Sourdough Pizza

 

After a couple of unsuccessful days in my sewing room, I decided to do the second best thing.....bake.

My sourdough starter is only in its second day, so maybe it wasn't quite ready by a sourdough snob's standards.  But, I figured WTH!  I used the discard to make my pizza dough.  It turned out so awesome!  The full sourdough flavor profile was not there, but the crust was better than any pizza I've ever had.  It was chewy and crispy at the same time.  I used the King Arthur Flour sourdough recipe along with some semolina flour.  I baked one on my pizza stone with some "just OK results".  The second one I baked in my Chicago Pizza pan and it turned out perfect.   The first one had salsa, ground turkey, onions and spinach with cheese on hand (gouda, pepperjack and parmesan).  The second one had tomato sauce, onions and spinach with the cheese.  They were both good, but the one baked in the Chicago pan was awesome.  

Pizza Dough recipe:

1 cup sourdough starter or unfed discard

1/2 cup warm water

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (KAF)

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. active dry yeast 

In a small measuring cup, bloom the yeast in a small amount of warm water and 1/2 tsp. sugar.  Set aside for about 5-10 minutes.  In a mixing bowl, measure all other ingredients and finally add in the yeast mixture.  Stir together until all flour is moistened and leaves the side of the bowl.  Knead by hand for 7-10 minutes.  Place the dough back in the bowl and cover loosely with a towel and set in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk.  Punch down and divide into 2-3 portions for the pizza crusts.  Sprinkle the work surface and pizza stone with semolina flour.  Shape each dough portion into a circle.  Bake for 7-10 minutes at 450°F.  Remove from the oven and top with cheeses, vegetables and meat (if desired).  Bake 15-18 minutes to brown the crust and melt cheese.  

It's starting to get nicer outside.  We've had sun all day.  My Camelia's are blooming and I should be out doing a little yard work.  I cut back our two fence monsters and our 7 Crepe Myrtle's a couple weeks ago and my hand still hurts from the pruning.   Having said this, I think I'll stay in and do some reading instead.