If you joined us for one of our Wild Fungi & Wood-Fired Sourdough Pizza Walks, this one is for you. 🍄🔥

There’s something pretty special about spending a few hours learning about the fungi growing around us, then gathering around the wood-smoke and stove to eat freshly cooked sourdough pizza topped with the mushrooms you’ve just pulled from the ground.

And while we can’t send you home with the wood-fired oven, we can give you a recipe, so you can recreate a little bit of the experience at home.

This is a simple sourdough pizza base you can make ahead, then top with your favourite combination of mushrooms, cheese, herbs and whatever else you fancy. If you’ve confidently identified edible wild mushrooms, you can use those too – otherwise good-quality cultivated mushrooms work beautifully.

Sourdough Pizza Dough

Makes approximately 4 pizzas

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 350g water
• 100g bubbly, active sourdough starter
• 10g fine sea salt
• 15g extra virgin olive oil

For the Wild Mushroom Topping

Use this as inspiration rather than a strict recipe:

• A selection of confidently identified edible wild mushrooms, or cultivated mushrooms
• Extra virgin olive oil or butter
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• Fresh or dried herbs such as thyme or wild marjoram
• Mozzarella
• Parmesan
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

You can also add tomato sauce, wild garlic pesto, caramelised onions or whatever seasonal ingredients you have to hand.

The Night Before – Make Your Dough

Add the water and active sourdough starter to a large bowl and whisk together.

Add the flour and salt and mix until no dry flour remains. Leave to rest for around 30 minutes.

Add the olive oil and work it gently into the dough.

Over the next 2 hours, give the dough 3–4 sets of stretch and folds, approximately 30 minutes apart.

Cover and leave the dough to continue fermenting until it has visibly risen and feels light and aerated. Divide into four balls, cover and transfer to the fridge overnight.

The Next Day

Take your dough from the fridge around 1–2 hours before cooking to allow it to come towards room temperature.

Meanwhile, prepare your toppings.

Clean your mushrooms and cook them thoroughly in a little butter or olive oil with garlic, herbs and seasoning. Cooking them first also helps prevent excess moisture making your pizza soggy.

Shape Your Pizzas

Lightly flour your work surface and place one ball of dough onto it.

Using your fingertips, gently press from the centre outwards, leaving a slightly thicker rim around the edge.

Pick the dough up and gently stretch it until you have a thin pizza base. Try not to use a rolling pin — keeping some of the air in the dough gives you those lovely bubbly, charred edges.

Add your chosen toppings, being careful not to overload the base.

Cooking in a Pizza Oven

Get your pizza oven very hot — ideally around 400–450°C.

Slide your pizza onto the hot stone and cook for approximately 60–120 seconds, turning regularly, until the base is cooked and the crust is puffed, blistered and charred in places.

Cooking in a Home Oven

No pizza oven? You can still make these at home.

Place a pizza stone, baking steel or heavy baking tray in your oven and preheat it at its highest temperature for at least 30–45 minutes.

Cook your pizza directly on the hot surface until the base is crisp and the crust is golden and bubbling. Depending on your oven, this will usually take around 6–10 minutes.

Make It Wild 🌿

This is where you can have fun with what you’ve learned on your walk.

Depending on the season and what you can confidently identify, experiment with edible wild mushrooms and herbs to create your own combinations.

Try finishing your pizza with wild garlic oil or pesto, wild marjoram, fermented wild greens or even a scattering of edible flowers.

And if you make one at home after joining us, please tag Wild Roots Foraging – we’d genuinely love to see what you create.

A Note About Wild Mushrooms

Only eat wild fungi that you can identify with complete confidence. Some poisonous species can be confused with edible mushrooms, and photographs or apps should never be relied upon for identification.

Always follow appropriate preparation guidance for the particular species you’re eating, and cook wild mushrooms thoroughly. If trying an edible species for the first time, start with a small portion.