Discard Pizza Dough

We all want that perfect crust. The one we remember from that afternoon in Rome, or that hazy evening with friends in New York City. (The one where we wound up yell-singing Journey to the annoyance of everyone else in the bar.) But, let's be honest, that level of crust mastery takes at least a day of planning.

I submit to you, there is still homemade pizza worth having. I further submit you can have that pizza in less than two hours start to finish via the magic of sourdough starter discard.

The final product has a lot of chew and some of the rise of the harder-to-achieve dough. (I will do that recipe as well later.) The picture is an honest representation of the rise you are likely to get. But for everything lacking in rise, you get a metric ton of sourdough flavor.

Let's get started.

Total time: 2 hours or less
Makes 4 - 10" pizzas

Ingredients
​2 cups STARTER DISCARD
2 cups FLOUR (Yes, why are you even asking? AP FLOUR)
1/2 teaspoon SALT
1 tablespoon OLIVE OIL
[Sauce Recipe at End of Page]

1 - Bring all ingredients together in a bowl with a spoon or spatula or your hand. Keep working until all the flour is worked into the dough. Dump out onto a workspace, and continue to work until a smooth ball is formed (2-3 minutes). If you need it, you can use a little extra olive oil to bring together.

2 - Rest dough, covered in the mixing bowl at room temp for 45 minutes. 

3 - If you are using your grill (and you should) skip to optional steps below. If not, preheat the oven to 550F or however high yours will go.

4 - Divide the rested dough in four equal chunks

5 - Roll out each chunk into a 10" round. I like doing this on parchment paper. That way you can roll, dress, and bake all on the same surface.

6 - Bake blind on parchment on cookie sheet (just a naked crust) for 5-7 minutes. The crust will be pale but cooked.

7 - Remove, dress with toppings of your choice

8 - Return to oven still on parchment on cookie sheet for 4-7 minutes more or until cheese begins to brown and edges of pizza get brown & black spots along the edge.

9 - Wait 2 minutes before cutting.

10 - EAT!

GRILL OPTION

3 - Crank up the grill to MAX, close the lid, and wait for 10-15 minutes

4 - Divide the rested dough in four equal chunks

5 - Roll out each chunk into a 10" round on parchment paper

6 - Lightly oil one disk at a time, place naked dough still on parchment flat in the palm of your hand, Turn over onto smoking hot grill. Remove parchment, Close lid. In 60 to 90 seconds remove, place on cookie sheet grilled side up. (There will be a few char marks on the dressed side, YUM!)

7 - Dress the cooked side with toppings of your choice

8 - Return to grill for 2-3 minutes more or until cheese begins to brown and edges of pizza get brown & black spots along the edge. Remove to cookie sheet.

9 - Wait 2 minutes before cutting.

10 - EAT!

SAUCE

Combine in blender 12oz can of CRUSHED TOMATOES drained, 1 tablespoon OLIVE OIL, 1 clove GARLIC, 1 teaspoon SALT, 1 teaspoon OREGANO, 1 teaspoon RED WINE VINEGAR, and RED PEPPER FLAKES to taste.

Blend until smooth and use.

What? No, you don't EVER cook it before it goes on the pizza.
What? No, it's not because it's an extra step, and I'm lazy. It really does taste better that way. In fact, if you did nothing else, you could just use a drained 12oz can of tomato, and it would be better than any cooked pizza sauce.

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