Artisan Pizza Dough

Stir together 2 1/4 cups warm water and levain in a large bowl until levain is mostly dissolved. Add flour and salt. Stir using a wooden spoon to form a shaggy dough. When dough becomes too stiff to stir with spoon, knead dough in bowl to form a ball. Turn dough onto a clean work surface and knead until there are no dry patches of flour, about 1 minute. (Dough will be sticky. To easily clean doughy hands, sprinkle hands lightly with flour and rub together over a trash can to loosen any stuck dough.) Place dough in a clean large bowl and drizzle with oil. Knead dough in bowl until oil is incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature until dough begins to rise, about 1 hour.

Uncover dough; starting at edge of bowl farthest from body, use a wet hand to lift edge of dough and stretch until there is tension, approximately 1 foot in the air. Press the dough in toward the center; rotate bowl 90 degrees and repeat motion to fold dough four times total. Flip dough seam side down; cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand 1 hour. Repeat folding process one more time.

Cover dough bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until tripled in volume, about 12 hours, or refrigerate until increased in volume 2 1/2 to 3 times, at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap, leaving about 3 inches of overhang on all sides; lightly grease plastic wrap with oil. Alternatively, lightly grease insides of six lidded plastic pint containers with oil. Set aside.

Uncover dough and gently press to release air bubbles. Turn dough out onto a heavily floured work surface. Divide dough evenly into six portions (about 9 ounces or 255 grams each). Working with one dough piece at a time, stretch and fold four corners of dough in toward center. Flip dough seam side down. Using a bench scraper and a lightly floured hand, drag dough across work surface, rotating dough gradually with your hand as you pull it with bench scraper, until dough forms a taut ball. Using bench scraper, transfer dough ball, seam side down, to prepared baking sheet (or to one prepared pint container). Repeat process with remaining five dough pieces, spacing evenly apart on baking sheet and pulling plastic wrap up between dough balls to prevent sticking (or place in six oiled plastic pint containers). Cover tightly with plastic wrap or lids.

For faster dough, let proof at room temperature 1 hour and then refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 5 hours. Alternatively, for more flavorful dough, let dough proof more slowly in refrigerator, at least 6 hours or up to 3 days.