Justin's Sourdough Pizza
April 1st is national Sourdough day, so we took the time to ask talented home chef Justin S. of @breadandboredom to create a sourdough recipe for us. A big thank you to him for the recipe and photos. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Basic Pizza Sauce
three cloves of garlic, minced
one fourteen ounce can of whole tomatoes, preferably san marzano
one six ounce can of tomato paste
three tablespoons of Villa Graziella herb vegetable seasoning
two tablespoons of crushed red pepper
three tablespoons of sugar
two tablespoons of salt
Directions
Drain and pulse tomatoes until almost completely blended but still some small chunks. This can also be done by hand.
In a pan on medium high heat, simmer garlic in olive oil until cooked, about thirty seconds.
Add tomato paste to pan, mix around until smooth.
Add blended tomatoes and mix.
Add seasonings and mix.
Allow to simmer on low heat occasionally stirring for about ten minutes at least. Then leave on very low heat or covered to stay warm.
Ingredients
Sourdough (makes three eight-to-ten inch pizzas)
four hundred grams of flour, plus fifty for surface flouring
two hundred grams of sourdough starter
two hundred and fifty grams of water
thirteen grams of fine sea salt
seven grams of granulated sugar
two tablespoons of Villa Graziella olive oil
Directions
In a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add water, sugar, and salt. Mix for a few seconds to max sure everything dissolves.
With the mixer on low, slowly add in flour and sourdough starter in batches. You may need to add a small amount of extra flour or water depending on your starter’s hydration level, but be careful not to make this dough overly tacky or overly dry.
Once everything is incorporated, allow the dough to be kneaded in the mixer for ten minutes. The dough should be smooth with a slight spring.
Using either the mixer bowl or a new bowl, round the dough and cover it with a wooden board or a damp towel. Here is where you can leave it in the fridge for twenty four hours or leave it at room temperature for six to eight hours if making that day.
After the first fermentation, remove the dough and cut into thirds, it should be about two hundred and seventy per portion. Roll the portions into a ball, taking the torn parts and tucking them underneath with the roll and pressing out the air, then rerolling against the counter. It should kind of look like the picture below. Place the three balls in a tray, making sure they are far enough apart to expand and not touch, and cover with a towel. Here you can do eight hours in the fridge or three hours at room temperature.
Preheat your oven to five hundred degrees for forty five minutes with the pizza stone in.
Once the dough is ready it is time to start shaping. This can be scary for people who have only used a roller to get their pizza flat and worry about the showy dough spin or not being able to get a solid circle. Let me ease your fears: pizza isn’t perfect. It’s messy, dough can be finicky, and shaping takes practice, but these instructions and pictures should help.
Take the dough, bottom/soft side facing up on the counter, and press the center in to make a well. Slowly push against the well’s edges to push the dough further and further out into a circle. Once it is about four or five inches wide, place both your hands in the center as fists and gentle bounce the pizza off your hands, this should force the weight of the edges of the dough to drop and expand farther. You can keep doing this method until it hits about eight to ten inches or you can grab the edges of the dough and spin them around vertically, also pulling on the weight to help it expand. Either way, you should get a decent circle. NO ROLLING!
NOTE: Here is the other home oven trick since most home ovens don’t go above five hundred degrees: Ten minutes before you put your pizza in, open your oven slightly for about twenty seconds so the internal thermometer sees a drop and then change it from bake to broil. This will allow the broiler to turn up to full blast, giving you more heat throughout the over as well as the broiling effect on top to get some great crunchy crust.
Now for the placement. If you don’t have a pizza peel, I recommend a well floured piece of cardboard or a rimless baking sheet. Place the pizza on your peel or peel replacement, top with sauce and toppings, drizzle with some Villa Graziella Olive Oil, and bake for eight to ten minutes.
Sprinkle some fresh basil, giardiniera, maybe some extra cheese, whatever you desire, slice it up and enjoy!
Visit Justin’s blog here for more recipes!
To download this recipe click here
Tried, Tasted & True
We try & taste every recipe we feature. We enjoy sharing recipes, from our families, home cooks or chefs. We sometimes adjust them and want you to have a healthy & delicious experience. So, try them, tweak them, and please tell us about it! Take a photo and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @villagraziellaorganic.
We love seeing your creations and welcome your feedback.
Grazie da Team VILLA GRAZIELLA ORGANIC!