Sourdough Pizza Crust

Friday nights in our home are usually game night, movie night, karaoke night or whatever at home family fun we can muster. I really like to make homemade pizzas when I have time, and the family likes it too!

If you’ve made my Homemade Sourdough Starter, this is a great way to use up some of the discard instead of throwing it out.

Make sure to following the kneading time on this recipe, even tough it seems long, because it makes a very pliable soft pizza dough. I used a piece of parchment paper and outlined my pizza stone to give me a general guide as to how big to shape my pizza dough.

Before I begin working with my dough, I preheat my oven to 500 degrees with my pizza stone in the oven.

I shaped my dough by pressing it into a flat round with my fingertips on my floured parchment paper, then rolling out into the size I wanted. I then went back with my finger tips and pushed the dough out from the center to the sides so that I had a nice edge crust. (Parchment paper is not required, I just do this to keep the mess off of my counters and for easy, quick cleanup).

Next I sprinkled my pizza peel with cornmeal so that the dough would slide off onto my preheated pizza stone easily and without sticking.

Spread you desired amount of marinara, or white pizza sauce, or whatever you like. I love Raw Marinara Sauce, especially in the Spring and Summer when I have fresh basil and oregano growing.  For my marinara sauce I use canned fire roasted tomatoes. They are the perfect kind of tomatoes for sauces like this. Check out my Raw Marinara Sauce and see what you think! Not only is it great for pizza sauce, it’s delicious tossed with cooked pasta or spooned over chicken or fish.

Now let’s talk about cheese. I use a combination of cheeses to get the flavor, melt and browning I like on a pizza. I also have gone back to grating my own cheeses for all of my recipes. I found that when I used pre shredded cheese that it didn’t have the gooey melty texture that I liked. That’s because of the additives and cornstarch manufacturers add to prevent clumping. Feel free to use whatever cheese you’d like – this is just my preference.

My favorite combination for standard pizzas is Whole Milk Mozzarella, Monterey Jack and Asadero cheeses. Asadero is a creamy white Mexican cheese that has a smooth and creamy melt without breaking or getting too oily. It’s typically used in chile rellenos and quesadillas. It has a slight tang, but tastes very similar to mozzarella.  I don’t measure my mix, I just grate them all up and toss them together.

Something I’ve reluctantly learned about using cheese on pizzas is that I can’t use too much. My belief has always been that there can’t be enough cheese! But the best pizzas I’ve made and eaten have used around 6 ounces of cheese for a 12-inch pizza (about 1 cup). Lastly, make sure to only use parmesan or romano cheeses after the pizza has come out of the oven and before serving, otherwise it just gets hard and can burn.

Now it’s time to scoot this pizza off of the peel and onto the preheated stone! Allow it bake at 500 degrees (or however hot your oven will go) for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Note: I have noticed that when I bake with sourdough, it doesn’t seem to brown as much.

I usually make several pizzas when I do this so that we can all have the toppings we like, and plenty to share and have for leftovers!

I hope you have fun and enjoy this pizza crust whenever you decide to make it.  Enjoy!

Sourdough Pizza Crust

 

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Author: Jennifer Locklin

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose or bread flour
• 1½ cups sourdough starter
• 3 tablespoons warm water
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
2. Set mixer to medium-low to bring all of the ingredients together to form a shaggy dough.
3. After the rest, set mixer to medium speed and allow the dough hook to knead the dough for 8 minutes, making sure to occasionally remove the dough from the hook so that it gets worked around the bowl.
4. Dough should be slightly sticky, like bubblegum, but but not wet. If it’s wet, add more flour a tablespoon at a time until dough is just sticky.
5. After kneading, divide dough into two balls and place in separate oiled containers, cover loosely and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface for pizzas.
7. Top as desired.
8. Bake at 500 degrees on a preheated pizza stone for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Notes

This dough can be make 4 to 5 days ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. It also may be frozen after dividing the dough into two balls, just freeze until firm on a baking sheet, then place balls in a zip top bag and freeze until ready to use. Thaw and roll out as usual.

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