Here is another variant on my pizzas dough. This one turned out much more pliable, and I got an incredibly thin crust out of it. The only thing missing is the pizza oven that heats up to 1,200°F. The elapsed time is 2-3 days, though the actual intervention required is about 20 minutes.
If anyone is interested in dried sourdough starter, I would be willing to give away/swap if folks send me a plastic bag and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (I probably can’t do anything international since customs agents would likely flip out over a dried, powdery substance. If you’re local, you could drop by and I’ll give you the wet version 😉 I have two varieties, on mild, one very sour (both from Sourdo International). I’ve had success with these in pizza dough and pancakes. Contact me at the email below if you’re interested since there’s some lead time for me to air dry the starter.
Pizza dough ][ adapted from American Pie by Peter Reinhart
1 C sourdough mother starter (see step 1)
2 C whole wheat flour
2 C unbleached white flour
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 T honey
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 lukewarm skim milk
1/2 lukewarm water
- The night before, mix 1 heaping tablespoon of sourdough starter, 1 C whole wheat flour, and 3/4 C lukewarm water. Cover, and let sit out overnight at room temperature.
- In a large bowl, stir in the mother starter, flours, salt, honey, olive oil, milk, and water. Mix with a dough hook on low speed for about 4 minutes, or until a ball forms. If there is still a lot of flour at the bottom, add water a tablespoon at a time (add, stir 1 minute, reevaluate) until it’s globbing up. If it’s really sticky, try adding a tablespoon of flour and doing the same.
- Let the dough rest about 20 minutes.
- Continue mixing another 4-5 minutes.
- If you’re a purist, do the windowpane test: take a small glob of dough off, stretch, tug, flatten, turn, etc. If you can make a piece thin enough to see through, it’s developed enough. If not, repeat steps 3 & 4.
- Lightly coat the bowl and top of dough with oil — spray Pam works well for this. Cover, and let sit at room temperature for a few hours, until it doubles in size. I kept mine in the shade at 70°F for about 7 hours.
- Preheat oven to 500
Wow, you make me look so lazy even though I cook a lot! I used to do the whole hand dough thing, but when my roomie got a breadmaker, I just went to that. Plus, the dough would always get under my nails while kneading (sp?). I like to make a garlic herb crust. It’s the typical bread maker recipe, but add in about a tablespoon of crushed garlic. Toss in some rosemary, oregano, basil, or any other herbs you crave. While the dough rises, it makes your kitchen smell yummy. If you want to be more adventurous, toss in a few handfuls of shredded cheese.
For the best crust results, heat your pizza stone. Make sure you roll out your dough before placing it on the stone. In addition, putting some cornmeal on the stone before you place the dough will prevent sticking. Sometimes (and this is cool), when your stone is really hot, the dough will start bubbling!