What happens when a lifelong pizza lover turns his obsession into a craft—and finds his happy place behind the oven?

In this episode of What’s Good Dough, Eidref sits down with Matt Lucas, the sourdough pizza mastermind behind Johnny Baguette. From demoing pizzas at Orchard Supply to perfecting naturally leavened doughs at SF Pizza Fest, Matt shares how his curiosity, creativity, and community shaped his pizza-making journey. We talk about learning through failure, finding balance between consistency and creativity, and why pizza pop-ups have become his personal therapy.

0:52 – SF Pizza Fest 2024 flashback: trying Matt’s unforgettable sourdough pizza

1:05 – Johnny Baguette origins: naming pizzas after favorite songs

1:33 – What’s on the “Johnny Baguette” — sausage, Calabrian chilies, and orange zest

1:46 – Matt’s 120V oven setup and dialing in his hybrid pizza style

2:04 – Early days: making 18-inch New York pies during COVID

2:17 – From pizza peel salesman to full-blown pizza maker

2:28 – Working at PizzaCraft and testing ovens at Orchard Supply

2:55 – The first “parking lot pizza fest” and how it sparked his obsession

3:14 – Moving to the Bay and immediately eating at Tony’s

3:37 – Discovering The Pizza Bible and diving deep into sourdough

4:13 – Learning sourdough through trial and failure

4:36 – Staying calm under pressure at Pizza Fest

5:02 – “Just make it beautiful”: how Matt motivated his team

5:26 – Resisting the urge to constantly tweak recipes

6:07 – Balancing creativity and consistency in dough making

6:14 – Inspired by Japanese milk bread and hydration experiments

6:37 – Keeping pop-up recipes stable for the team’s workflow

7:10 – The magic of orange zest and fennel sausage pairing

7:24 – Pre-bake oil trick: getting crispy, blistered crusts

7:55 – Comparing Pizza Fest 2024 vs. 2025 performances

8:27 – Why this year’s operation outshined last year’s dough

9:00 – How dough flavor can complement or clash with toppings

10:08 – Bulk fermentation: finding the perfect timing and temp

10:36 – Consistency over perfection — training the team for any dough

10:58 – Finding joy in service: pizza as personal therapy

11:54 – “What’s Good Dough?” — Matt’s heartfelt answer

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Thank you to our show sponsors:

Bacio Cheese:

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Corto:https://bit.ly/457DNII

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Edited By Valentine Phelippeau

Topics:

how to make sourdough pizza, sourdough pizza recipe, pizza pop-up business tips, artisan pizza dough technique, how to dial in pizza oven, pizza event catering tips, pizza maker story, best pizza toppings sausage Calabrian, pizza fermentation tips, small-scale pizza operation behind the scenes