Tuesday, January 02, 2018

Baking Class: Sourdough Pizza Crust


I have been working on pizza dough again.  I was quite happy with this basic recipe I had been using for years, but once I jumped on to the sourdough train I wanted to see if I could come up with a sourdough version.  I experimented with several combinations of flours and with different ratios of flour to starter to water, and I have finally come up with the formula that make a delicious crust that is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside and is the right thickness for me.

I like a thin, crisp, crust but I have found that I am not a fan of the cracker-thin crust.  This recipe makes two 12-inch pies that allows for a crusty pillow of chewy dough around the edges, which is just how I like it.

I have also gone back and forth over whether or not to pre-cook the crust.  For this dough I have found that if I don't precook it the toppings are done before the crust has browned to my satisfaction so I now cook the crust for 7 minutes, remove it from the oven and put on the toppings, then return it to the oven to bake for another 20 to 25 minutes.  If you are a dedicated enough pizza maker that you have a pizza stone or a wood-fired oven, that may not be necessary, but this is what works best for me.

As I mentioned above, I have been playing with different combinations of flours and it all comes down to this:  as with most things in life, simple is usually best.  While bread flour works just fine for this, if you can get your hands on 00 flour you will get the perfect combination of crispy and chewy.  When I first started looking for it I could only find it at a specialty shop and it was quite expensive.  My local grocery store now carries two brands and it is available online if you can't find it locally.  I recommend that you try it at least once.

For the starter, I start with 30 grams of my usual bread-flour starter and then start building it with the 00 flour.  Ideally, I would start with 10 grams of the original starter and use the 00 flour to build to the 30 grams, but that is one feeding more than I like to do if I can help it.
Home Cookin v9.70 Chapter: My Recipes
SOURDOUGH PIZZA CRUST
Makes 2 pizzas

This pizza dough improves with age. Make it the day before you plan to make your pizza and keep the dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. It will keep for three days.


100g starter
240g water
390g 00 flour
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Add the water to the starter and mix well, then the oil, mixing again. Add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms, adding more flour if necessary. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

If using right away, form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.  Divide dough in half and pat with floured fingers or use a rolling pin to form two 12-inch circles. Pinch an edge around the crusts and place on cornmeal-dusted baking sheets

Preheat the oven to 475° F. with a rack on the lowest slot.  Bake the crust for 7 minutes, then remove and top as desired.  Place the pizza on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until top is bubbling and browned and the crust is well browned.

If making the dough the night before you plan to use it, divide the dough in half and knead each piece briefly and form them into balls.  Coat each ball with flour and place in a plastic bag, leaving room for the dough to rise, and put them in the refrigerator.  When ready to use, remove the dough and let it sit for half an hour, then pat or roll out the dough and place on the cornmeal-dusted baking sheets.  Prepare and bake as above.

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill Organically Grown and Certified Unbromated Unbleached White Flour package.

Exported from Home Cookin v9.70 (www.mountain-software.com)

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