Since opening on Hindley Street in 1967 as Adelaide’s first pizza bar, Marcellina has built its reputation around one thing above all else: great pizza.
For almost six decades, our pizza base has been at the heart of that tradition. Now, after a period of testing and refinement, we’re introducing a new and improved sourdough recipe, currently available at Marcellina Hindley Street and Aberfoyle Park. The new recipe builds on the Marcellina pizza our customers have known for generations, while introducing the distinctive flavour, texture and character that comes from sourdough fermentation.
And like many chapters in the Marcellina story, this one began with family.
The idea for the new sourdough base began with longtime Marcellina owner Brian Aoukar. After researching sourdough and becoming interested in its traditional fermentation process and potential nutritional qualities, Brian began making and experimenting with sourdough pizza bases for himself. What started as a personal interest soon made its way into the Marcellina kitchen at Aberfoyle Park.
Brian began trialling his sourdough base with local customers and regulars, taking the opportunity to hear their thoughts and refine the recipe along the way. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with customers embracing the flavour and texture of the new base.
With that encouragement, Brian approached his son, Fouad Aoukar, about taking the idea further.
Together, they began working on how the sourdough recipe could be incorporated into the pizza-making process at Marcellina’s original Hindley Street restaurant, bringing Brian’s initial experiment back to the place where the Marcellina story began.
The foundation of every great pizza is its dough, and sourdough brings something unique to the process.
Made using a naturally fermented starter, sourdough relies on a fermentation process that allows its flavour and texture to develop over time. This creates the distinctive depth of flavour and character traditionally associated with sourdough.
It was this process that first interested Brian and ultimately inspired the experimentation behind Marcellina’s new base. For Marcellina, however, introducing sourdough was never about replacing the pizza customers have loved for generations. Instead, it became an opportunity to take an established favourite and explore how it could continue to evolve.
With almost 60 years of pizza-making behind us, changing something as fundamental as the base isn’t a decision made lightly.
Generations of South Australians have grown up with Marcellina, and maintaining the flavour, quality and generosity associated with our pizzas has remained central throughout the development of the sourdough recipe.
That’s also why its introduction has been gradual.
Beginning at Aberfoyle Park with Brian’s early trials, and now expanding to Hindley Street, the process has allowed us to refine the recipe in our own kitchens while listening to the people who know Marcellina best; our customers. The result is an evolution of the Marcellina pizza base that respects its history while bringing something new to the table.
There is something particularly fitting about the next stage of the sourdough story taking place at Hindley Street. Marcellina first opened its doors there in 1967, introducing Adelaide to authentic Italian pizza and beginning a story that continues almost six decades later.
While our history is something we’re incredibly proud of, Marcellina has never stopped evolving. Food changes, tastes develop and new techniques emerge, but the fundamentals remain the same: quality ingredients, good dough and a passion for hospitality.
The new Marcellina sourdough pizza base is currently being introduced on a limited basis at Marcellina Aberfoyle Park and Hindley Street, as we continue to test, refine and listen to customer feedback.
Whether Marcellina has been part of your family for generations or you’re discovering us for the first time, we invite you to come in and experience the new base for yourself.
Almost 60 years after Adelaide’s first pizza bar opened its doors, we’re still experimenting, still refining and still passionate about making great pizza.