Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni & Sausage)

I got a hankering for pizza last week and rather than spend money at Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy’s or Marco’s, I decided to make my own. Since I’ve been working with sourdough starter, I found this recipe for a sourdough crust. By using bread flour, it made a nice, thin crust that was crisp and crunchy. All purpose flour would made a softer crust. 

Next, I opened a can of tomato paste and an 8 oz can of sauce. I seasoned with some frozen onions buzzed fine in the food processor and added fresh oregano, basil, and parsley from my garden along with some dried thyme and a pinch of cayenne. I added some water to the sauce to thin it a bit and spread half on the crust, freezing the rest for next time.

Ordinarily, I use an Italian shredded cheese blend but since I already had some Colby Jack on hand, I used that, putting down a layer of cheese, then some green pepper and onions, then a second layer of cheese. Lastly, I added the pepperoni and some fried Italian sausage. It made for a heavy pie!

But boy, was it good! And since so many of the ingredients were already in the kitchen, it cost a fraction of a delivery pizza!

Sourdough Crackers

I’ve been working with sourdough starter since the COVID-19 quarantine has left me with extra time on my hands. One of the things I’ve hated is tossing out part of the starter when I feed it. I just recently found out that there are even recipes that use the discarded starter! I’ve made these twice and they disappear quickly.

The basic recipe I’m using is from King Arthur Flour’s site and this is my modification of the original recipe, since they leave the choice of seasoning to you.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (113g) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup (248g) sourdough starter, unfed/discard
• 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons dried herbs of your choice (see my herb mixture below)
• oil, for brushing
• coarse salt (such as kosher or sea salt) for sprinkling on top

Herb Mixture

• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 Tbl Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Mix together the flour, salt, sourdough starter, butter, and optional herbs to make a smooth (not sticky), cohesive dough.
Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a small rectangular slab. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a couple of hours, until the dough is firm.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Very lightly flour a piece of parchment, your rolling pin, and the top of the dough.
Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough to about 1/16" thick. The dough will have ragged, uneven edges; that's OK. Just try to make it as even as possible.
Transfer the dough and parchment together onto a baking sheet. Lightly brush with oil and then sprinkle the salt over the top of the crackers.
Cut the dough into 1 1/4" squares; a rolling pizza wheel works well here.
Prick each square with the tines of a fork.
Bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes, until the squares are starting to brown around the edges. Midway through, reverse the baking sheets: both top to bottom, and front to back; this will help the crackers brown evenly.
When fully browned, remove the crackers from the oven, and transfer them to a cooling rack. Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week; freeze for longer storage.
NOTE: If the center crackers are not dry enough, leave them out to dry for an hour or two.

Herbed Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups water
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
  
• 3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked (5oz)
  

Prep:
In a medium saucepan, combine water and spices. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Add rice. When water boils again reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 45 minutes, until rice is tender and most of the liquid has cooked out.

Remove from heat, fluff rice with a fork, replace cover, and let stand 5 minutes before serving.