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A few years ago, we started enjoying homemade pizza. At first, I was a little intimidated to make a pizza, crust and all, from scratch. But our budget was taking a beating on things like dine out pizza.
Once I started making it, I became addicted to it. The pizza was very good, surprisingly easy and amazingly inexpensive to make. When we began our quest to change our diet to incorporate whole, nutrient dense foods we knew we wanted to keep eating our beloved pizza.
I was pleased to find out by changing out some of our toppings and improving the crust we could have a delicious pizza that I felt good about us eating. I will tell you, since our entire process has been done in small steps the pizza was no different.
At first, I stuck with the same crust that my family was used to (yeast and baking powder, white flour). My first change was going half and half on white flour and whole wheat flour. I did that a couple of times.
Then went 100% whole wheat. Next was finding a new crust that incorporated soaking the flour to eliminate phytic acid (learn more about the ‘why’ of that here). I hit pay dirt when I stumbled upon a recipe online for sourdough pizza crust . We tried the recipe and loved it.
It soon became ‘our’ pizza crust. I’ve linked to it many times in my menu plans and my sourdough posts. Imagine my surprise one day when I went to make a link and the website no longer existed. 🙁
I had written the recipe down to have for ease of preparation. Sadly, with my short hand way of writing I had only the ingredients listed. The rest was done by memory. This is a reworked version of the original. We still love it!
Sourdough Pizza Crust
(originally from Mommy’s Soapbox)
Makes two pizza crusts- plan ahead, needs to soak
1 1/2 cups 100% hydrated sourdough starter (learn how to make a sourdough starter here)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Combine starter with flour. Cover and let rest for 7-24 hours.
About 3 hours before you wish to make your pizza, give it a stir and add the salt and olive oil. Use your freshly washed hands to mix it. Then knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise. Divide the dough into two balls and let rest for 15 minutes. Press into pans (I usually use a combination of pressing and my rolling pin). Add your favorite toppings and bake in pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes until toppings are bubbly and crust is golden.
I took a couple of pictures so you can see what the dough looks like in various stages.
This is just the flour and starter together. It starts off fairly crumbly but as it sets it becomes less crumbly. Please note: the longer that you let this soak the more sourdough flavor it will have. We like it best when I start it in the morning for enjoying in the evening. The flavor has just the right amount of ‘sour’.
When you first add the salt and oil in the texture will change. It may be slightly gummy. It will improve as you knead it.
It does work best to use a combination of pushing the dough in the pan and the rolling pin. The pizza’s that I make at my house are square. We don’t have a round pizza pan. Lulu often says that she wishes our pizza’s weren’t square. Maybe someday I’ll buy a couple of round pans.
Toppings
For toppings, we tend to be pretty boring. I don’t like buying ‘special’ ingredients so often times the toppings are things that we keep on hand.
I estimate that two pizzas with basic toppings (homemade pizza sauce, grass fed ground beef, sliced mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and generous amount of cheese) runs us around $5. To help cut costs, I decrease the amount of cheese and meat and increase the ‘cheaper’ veggies.
What are your favorite frugal pizza toppings?
Learn how to get the most nutrition from the foods you eat! You’ll love the books from my affiliate partner, Traditional Cooking School by GNOWFGLINS.
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>Came over from the Nourishing Gourmet .. We love pizza and I am looking for a good soaked crust recipe. But I'm curious, what is 100% hydrated sourdough starter, and where can I get it? I don't have any starter here (it has failed miserably, and Sally Fallon's recipe isn't that good….). Thanks!
>Hi Vicky!
100% hyrdrated starter refers to a sourdough starter that is 'fed' with equal part flour to water.
You could start your own. That's what I did. I used these directions
http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2009/02/sourdough-starter.html#article
Or you can order a starter from various places. Such as culturesforhealth.com
or you can get a free one from http://carlsfriends.net/
or if you have a friend who is a sourdough nut (like me) you can ask her/him to share some starter with you.
I hope these ideas help. I'm glad that you came over from Nourishing Gourmet 🙂
>Can't remember where I found you…likely Nourishing Gourmet, but who knows for sure??? I have a ? about your meat birds. What are you feeding them? I have 10 layers and a rooster and just last month went to organic laying feed. Their 50# bag went from $7.50 to $21.50. I don't currently have room for meat birds, but not sure how I could afford to feed them if I DID get them! (my concern is the genetically modified corn and soy that they were getting in the non organic stuff)
>Hi FarmgirlCyn,
However you got here, I'm glad you did. But I'm not sure I have any good answers for you.
I'm having challenges with feed. I switched to organic feed too for $20.75 a bag and didn't realized when I ordered it that it still has soy in it! The soy free is $27.25 a bag. Ouch.
I am using a feeding method that was suggested from a blog I stumbled on (Plamondon.com).
He uses three feeders at each of his feed stations for his hens (he has 600). One feeder has laying food, the second whole corn (or whole wheat) and the third oyster shell. He says the theory is that the hens will eat what they want and need.
The organic layer feed and organic whole wheat seem to be fairly resonable cost if it works as he says. I just started doing this a week ago so I don't know yet how it will end up cost wise. I do know that the antelope found my outside feeder the other night and enjoyed it so I have to remember to bring it in each night.
For the meats, I am going to use an all natural (not organic) grower feed and the whole wheat and whole corn alternating each time. The all natural is $13 a bag and the ingredients were identical to the certified organic. It's not exactly what I want to use (I want no soy) but for this year it is my compromise.
For next year (or maybe in the fall). I hope to start mixing my own feeds (without soy). But I have to order in all of the ingredients since organic is not available locally. Azure Standard has some things and I've been told about a place called Neptune's Harvest.
I'm also growing some things for the chickens similiar to the idea of this
http://groworganic.com/item_SPI800_Omega3_Chicken_Forage_Blend_Irri.html
And did I mention, the meats will be in chicken tractors and I have 'high hopes' that they will forage for some food. The hens are free range and do a great job. The grass is very green right now and they are loving it.
I'm really in a trial and error stage since this is my first year doing anything like this. And I don't really know how much to expect them to eat. So far I do not have the actual meat chickens (just heritage cockerels) and they are pigs. I'm scared to see what the Cornish Roasters eat! I had hens in Oregon but we ate a SAD diet then so I never thought about chicken feed just bought from the place down the road.
Today part of our day olds arrived (the rest come on Wednesday) so I'll be keeping close track. I have them on the organic crumbles only to start. I hope to put up pics tomorrow on my other blog of the babies. I'm hoping they have a good night!
>In this recipe, it says 3 hours before you want to use it, stir in the remaining ingredients and form it into a ball and let it rise. Then shape it into the pans and let rest for 15 minutes. How long are you supposed to let it rise after mixing in the remaing ingredients, for the 3 remaining hours?
>Tiff,
Yes. So if I want to cook my pizza at 6PM, about 2:30 I'd add the oil and salt. Knead it (5-10 minutes) and let it rise for 3 hours. Then shape into my pans and let sit for 15 minutes. That should make it ready for toppings a few minutes before 6.
Here is another sourdough pizza crust shared by Erin at GNOWFGLINS that mixes everything up at once.
http://gnowfglins.com/2010/06/10/sourdough-pizza-crust/
I haven't tried it yet but plan to next time I make pizza.