Rick loves his pizzeria pizza but “if it’s in the house, it’s in my mouth”. I have no will-power and pizza creates inflammation (aka weight gain) for my body, every time.
Today is experiment day - making homemade sourdough pizza from scratch, using homegrown and freeze-dried tomatoes for the pizza sauce.
The Pizza Crust
For the crust, I used the “same day pizza” recipe in Elaine Boddy’s book “The Sourdough Whisperer”.
While the bread I’ve been making is a 24-hour process, this pizza recipe speeds things up and, starting it early this morning, we ate pizza at 2:30, for a late lunch.
The Pizza Sauce
I took a pint of freeze-dried tomatoes, that I had preserved from my garden, sprinkled in some dried Italian Seasoning mix and blended it up in the Ninja Blender, turning it to a powder.
I then added enough water to make it a paste, added some salt and olive oil, and let that sit until I was ready to make the pizza.
The Toppings
I kept the toppings rather simple so that I could get a good reaction to the crust and the sauce. I added pepperoni, crumbled, freeze-dried mushrooms, and crumbled cheddar cheese that I had thawed out from the freezer.
Baking
One of the things I love about Elaine Boddy’s sourdough method is that you put the dough into a cold oven. Not only does this save money but you don’t have to worry about the timing to pre-heat the oven.
This pizza was baked at 425F for 18 minutes. I think my oven isn’t as hot as it should be so I pushed that to 20 minutes.
The Results
Let’s sum it up with Rick’s response:
you need to make a hundred more of these and we can have this twice a week, every week.
I’d say that that means he liked it. “Rick liked it; he really,really liked it.”
What would I do differently?
Kale in the sourdough?
A little less Italian Seasoning (should have measured)
Rick wants onions and peppers on top (I’ll add freeze-dried, diced veggies)
I really wouldn’t change much. It was very yummy!
AND it didn’t cost $30 plus the gas to go pick it up!
I love it when an experiment is a win! - Debbie
Shopping
These products are what I use and all opinions expressed here are my own. This list may contain affiliate links from which, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you choose to use my link … and if you do, know that I appreciate you!
Harvest Right Freeze-Dryer: the company has a referral program. I’d gladly share all that I’ve learned with you and be your referral person (and get you some free Mylar bags!). Message me.
