Maurizio Leo

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

10/26/2026

Fifty-fifty whole wheat sourdough bread. Half whole grain, lots of flavor, and no brick 😁

The trick is lots of water and a strong dough. Im usually north of 82 to 86% hydration and still handles fine. The other trick is the levain: 100% hydration, ripe in 3 hours for lots of yeast activity (lift) with minimal acid carryover. If it’s your first time with this one, hold back the last 100g of water and add it only if the dough feels like it can handle it.

Makes two 900g loaves.

LEVAIN (3 hrs, warm)
48g ripe starter
24g whole wheat flour
24g all-purpose or medium-protein bread flour
48g water

AUTOLYSE
453g whole wheat flour
214g all-purpose or medium-protein bread flour
238g high-protein bread flour
634g water

MIX
143g levain (all of it)
18g salt
100g water, held back

METHOD
1. Mix the levain and keep it warm, around 78°F (26°C), for 3 hours.
2. One hour in, mix the autolyse ingredients until no dry bits remain. Cover, rest 2 hours.
3. Add the levain and a splash of the held-back water. Mix and strengthen 4 to 5 minutes. Add the salt and the rest of the water, mix until smooth and elastic. Target dough temp 78°F (26°C).
4. Bulk 3.5 hours with 5 sets of stretch and folds at 30-minute intervals, then leave it alone.
5. Divide in two, preshape round, rest 20 minutes uncovered.
6. Shape into boules or bâtards, into baskets.
7. Cover and proof overnight in the fridge.
8. Preheat a Dutch oven to 450°F (230°C). Score, bake 20 minutes covered, then 30 minutes uncovered to a deep color. Internal temp around 206°F (96°C). Cool 2 hours.

10/20/2026

SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA! Comment “focaccia” and I’ll send you the recipe gift link, now on NYT Cooking.

Irresistibly bubbly and pillowy focaccia enriched with olive oil and topped with any spices you have (I like rosemary), it’s perfect on its own or cut in half to make epic sandwiches. Here I’m using thick slabs and filling them with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, the last of my good tomatoes 😭, and some spicy arugula.

Get the full recipe at the link in my bio, too.

10/16/2026

RECIPE for my sourdough English muffins, with 30% whole wheat, or more white flour for an even lighter muffin.

The flour is the lever here. Keep it all white, and you get a super-open interior with nooks and crannies galore and a crispier shell. Or, push the whole grain up and the muffin gets more substantial, picks up flavor, and yet still super soft and light.

If you’re looking for EM molds like the ones I use here, check out the Rackmaster ones at Pleasant Hill Grain.

Makes 12 at 85g each (with a little scrap dough leftover)

LEVAIN
50g ripe starter
50g white flour
50g warm water
Mix and let ripen 3 hours at warm room temp.

DOUGH
326g high-protein white flour
161g whole wheat flour
54g milk powder
38g unsalted butter, softened
21g extra virgin olive oil
21g maple syrup
3g malt (rye or wheat, optional)
304g water + 16g held back
12g salt
149g levain (all of it)

METHOD
1. Build the levain and let it ripen 3 hours. Set the butter out to soften while you wait.
2. Mix everything but the held-back water, butter, and salt. Add salt and remaining water, then work in the butter. Target dough temp 78°F (25°C).
3. Bulk 3 hours.
4. Scale at 85g. Shape into tight balls. Dust ring molds with cornmeal and set one ball in each. No molds? Proof them on a half sheet pan, covered.
5. Proof on the counter 4 to 5 hours, covered with an inverted sheet pan.
6. Bake at 480°F (250°C) between two sheet pans: 10 minutes clipped, 5 minutes unclipped, flip, 9 more minutes.

Any questions? Let me know below!

10/01/2026

Sourdough Detroit Pizza, one of my favs from my upcoming cookbook, The Perfect Pizza. It’s a thick, cheesy, crispy—and yet very light and airy—slab of heaven. I use an almost focaccia-like dough here for this and par-bake it for a crispy bottom (and to eke out more rise before loading it with cheese and toppings). I love mixing a few different types of cheeses for topping to get a tall, frico crust. And then, pepperoni, of course.

