SOURDOUGH PIZZA CRUST

It is time for another great sourdough recipe to use with your starter. This is a great change from your normal pizza, but read the instructions carefully first as the prep is a little different.

Preheat your oven to 500º f. In a large non-reactive bowl, combine 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 ½ cup Flour and 1 ½ cup Sourdough Starter. Mix well with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are well combined and the dough forms into a ball.

Set the bowl aside and let the dough sit for about 20 minutes. You are not waiting for it to rise; you are just letting it rest so that it is easier to work with.

Lightly flour a surface and place the dough in the center. Sprinkle the dough with more flour and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to the size of your pan.

Lightly oil the pan and sprinkle on a light amount of corn meal. Fold the dough in half, then in half again and place on one quarter on the pan. Unfold the dough onto your baking pan.

Place the crust in the oven and bake for about 7 minutes. The crust will be slightly puffy and a touch of light browning will occur. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

While the crust is still warm, brush the crust with some olive oil or melted garlic butter.

Place your sauce and toppings on the pizza now as you usually would.

Now bake your creation for about 9-11 minutes, just until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Serve hot.

After dinner, don’t forget to refresh your starter with 1 ½ cup flour and 1 ½ cup water. Let sit out overnight loosely covered. Once the mixture is lightly bubbly, cover tightly and refrigerate until you use again.

SOURDOUGH PANCAKES

The sourdough recipes are back, sorry for the lapse! Hope you remembered to feed your starter even if you didn’t use it!

If you want to start out breakfast in a great way, make up some sourdough pancakes.

Grab a plastic or glass bowl, don’t forget, no metal for these guys.

Combine 1 cup of your sourdough starter, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 egg and 2 tablespoons sugar. Mix well with a wood or plastic spoon.

Add ¾ cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and a dash of salt. Mix until well combined.

You should see your batter beginning to rise in the bowl and bubble a bit. Let it sit while your griddle is preheating to 375º.

Grease your griddle well when it is hot and drop your batter onto the hot griddle with a small ladle, about 1/8 cup at a time.

When you see small bubbles appear all over the surface of you pancakes, flip over and cook for about 20-30 seconds.

If your pancakes are too thin, add a bit more flour. If they are too thick, add a bit of water or milk until you have reached the desired consistency.

When they are done cooking, place on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven set to 300º. When all the pancakes are made remove from the oven and serve to all.

This will serve 4-6 people depending on appetite.

SOURDOUGH STARTER REVIVE

I was probably a bit vague on the last post for sourdough, so let me clarify a bit.

Whenever you use sourdough starter, you need to replenish what you use.

To replenish your mix, just figure out how much you used.

If you used 1 1/2 cups of mix, you will need to replenish the same amount.

In a non-reactive bowl, mix 3/4 cup flour with 3/4 cup water. (1 1/2 cups total)

Once this has been combined well, add it to your sourdough starter and combine them together well.

Let sit in a warm place loosley covered until you start to see bubbles appearing.

Usually 12-24 hours. At that time you can cover tightly and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to use again.

SOURDOUGH BISCUITS

You have made up your sourdough starter last week and now it is time to use it! This is an easy way to make some impressive biscuits that taste great with any meal!

Don't forget to refresh your starter once you have made this recipe. Add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour to your sourdough starter and mix well. Cover loosely with your lid and let sit in a warm place for up to 24 hours until the mixture is bubbly. Cover tightly and refrigerate again until ready for use.

Here is what you will need:
2 cups sour dough starter
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon of baking powder

This is how you will make them:
Place a large pan of water on medium-high heat so that it starts boiling.

In a large glass or plastic bowl, combine the Flour, Sugar, Soda, Salt, and Baking powder.

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles cornmeal.

Remove your sourdough starter from the refrigerator and mix well to combine if it has separated before measuring for your recipe.

Combine the milk and sourdough batter and mix well, then add to the dry ingredients and mix until it forms a ball.

Place the ball onto a heavily floured surface and knead gently until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes.

Roll dough about 1 inch thick. Fold in half and roll again to 1 inch. Repeat this process for 3 or 4 more turns. This will give your biscuits a "flakey" texture. Flour your surface as needed to keep the dough from sticking.

Using a 2" circle cutter, or a juice glass, cut into circles.

Place about 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet or your favorite biscuit pan.

Place the pan of biscuits over the pot of boiling water and cover lightly with a soft clean towell and let rest for about 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 400º f.

Brush tops and sides of your biscuits lightly with some melted butter and bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits have puffed and are lightly brown.

Serves 4 - 6 depending on appetite!

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Sourdough is a cooks friend.

I you make up some starter, you will have a constant supply of good baking matereal.

Here is a quick and easy recipe to make up some starter along with some sourdough tips.

Find a large 2qt container that has a lid.

In a non-reative mixing bowl (plastic, glass, ceramic) combine 3 1/2 cups flour, 1pkg Active Dry Yeast and 2 cups warm water (105º-115º)

Using a wooden or plastic spoon, mix all ingredients well until there are no lumps.

Pour the mixture into your 2qt container and place the lid on with out sealing tightly.

Set in a warm place of your kitchen for 2-4 days.

Open it up and take a look, it is ready when you see bubbles.

Mix well with a wood or plastic spoon and cover tightly.

Now place in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

It is ready to use this first day, but I usually refrigerate for an additional 2-3 days for convenience.

If I start the make the starter on a Sat, I use it on the following Sat.

Check for new posts each Saturday with new recipes and ideas for using your starter!