Sour Dough Pizza Crust (comparison)

I looked over multiple recipes for using a sour dough starter (whole wheat) for pizza crust. Here is a comparison of those recipes from different websites. Note that I pulled the info for more thicker crust for the directions part if available because I like it thick.

Sourdoughhome.com ·         1.5c flour ·         1.5c sourdough starter ·         1T olive oil ·         1t salt Mix. Rest time of 30minutes. Roll out. Bake at 450 for 5min. Top and bake for 15 to 25min

Breadtopia.com ·         1.5c all purpose or bread flour ·         1.5c sourdough starter ·         1-3T water ·         2T olive oil ·         3/4t salt No suggestion on rise/rest or bake time. May be everything is just an assumption? Highest heat your oven can take for bake temp.

Kingarthurflour.com ·         2.5c all purpose ·         1c sourdough starter ·         1/2c hot tap water ·         1/2t instant yeast ·         1t salt Mix. Rise for 2 to 4hrs or until doubled Roll out and at rest 15min increments on pan till stretched out. Bake at 450 for 8min. Top and bake for 8 to 10min

food.com ·         1.5c all purpose ·         1.5c sourdough starter ·         4-5T olive oil ·         1t salt Mix. Rest for 30min (not looking to rise) Roll out. Bake at 500 for 7min. Top and bake till toppings are cooked.

After comparing them and from my previous knowledge of baking whole wheat pizza, I feel its safe to say that using the following ingredients

1.5c sour dough starter (whole wheat)
1.5c all purpose  (unbleached white since the whole wheat doesn't rise as well)
1tsp salt
5T safflower oil
1T honey (warmed, so it mixes easier)
For the wet I really like using safflower oil and honey when I make whole wheat pizza dough. And just because I'll add...
1T flax seed meal
1.5T dried rosemary

Mix. Rest for 30minutes. Roll out, coat with olive oil/cold water, and pre-bake crust for 5minutes, then top and bake at 400 till cheese has melted about 15minutes. Finally, broil at 500 till its browned took a 1min. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn.

I also like stuffing the crust with cheese. Last time, I used shredded which melted to quick and left an air pocket in the crust. However, using string cheese or chunks of cheese in the crust will maintain the consistency desired, no air pocket. Though, this time I used a softer cheese (Monterrey jack) that wasn't hard enough to make it the way I was hoping it would turn out.

Overall, tasty pizza...the crust was softer than expected but it had a delicate crunch to it. I used corn meal on the bottom but the texture never came through with a crunch.

Sour Dough Pancakes

A blogger recommended just pouring sour dough on a skillet and fry it for pancakes. And I was like that should be an easy fix this morning. I used bacon fat to cook with instead of butter. I should have enough to make pizza tonight and add to the starter.

Sour Dough Pancakes

How pretty! Whole wheat pancakes with some Griffin's original syrup (got on sale) and an egg over easy.

It has a wonderful texture that you would expect from a home style pancake; however, the starter has now started to develop its sourness. This pancake is a bit pungent and I recommend actually not using just the starter but add a little bit of buttermilk and flour, possibly some sugar/honey. Just keep the same consistency of the starter. If too wet, it will be a flat not so fluffy pancake. If too thick, it will be a little dry, fluffy but will take a bit longer to cook since it will puff up in the middle.

Dark Rye Bread

So the starter yesterday didn't rise like it should, possibly because I didn't add the right amount of flour/water to the mix. Today, I decided to pull off 1.5c in order to put about 2c back into the starter. Hopefully, it will double today and the starter is in good shape. I can tell that the smell is getting to be more fragrant. Makes me excited. Though I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing with all this bread for the next month. I'm going to attempt freezing good portions for Kalen to have for sandwiches while I'm back in Huntsville.

Dark Rye Bread (1 loaf)
1t dry yeast + 1/2c buttermilk (warm) + 2T dark molasses [set aside to activated]

In a bowl, mix

• 1c 2T rye flour (should have been an extra 0.5c of rye)
• 1/2c unbleached all purpose flour
• 2T brown sugar
• 1T salt
• 1T caraway seeds
• 2T cocoa powder
• 1.5c starter

Add the activated yeast to the dry bowl. And use 2T buttermilk to rinse out the bowl that had the activated yeast in it. This should help collect most of the molasses if any stuck to the bottom of the bowl.

Mix well. The dough is super sticky. I used rye flour to do the first kneading. And piled the bowl with canola oil for the 1st rising.

Note: I should off added 0.5c of rye flour to the bowl before kneading because it soaked up that much in the kneading and some.

Rise for 2hours or until doubled in volume. Punch down, rest for 10min. Kneaded with whole wheat flour for 10minutes. Shape the dough to fit in oiled pan. Let rise for 2nd rising.

Rise 2hours or until doubled in volume. Coat top with olive oil before and after baking. Set oven for 350, bake for 35minutes or until hollow sound on top and bottom of loaf.

And there you have it :D BEST BREAD YET. Just moist with a crispy crust the olive oil really did it!

Other recipes I'm thinking of doing some time Sourdough  Cinnamon rolls and Pizza.