Sourdough Pizza Crust
This home made pizza crust is a great way to use your discarded sourdough starter. The starter here is used more for flavor than rise, so this is for a thinner crust pizza.
Here's what you'll need:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter discard
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
Equipment:
mixing bowl
silicone spatula or fork
measuring cups and spoons
rolling pin
baking sheet
Step 1: Wash your hands with soap and water
Step 2: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir to combine
For this recipe we are using discarded starter for the flavor. So it's a great way to use "hungry" starter. Just combine the flour, starter, and salt in a bowl and mix together
Step 3: Once your shaggy dough is formed, flour your countertop and give it a quick knead
Knead your dough by pushing down in to it, folding it over, and repeating. You should feel the dough starting to feel smoother and more elastic.
How to know when you've kneaded enough
Kneading is developing gluten, so there a couple of simple ways to make sure you have developed enough gluten
Poke it! If your dough springs back, you have developed gluten
How to know when you've kneaded enough
2. The windowpane test - take a small piece of your dough, roll it into a ball and gently stretch the edges of the dough. Hold it up to a window or light and see if you can see light through it without it tearing. If you can, it is developed enough. This can be done with breads made with commercial yeast too.
Step 4: Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes
This rest won't help your dough rise, it's just going to make it easier to roll out. I wasn't ready to use mine until later in the day, but I left it resting for 2-3 hours. You can also place it in the refrigerator to use another day.
Step 5: Roll out your pizza dough
lightly flour your countertop and roll out your dough. Bonnie was making a personal sized cheese pizza, so we only used about 1/4 of the dough. You can roll it to whatever thickness you desire, it won't rise a whole lot, but remember the thicker the crust, the longer it'll take to bake
Step 6: Dock your pizza dough (prick it with a fork)
Move your rolled out dough to a baking sheet & prick it all over with a fork. Docking your dough helps assure that you won't have bubbles when it bakes.
Step 7: Top with sauce and toppings of your choice
You can use jarred spaghetti sauce if you don't have pizza sauce and any toppings you want, but be careful not to overload your pizza as it will become soggy when cooking. If you are adding veggies like mushrooms or peppers, you might want to saute them in a pan first so they will be fully cooked.
Before you bake your crust you can brush it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to promote browning and tenderness. We skipped this step and thought it was yummy.
Step 8: Bake at 350 degrees until browned
Baking time will vary with dough thickness and toppings, Bonnie's small pizza took about 20 minutes to cook through.