Pizza!

You know, back when I first started messing around with baking our breads I considered it all a bunch of work. Bread took hours and hours so pizza dough wasn't something I even wanted to consider.

Well, bread still takes hours and hours but now that I know what I'm doing most of those "hours" the bread is just doing it's thing while I do mine. Every few hours I go and gently deflate then reshape for the next rise but that's about all there is to it. I can do it quicker with a few tricks but the flavor is so incredibly good with a slow risen bread that it's just not worth it to rush the process. I have a ball of sourdough in the kitchen right now that is the beginnings of a bread that won't be done for another two days (and this is one of the faster ones!) We live in a gotta have it now, microwave fast society and I think a lot of us have just forgotten that there are things that just can't be rushed. Things we should slow down and enjoy; good bread is one of those things.

But I digress! My family has been patiently waiting for me to make pizza so tonight I finally delivered the goods. Now this being my first attempt in a looooong time there are several things I want to modify the next time. One thing is for certain, I will be making my own sauce in the future! The nasty squeezy bottle stuff I used tonight was nothing more than very salty canned spaghetti sauce! I've already found a recipe I'm going to try. It is kind of involved so I'll make a bunch and can what I don't need for later. (Unless you happen to have a fabulous sauce recipe you're dying to share with me!)

The crust is what I want to talk about right now. I made a sourdough pizza crust that had a really good flavor but I will be tweaking it to try to get it how we like it texture wise. It's a very basic recipe so I'm pretty hopeful it will work out. It was just a bit on the thin side for our tastes as we like a thicker, chewy crust with maybe just a bit of crackle to the outside. Here's the recipe I used tonight and how I did it. When I tweak things I'll update the post with the other instructions. If you like a thinner, crisp bottom but chewy crust you may like this one as is. And if you need some sourdough starter let me know! I have bubbling bowls all over the kitchen! :D

Sourdough Pizza Crust

1 1/2 c mature Sourdough starter
1 T olive oil
1 t Salt
1 1/2 c Flour

I placed all the ingredients in the Bosch Mixer bowl and kneaded for several minutes until dough looked smooth and elastic. If the dough is too wet add some flour, if too dry add more sourdough or water.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat all sides of dough with oil. Cover the bowl with a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap and leave at room temperature. Go to Riteaid and Taekwondo. Okay, so you may want to just let it sit for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours but this is what I did! :)

Preheat a pizza stone in the oven to 450 degrees. Gently deflate dough and divide in half. Allow dough to rest for 5-10 minutes before rolling into about a 12" circle. Make sure you do this on a lightly floured surface! Smooth pizza sauce over dough, add ingredients and transfer* to the oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

*I have a fantastic device known as the Superpeel that makes transferring a fully loaded pizza to the oven a snap! If you go to the website and watch the videos rest assured it really is that easy! I got mine Saturday and played with it by picking up a waffle left over from breakfast. I think I did it three or four times and that was it. Today I picked up the pizzas and put them in the oven without a single issue! One of the pizzas was even trying to stick to the countertop and the Superpeel picked it up without tearing it or losing a drop of sauce! I can't wait to use this for Artisan breads! I was chatting with someone I met on Craigslist about it and we ended up going in on our order together so we could get the price break when you buy three. If you want one and know a baker of bread or pizza try to get the deal. The guy who makes them is super nice and how it was invented is a nice little story. (Plus if you order three at a time you get free shipping too! )

End of commercial! It really is a great device though. I don't have pictures of our pizzas because we ate them far to fast to snap any. I do recommend going to the Superpeel site if you want to see that. I could post a photo but you're really missing out if you don't see the videos. You can make a lattice pie crust top on your counter and pick it up with the Superpeel, then place it neatly on the pie without disturbing the crust!