Link to preorder my book in my bio 🙂

You’ll still get all the bonuses: recipes in spreadsheets for scaling, a bunch of new recipes cut from the book, and more.

09/24/2026

Sourdough pretzels (recipe below)—don’t skip the lye!

A 4% lye dip gelatinizes the surface and drives the pH way up, so the crust browns deep and fast and actually tastes like a pretzel instead of a pale dinner roll 😉. Baking soda can’t get there. Even baked baking soda can’t quite get there (but if you’re going to skip lye, at least go this route). Butter keeps the crumb tender, diastatic malt helps the color in a short bake, and an hour in the fridge firms the dough for a super thin crust so it survives the dip and scores clean.

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

LEVAIN (night before)
10g ripe sourdough starter
51g all-purpose flour
51g whole wheat flour
102g water

DOUGH
635g high-protein bread flour
120g all-purpose flour
369g water
17g fine sea salt
60g unsalted butter, softened
3g diastatic malt powder
All of the levain

LYE BATH
940g cool water
38g food-grade lye
Coarse pretzel salt, for topping

METHOD
Mix the levain, cover, and leave somewhere warm for 12 hours.

Add everything to a mixer with a dough hook. Speed 1 for 2 to 3 min, rest 5 min, then speed 2 for 4 to 6 min until smooth and cohesive.

Bulk 3.5 hours with one set of stretch and folds after the first hour.

Divide into twelve 115g pieces and preshape into tapered ci**rs. Rest 15 min. It’s a stiff dough, so keep it covered the whole time.

Roll each into a rope, thin at the tips with an exaggerated bulge in the center. Loop, twist twice, fold the tips over the knot, and press to seal. Place on parchment-lined sheet pans.

Proof 30 min covered at room temp, then 45 to 60 min uncovered in the fridge.

Preheat to 450°F convection (475°F conventional). Wearing gloves, whisk the lye into the cool water in a stainless bowl until clear. Dip each pretzel 15 to 20 seconds and return to the pan.

Score the bulge, add salt, and bake 10 min. Rotate the pans, drop to 425°F, and bake 8 to 12 min more until deep brown.

09/20/2026

My Jalapeño cheddar sourdough (RECIPE BELOW), except it’s green chile season, so the jalapeño is out and roasted green chile is in.

I also pushed the cheese to 34% and the chile to 11% of the flour weight just to give the loaf more oomph.

Roasted Hatch brings more water and less bite than raw jalapeño. I use fire roasted chile, then peel, scrape the seeds, dice, and pat the chile dry before it goes in; skip the drying and the moisture pools around each piece and leaves the crumb a touch gummy. The honey is for browning and to round out the spicy chile 🌶️

LEVAIN (9:00 p.m.)
47g bread flour
47g water
47g ripe sourdough starter
Mix, cover, keep warm 12 hours.

DOUGH
536g medium-protein bread flour
155g whole wheat flour
39g whole rye flour
497g water 1
39g water 2
14g fine sea salt
140g ripe levain
31g honey
264g sharp cheddar, shredded or cubed
85g roasted Hatch green chile, peeled, diced, patted dry

METHOD (with sample timeline!)

8:30 a.m. Mix flours and water 1 until no dry bits. Rest 30 min. Prep chile and cheese.

9:00 a.m. Add honey, levain, salt, and a splash of water 2. Add the rest if the dough takes it. Slap and fold or fold in the bowl about 5 min, until smooth and elastic.

Bulk, 9:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Three sets of stretch and folds, 30 min apart, starting at 30 min. Add chile and cheese during the first set. Rest covered for the remainder.

12:45 p.m. Divide in two, preshape round, rest 30 min uncovered.

1:15 p.m. Shape boule or batard, into baskets seam side up.

Cover and proof in the fridge overnight.

9:00 a.m. Bake on parchment (the cheese runs). 450°F, 20 min with steam, then 30 min uncovered, to 204°F internal. Cool 2 hours.

#505

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.

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Albuquerque, NM

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