Maurizio Leo

Maurizio Leo Helping others bake naturally leavened sourdough bread right from home.

Hundreds of pizzas, all for one book. That’s the rough count from the years it took me to make The Perfect Pizza. I ran ...
09/16/2026

Hundreds of pizzas, all for one book.

That’s the rough count from the years it took me to make The Perfect Pizza. I ran my home oven every day for so long I had to change the lightbulbs inside, twice.

Every recipe is sourdough with methods for baking pizzas in your home oven or outdoor high temp oven. Recipes from thick and crispy Detroit to ultra-thin Tavern Style and everything in between. Plus, recipes using freshly milled flour, amazing grains you’d never think to put in pizza dough, and varying fermentation schedules to make pizza fit your workweek. Including lots of things like English muffins and hoagie loaves to use up any extra pizza dough—you’re going to love this book.

In less than two months, it’s out!

Pre-order now to get it right on pub day plus a bunch of bonuses I’m throwing in for ordering early.

🍕 Comment PIZZA and I’ll send you the limited-time pre-order bonuses 🙂

09/04/2026

SOURDOUGH MILK BREAD HAMBURGER BUNS! My favorite way to do Labor Day weekend (or, heck, any hamburger session). Soft and light, yet super sturdy for piling everything high.

I’d recommend making them a day before you want to cut and grill and fill. That way they’re cooled and the flavor improves even a day or two after baking them.

Comment Recipe and I’ll send the link over to you!

09/02/2026

(Recipe below!) One of the best ways to get incredible flavor in your sourdough bread: freshly mill your flour. Here I’m using hard red wheat I milled on my KoMo mill in the morning with some already milled type 85, then mixed together when the levain is ripe. You won’t believe the aroma and flavor.

Makes 4 x 900g loaves

Levain
112g type 85 flour
112g water
112g ripe sourdough starter

Main Dough
1000g type 85 flour
750g freshly milled hard red wheat
34g fine sea salt
1300g water 1
200g water 2 (add at the end of mixing if the dough can handle it)
315g ripe sourdough levain

Method
0. Mill flour frst first thing in the morning.
1. Mix Levain ingredients and let ripen at warm temperature for 3 hours
2. An hour before the levain is ripe, add the flour and water 1 to a mixing bowl and mix until no dry bits remain. Let rest for 1 hour.
3. Add levain, mix on speed 1 for 5 minutes, rest 10 minutes, then add salt and Water 2 as needed. Mix until smooth, 6 to 7 minutes on speed 2.
4. Bulk ferment for 2.5 hours with three sets of stretches and folds at 30-min intervals.
5. Divide the dough into 4 x 900g pieces and aggressively preshape into rounds.
6. Shape into a batard and place into fridge overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C), bake 20 minutes with steam, then 35 min without.

08/20/2026

My sourdough Focaccia Pugliese! tThe potato in the dough is why the crumb stays this moist 🙂

Riced roasted russet, mixed in last. The gelatinized starch holds water the flour can’t, so the crumb stays soft into day two and three. I love adding durum flour which brings the yellow color and an incredible crunch. Tomatoes get pressed in one at a time so they don’t ride up during the bake.

🔥 Comment RECIPE and I’ll send you the full recipe with the complete timeline.

LEVAIN (night before)
59g bread flour
59g water
12g ripe sourdough starter
Mix, cover, leave overnight. Roast 2 large russets (350°F, 1 hour), peel, rice, set aside. I usually roast these early in the morning. You can also microwave them!

DOUGH
469g high-protein white flour
132g durum flour, extra fancy (or whole wheat)
423g water
13g fine sea salt
130g ripe levain
33g extra-virgin olive oil
198g riced roasted potato

METHOD
Mix flour, water, salt, levain on low 2 to 3 min, then medium 4 to 5 min. Rest 10 min. Mix again on low, stream in the oil, then add potato until it disappears into the dough.
Bulk 2.5 hours, three sets of stretch and folds, 30 min apart.
Divide into two greased 10-inch pans (or one 9x13). Stretch to fill, cover.
Two gentle stretches 30 min apart, then proof about 2 hours more.
Top with olive oil, tomatoes, olives, oregano, rosemary, sea salt. Bake 425°F, 30 min, rotating halfway.

