Sourdough Pizza
I was bitten by the sourdough starter bug a bit before COVID-19 and remain-in-place orders sent sourdough frenzy through the roof. This is my third attempt at keeping a starter over the past 10 years. Previous attempts had me motivated for a month or two, but either not having the time or inclination to make bread put a damper in its care and in moments of clarity and honesty with myself, I sadly put them in the trash. Nothing is more disappointing yet freeing than quitting a ferment that just isn't fitting into your life.
The greatest barrier, in my opinion, to keeping a starter happy and healthy is not having an incentive to feed and use it regularly. Sourdough starter is a continuous culture similar to kombucha or yogurt where you only need a portion of the culture in fresh medium to keep the bacteria alive and healthy. Unlike kombucha and yogurt where the ‘discard’ is the finished product, sourdough starter is usually just the first step on the path to sourdough bread. Naturally leavened bread is a three day commitment and sometimes that’s exactly how I want to spend my time and energy. There are few things more magical than witnessing a lump of dough you nurtured transform into a beautifully golden, leavened loaf. But that process isn’t something I have the mental and emotional energy to take on more than once a month.
That’s why I believe the current wave of recipes using sourdough discard, sometimes referred to affectionately as the ‘daughter’, as a flavor/short fermentation agent is brilliant! I find that I can keep myself excited for smaller, afternoon sized projects on a more regular basis, which keeps me motivated to feed my starter on a regular basis. Recipes using the discard also reduces food waste. Sourdough starter is simply flour and water with bacterial culture and can be used in almost any baking recipe to replace a portion of the flour and liquid.
Pizza dough made with all purpose flour and a rye/whole wheat starter.
My favorite sourdough discard recipe has been in pizza dough. With shopping trips being infrequent over the last few months, it was comforting to know that I could whip up enough dough to make two pizzas using a bit of flour, a small bit of yeast, and discard I might have otherwise put in the trash*. It really helped stretch out my resources when they were scarce, something I think the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all home cooks to learn.
The flavor of the crust is distinctly sour when eaten on its own, but mild enough that it does not overpower the flavor of your toppings. It's definitely a bready, chewy crust rather than a cracker thin one, but that's how I personally like it :). It's also been kid approved - I gifted some dough to a friend with a 7- and a 4-year-old and it got positive reviews.
It was also fun to figure out what toppings we liked best. Long lived produce like peppers, onions and canned items like artichoke hearts were among our favorites. Mushrooms were a particular treat if we had them, along with confit garlic in olive oil as a base when we ran out of tomato sauce.
For this recipe, note that my starter is a 100% hydration whole grain rye/whole wheat starter; this means it is equal parts starter to water to flour. Depending on the hydration of your starter and the type(s) of flour you feed it, you might find you need slightly different amounts of water or flour to get the best result for you. I invite you to use this as a starting place to develop a pizza dough that works for you.
Also, while you can make this dough and pizza on the same night, the dough is really great after a period of slow fermentation in the refrigerator (also called retarding).
Sourdough Pizza Dough
Makes 1-16” pizza or 2-10” pizzas
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour
200 g sourdough starter discard (just shy of a cup)
133 g (½ cup + 1 Tbsp) warm or room temperature water to start
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
½ tsp dried yeast (can be instant or active)
320 g (2 ⅔ cups) all purpose flour
1 tsp coarse kosher salt (1 ¼ tsp if using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt)
Measure the starter discard, water, and dried yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix briefly with your hands or a spoon.
Measure the all purpose flour and salt into the bowl and mix in the dries with your hands or a spoon until the dries are just starting to hydrate and the dough is a shaggy mess.
Set the bowl in the stand mixer and with a dough hook, knead the dough for 7-8 minutes. If in the first few minutes the dough still looks a bit dry, add an additional tablespoon of water. Your dough is done when it looks smooth, no longer is overly tacky to the touch, and the dough is completely lifted from the bottom of the bowl.
Transfer the dough to an olive oil lined bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap of a silicone bowl cover. Let rest until the dough has doubled in size, about 3 hours. To check if it’s done, poke the dough; the indent of your finger will remain rather than bounce back.
Turn the dough out of the bowl onto an olive oil coated cutting board (use flour if using a wooden cutting board) and divide if desired. Pull the edges of each piece of dough up and towards the center and flip it over so the seams are on the bottom. The dough should have a tight, smooth top.
If you plan on using the dough that same day, let the shaped dough rest for 30 min - 1 hour before making pizza. If you’d like to save your dough for a future meal, pack the dough into plastic bags or airtight containers coated with a little olive oil. Your dough can stay in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for a few months.
Make pizza using your favorite method! Mine is using a cast iron skillet.
Cast Iron Skillet Pizza
This method was inspired by a Bon Appetit Magazine recipe. Given the recent news (as of 6/8/20) of structural racism and toxic environment towards POC within the company, I’m still figuring out how I will be interacting with their products moving forward. As a mixed race Asian American, I do genuinely hope they enact change to create a company I feel comfortable to support in the future.
If using fresh pizza dough, let it rest for 30 min to 1 hour before cooking. If using a retarded pizza dough, pull it out of the fridge and let it warm on an oil or flour coated surface for about 1 hour before cooking.
Preheat your oven to 475°F with a rack in the highest position.
Gently stretch out your rested pizza dough into a 9-10” circle. I like to keep the dough on the cutting board and use my fingers to press it into a circle.
On low heat, heat a bit of olive oil in a 10”-ish inch cast iron skillet.
When the oil flows like water in the pan, transfer your dough into the pan. Don’t worry if it loses its shape while doing this, you can fix it! Carefully straighten the dough in the pan and shape it so it touches the sides of the pan.
With the heat still on low, start adding your toppings!
With a spatula, gently lift your pizza to check the bottom. If it’s lightly golden brown, it’s time for the oven!
Place the cast iron pan on the top rack and bake for 10 minutes. Check your pizza and add time if needed.
Let your pizza set in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring it to a cutting boards, cutting it up, and devouring it.
Last note:
Another fun thing you can do with this dough is make a quick focaccia with it! I saw Daisy at Breadboard Bakery in Arlington, MA do this with her pizza dough, so I tried it with mine with great results.
Pour several tablespoons of olive oil into a cold 10” cast iron pan and add a ball of rested pizza dough (½ of the sourdough pizza recipe). Aggressively poke the dough so it fills the entire pan and drizzle the top with more olive oil. Add flaky salt or herbs as desired. Take at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy your fresh baked sourdough focaccia!
*I also cook up starter in a skillet with oil as a flatbread when I don’t want to waste it and don’t want to bake anything in particular. I like it with za’atar and/or scallions.