottom of the heart until all the strips are twisted. Curve the top pieces to reinforce the heart shape.
Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for another hour or two in a warm spot. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. When it is puffy, brush it with a mixture of olive oil and italian seasoning and sprinkle with freshly-shredded parmesan cheese before baking.
30 grams olive oil, 1 gram italian seasoning , sprinkle parmesan cheese
Bake in the preheated oven for 27-30 minutes or until it is golden brown and cooked through.
Remove from the oven and let the pizza heart cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a serving platter.
Optional: Prepare a garlic butter by melting two tablespoons of butter with 2 teaspoons of minced garlic. Brush the butter mixture on top of the Sourdough Pizza Heart with a pastry brush. Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping, and enjoy!
28 grams butter , 4 grams garlic

Video

Notes

It can be helpful to plan out where all your 1-inch cuts are going to go before cutting. I like to take my bench scraper and lightly indent my lines all the way up the heart.
Let the dough get puffy before baking to ensure a well-risen pizza heart.
To bake later, prepare the pizza heart and let it rise for 30-45 minutes until it begins to puff up. Then, place it in the fridge covered until you are ready to bake, up to 12 hours. Alternatively, place the dough in the fridge before shaping it.

Nutrition