Recipe by King Arthur:
1 cup sourdough starter*
1/2 cup hot tap water
2 1/2-3 cups flour**
1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon active dry yeast***
- Combine ingredients with a wooden spoon until dough resembles a shaggy mass.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
- Fold dough in on itself to make a tight ball and then place in a lightly greased plastic bowl to rise, ~3-4 hours or until doubled.
- Gently divide dough in half, placing each piece on a lightly greased pizza pan to rest for 15 minutes.
- After resting, press balls outward toward the edges of the pans. You made need to let dough rest several more times to reach their full size.
- If desired, cover pans and allow crust to rise until desired consistency is reached.
- Preheat the oven to 500°F. Pre-bake crusts for ultimate crispiness, layer with sauce and toppings and then return to oven until done.
The starter I use is living on the counter (out of the fridge) and is ready to go without having to “activate”. If you are keeping your starter in the fridge you will need to feed it 2-4 times before it will be ready to go. To test your starter, scoop out a spoonful and drop it in a bowl of water. If it floats, it’s dough-worthy. If not, keep feeding and check back later.
The amount of flour will vary based on the consistency of your starter and the humidity of your baking environment. Don’t over flour, your dough should be sticky.
Note: I’m not sure where I stand with the active yeast. On the one hand I feel like you should trust your starter’s ability to leven the dough on it’s own. But still, I decided to add the extra oompf because this was the first time I’d tried the recipe. I plan to omit the dry yeast next to see whether Fred the Sourdough Starter has the gumption to make his own pizza crust. Stay tuned.
