Peppered Sourdough Crackers

So, a bit more here on sourdough care:  It's summertime, you fed your bubbly friend before you left on vacation, and it survived without you, alone in the fridge. You heartless monster, you.  But you're home now, and it's time to pay it some attention. Take it out one evening, and let it spend the night at room temperature.  (At this point, you can stir in the alcohol that has separated.  If you want a thicker starter, as some prefer, just pour it off, then stir.)

In the morning, measure out a cup of your stirred, room temperature starter.  Pour the rest into a mixing bowl. This is a good time to wash the crock (the container where your starter lives).  I experiment by feeding my starter various things... sometimes a mix with potato flakes and sugar.  Sometimes a little extra yeast.  Sometimes just flour and water.  This week, the basics: 1/2 c. warm water and 1 c. flour into the freshly cleaned crock, stir.  Pour in the cup of un-fed starter you measured out earlier.  Stir, and let this rest for several hours at least, at room temperature.  I always keep it covered.  The longer your starter is at room temperature, the more that sour, sourdough flavor develops.

Feeding time.

Just fed starter in the clean crock.

Fed starter, unstirred, after resting 8 hours at room temperature.

Fed, rested, stirred.

Once the fed starter in your crock has rested, you can make a loaf of sourdough bread, or a number of other things.  You'll probably use a cup of it.  Then you'll feed what's in the crock and stick it back in the fridge.  If all of this sounds terribly high-maintenance, it's really not.  Sourdough starters can last weeks without attention.  If you don't want to bake anything with it, just stick it back toward the back of your fridge again.

Now, what do you do with the cup of un-fed starter you measured out earlier?  Make crackers!  Why do you have to do that anyway?  You measure out a cup of starter before feeding the rest, in order to more efficiently feed the yeasts in your starter.  And to keep it from growing so large, it takes over your kitchen like the blob.

Peppered Sourdough Crackers

1 c. unfed sourdough starter

1 c. flour

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly oil two large cookie sheets.  

Add oil, salt and flour to your cup of unfed starter, more or less flour, as needed (consistencies of starters vary).  Stir to form a dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.  Turn out onto a floured counter and knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a dense, slightly springy ball.  Let the dough rest 10 min. to relax the gluten a bit.  If you over-knead, it may be hard to roll your cracker dough thin.

Resting dough ball.

Roll it out as thin as you can get it, picking up, turning and dusting with flour often, to prevent sticking.  Sprinkle with ground black pepper, then press it in with a final pass of the rolling pin.

Use a pizza cutter to cut out your cracker shapes.

Bake for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Flip your crackers and bake another 2-3 minutes.  (If yours are rolled thicker than mine, you'll have to bake a little longer.)  Remove and cool on a rack.  Store in an airtight container.  These were like sourdough pita chips:

Would taste great served with parmigiano reggiano and honey.

The kids LOVED 'em.

Sourdough Crust Pizza

White pizza with asparagus and red peppers.

Did you notice the Sourdough Files up at the top navigation bar? I will add some basic sourdough how-to soon, and that is also where I'll post links to the sourdough recipes I share.  I also want to try creating my very own whole wheat sourdough starter from scratch (most sourdough starter is born from an already existing starter).  So, keep watch for that... I'm sure you can hardly wait.  Meanwhile, feast your eyes on this:

Starter straight from the fridge.

Mmm, mmm.  A bi-product of the active yeast is alcohol, which separates and collects at the top of the starter while it rests in the refrigerator.  The pock marks are air bubbles.  It is alive, after all!  I just stir it all back in.  Some people drain it.  It all depends on what consistency of starter you prefer...

Stirred, measured, happy.

So, each time you feed a sourdough starter, you have to discard a cup.  This does not set well with the thrifty among us.  Thankfully, there are several ways to use the cup of "unfed" starter, like in pizza crust!

Mix in 1/2 c. warm water, then 2-3 c. flour.  I used unbleached, white, but whole-wheat would be good, too.  No exact measurements here because every starter is different, and you have to go by feel: as soon as it starts to come away from the sides of the bowl, turn it out onto the counter and knead by hand.  Add a little flour if you need to, but you want a pretty sticky dough.  

Oiling your hands with about a tsp. of olive oil works better than flouring them, since the dough needs to be sticky and not over-floured.  Then, let it rest for a couple of hours, or all day if you want to.  More of that "sour" sourdough flavor develops, the longer you let it sit out.

I cover mine loosely with oiled plastic wrap and put it in the microwave or un-heated oven.  You can leave the light on for a little extra warmth, which will help the yeast.

A few hours later; dough is risen and gluten is relaxed.

 Divide the dough in half at this point for a thin curst; this is what I did.  You can wrap in plastic wrap and freeze the half you don't use.  Oil your hands again and pat the dough out onto a pizza stone.  Use cornmeal or even rolled oats on the stone to prevent sticking.

White pizza. 

Oil & Herb Pizza "Sauce":

2-3 Tbsp. olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, pressed (amount depends on your love of garlic)

2 tsp. chopped fresh basil

1/2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano

Mix together and spread with hands over your crust. 

Top with a light coating of shredded mozzarella.  I do love cheese, but with this kind of pizza, less is more.  I used thin stalked asparagus, which I first brushed with oil, sliced red bell pepper and yellow onion.  (I wish I'd had some black olives on hand.)  Then a grating of fresh parmesan and a sprinkling of pepper to top it off:

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  If you used all of the dough for a thicker crust, it will need to bake for at least 5 minutes longer.