Totally agree except pineapple & salami are a match made in heaven, like bacon & eggs or pie & mushy peas
Ha ha. Best laugh I’ve had in a few days
To be completely honest, I leave that part to the Admiral, she’s much less clumsy than I. But basically, I stretch the dough, and place it onto a piece of floured (or cornmealedl) parchment paper, which is resting on a cutting board, finish shaping the dough directly on the parchment, and then we dress it and she transfers the pizza and parchment directly from the cutting board (which I’m holding above the pan) into the got cast iron. The first couple times we tried transferring the unadorned dough and parchment to the pan and dressing it while on the burner, but we ended up with too much char. Ok, it wasn’t char, it was burn. So we’ve found this method more controllable. Also, before starting we cut the parchment to circles just a touch larger than the pizza will be. Actually a circle with tabs to make it easy to transport. It looks sort of like this =O=. Just make sure the tabs aren’t so long that they catch on fire under the broiler. I’m speaking from experience.
Agree with this. It’s hard for me to do, but without the processed meat, there’s not too much bad about pizza. That said, I love pepperoni and Italian sausage on my pizza, all the mushrooms, peppers, onions, olives and tomatoes will just have to balance out the “crap”.
My favorite frozen pizza was the Spicy Chicken Supreme from Digiorno. Got rid of the processed meats and gave some kick. It’s just hard to find anymore.
What’s so bad about pizza? I ate a large pizza by myself last night and woke up at 2AM with night sweats. Terrible sleep last night.
Seek help immediately.
I agree 100% on the pizza deep dive! Maybe even a special Beers and Pizza With @chad
What flour are you using in the starter? If you’re just using all purpose, adding a portion of Rye flour can help move it along. Rye contains additional nutrients that yeast thrive on. If it’s really stuck, try using all rye for a few feedings. If you don’t like the flavour of rye, you can use it a few times until the starter is going well, and then over a couple feedings reduce it back to just all purpose or whatever. By that point the yeast and bacteria are abundant enough. Personally I use 50% Rye and 50% All Purpose for every feeding, but I’m a big rye fan.
Like @aarontator said, you could try adding some Rye flour. I personally use 100% whole wheat flour for mine though. Or a 50/50 bread flour / wheat flour combo. It’s worked pretty well.
I would also add that 68f might just be a little bit too cool for fermenting. Sourdough likes to be a little bit warmer than that, and while later the cooled temps could be helpful, it sounds like your starter is very young still and needs to get a good warm start. Something that’s worked for me is by putting it in the oven with the light on (the light adds just enough heat to keep the sealed oven warm enough for fermentation). You could also turn on the oven preheat to any degree for 30 seconds, then turn it off and put your starter in there. Keep oven closed until further notice, and you could do that a few times per day if it seems to not be working. Other options are next to a heater, in a windowsill with direct sunlight, on top of fridge/freezer, etc…
Speaking of Pizza though, made this last night… Half the pizza was equal to:
1.5 servings of 100% whole wheat flour ≈ 210 cals
1 teaspoon virgin olive oil ≈ 60 cals
1 serving low moisture mozzarella ≈ 80 cals
1.5 servings homemade pizza sauce (canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices) ≈ 30 cals
2/3 cup of random veggies… tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, red and green pepper, red onion ≈
turkey pepperoni (wife loves it) ≈ 20 cals for the few on there
Total: a little over 400 calories. I’ll have to do a full mico nutrient breakdown some time.
We eat every lunch and dinner with a light calorie salad to get some dense foods so it makes for a delicious meal. This is the more “standard version”, and pizza we can really get super creative. Add chicken for more lean protein, load up more veggies, less or more cheese for fat micros, etc So many ways to do it.
And yes, I ate a slice before thinking to take a picture, sue me
Pizza is my favorite food, I love it. I am fine with trying to make healthier versions of it but I like it either way. I would rather be slow than live a life without pizza.
I started this out as a lark to see what might come of it but, been using unbleached all purpose flour. I do like the idea of whole wheat/bread flour mix, which I do have on hand and can give that a go.
I figured temps may be an issue and have been, like a house plant, I have been following the sun with it. . I may give the oven idea a go too. thanks.
The wheat/bread flour combo has always given me the best results for sure. Keep me updated, and good luck!
That looks really good.
Awesome, thanks so much! Will give it a shot this weekend.
Let us know how it turns out!
simonicusfacilis: why dignified?
So, just made pizza for dinner, using what hopefully will become a viable sourdough starter for bread. Used what I would normally throw out of the starter before a ‘feeding.’
So, the health results…
For a quarter of the mushroom and anchovy pizza:
436 calories
50g carbs 46% Overall kcal
18g protein 17% overall kcal
16g fat 33% Overall kcal
IMO there is nothing very unhealthy about this. You could easily alter the macros to make it better while still having a very tasty pie. A bit thicker dough would yield more carbs/protein w/ less fat. Adding some sort of lean protein as a topping would be great. Or just pair with a salad with maybe a bit of chicken. For me…this was enough for dinner, and I’ll follow it up with a late night bowl of homemade lentil soup and a beer.
Nothing wrong with pizza! As long as you dont go nuts with the cheese…
As a side note…the sourdough made for a really nice, crispy, almost crackery crust. It was a bit odd. I have no idea what i’m doing when it comes to baking or dough…but I think the dough may have been dryer relative to the stuff I buy at trader joes or the italian deli…
Oh, and ingredient list…
Cento canned anchovies
Marianos bagged mozzerella
Parmeggiano reggiano
Crimini Mushrooms
Tomato paste
Red wine
Garlic
All purpose flour
Olive oil
Salt
Doh! It just occurred to me I didnt account for the sauce. Throw a few extra carbs in there and a gram or two of protein. Oops
I have the Italian cultures from All Products – Sourdoughs International
Got it over a decade ago, and keep it alive in the fridge. Have made some awesome pizza with it. I actually ought too wake it up, it’s been while. Waking it up after a long dormancy takes 3 or more days. Learning to care for it is bit of process – definitely more trouble than commercial yeast, but the flavor is sooo much better.
Edit: I wanted to add all those “make it yourself starters” are bit a gamble. Although technically there are yeast and stuff in the air, you don’t need to waste time “catching” them. There’s yeast and bacteria already in the flour. It’s going to depend where that flour came from and a million other things. The biggest problem with 3rd party starters is activating them because YOUR flour is contaminated and the starter needs to establish dominance.
the biggest thing is that most pizzas don’t have a small amount of cheese.
homemade is the way to go, or hitting up a spot that you regular where you know what you’re getting is fine IMO. I have a thick crust and thin crust resto that I go to, and pick based on my carbs needed for rides coming up; i always order light cheese and lots of veggies.
but yeah, no pizza on rest days or rest weeks. Just not worth it!
Keep crushing!
I highly suggest looking at Ken Forkish’s book “The elements of Pizza”. He provides many pizza recipes, but I have been making his sourdough (or levain) pizza weekly for 8 years now! The book provides a great explanation for how to start your own sourdough.
Pizza doesn’t have to be unhealthy, neapolitan style pies use MUCH less cheese than american bar pizza. We always eat our pizza here with a big salad, so naturally leavened bread, a little cheese, tomato sauce, and lettuce. Thats not a bad meal!