08/17/2026

The first copy of my new book THE PERFECT PIZZA showed up this week! So, naturally, I made pizza from it.

The Perfect Pizza is out November 10th. The book is 100% sourdough: pizza, focaccia, and flatbreads, every style with its own dough, all of it built for a regular home oven.

Preorder now (any retailer counts) and you get the bonus pack:

🍕 Scaling spreadsheets, so you can modify recipes and bake for a crowd without doing the math
🍕 Four recipes that didn’t make the book, including my dad’s garlic bread spread from his restaurant
🍕 A bake-along with me on November 13 (launch week) and we make pizza together

Comment PIZZA and I’ll DM you the preorder link plus how to claim the bonus pack.
(Already preordered? Same link to claim form—you’re in!)

08/05/2026

Back home and baking sourdough (Recipe below!). This time a country-style loaf with 40% whole-grain durum and 60% type 85. Super nutty, buttery, and even a little sweet. The crust is something special, too. Thanks redsbreads_cali for the durum!

Makes 4 x 900g loaves

Levain
112g type 85 flour
112g water
112g ripe sourdough starter

Main Dough
1006g type 85 flour
745g whole grain durum
34g fine sea salt
1287g water 1
187g water 2 (bassinage—add slowly at end of mixing)
336g ripe sourdough levain

Method
1. Mix Levain ingredients and let ripen at warm temp for 3 hr
2. An hour before the levain is ripe, add the flour and water 1 to a mixing bowl and mix until no dry bits. Let rest for 1 hour.
3. Add levain, mix on speed 1 for 5 minutes, rest 10 minutes, then add salt and Water 2 as needed (push it!). Mix until smooth, 6 min on speed 2.
4. Bulk ferment for 2.5 to 3 hours (warmer, 78F = shorter) with three sets of stretches and folds at 30-min intervals.
5. Divide the dough into 4x900g pieces and gently preshape into rounds.
6. Shape and place into fridge overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C), bake 20 minutes with steam, then 35 min without.

An inspiring time out in Washington at the WSU Breadlab Grain Gathering! Coming away with even more respect for the farm...
07/23/2026

An inspiring time out in Washington at the WSU Breadlab Grain Gathering! Coming away with even more respect for the farmers, researchers, teachers, millers, and fellow bakers who make all of this possible. Thanks to redsbreads_cali for inviting me to mill, mix, shape, and bake all in his rad solar powered trailer out in the middle of a wheat field with the talented Baylin Bresnick and Thomas Vroom & Jordan Ashley Beck. Incredible bread and focaccia. Looking forward to the next one!

Each time I go to France I wonder why it took me so long to go back. Three weeks starting in Paris then driving out five...
07/18/2026

Each time I go to France I wonder why it took me so long to go back. Three weeks starting in Paris then driving out five hours to the countryside: exploring the Loire Valley, canoeing in the Dordogne, visiting every chateau along the way, plus more duck & fries than I care to admit. Highlights were the margherita pizza at .o.b.a.t.z, excellent bread and pastry each day at and so many small restaurants and bakeries along the way. Glad to be home but already missing my morning croissant 🥐

05/08/2026

🥯 Ooh my these are good. “New wave” sourdough bagels (not sure if that’s a thing but that’s what I’m calling em!). Crispy, glossy, blistered crust. Tender and open crumb. Overnight cold re**rd. Check out more in my Stories 🙂

I tested this one a lot. The short version: a multi-grain flour blend, sweet levain, quick boil in heavy malt water, and a hot bake on steel. These are the kind of bagels you eat plain off the rack before you’ve thought about what to put on them.

Huge thanks goes out to for helping me refine this recipe and process 🙌🏼

One of my favs recently: scalded buckwheat, anise, and malt. Super hearty, a little sweet, a little herbal, and crazy de...
05/06/2026

One of my favs recently: scalded buckwheat, anise, and malt. Super hearty, a little sweet, a little herbal, and crazy delicious.

Recipe is at The Perfect Loaf. ❤️

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Albuquerque, NM

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