Fluffy Sourdough Pizza 

vegan, refined sugar-free, nut-free 

Loosely based on a recipe from King Arthur Baking

I know many people say their favorite part of a pizza is the cheese, but for me, it's always been the crust. I love light cracker-thin crusts, fluffy hand-tossed crusts, and crunchy thick pan crusts, but my homemade pizza crusts always seemed tougher and less flavorful than restaurant pizzas. That's why I was so excited to find a way to make my crusts lighter AND more flavorful with the help of sourdough starter. Adding sourdough starter gives flavor and a nice lift to this crust, which can be made into a light hand-tossed style or, by adding more oil, more of a pan pizza style. A cast iron skillet helps cook up the bottom of this super thick pizza! If you don't have a sourdough starter, try making this easy thin crust pizza.

​I love enjoying pizza alongside a salad, such as Lemony Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Garlic Croutons

Two pizzas...before and after baking

Serves: 4-6 / Active time: 30 mins / Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes - 4 hours 30 minutes (depending on how active starter is)

Helpful Tools:

• small cast iron skillet
• air fryer or oven

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Ingredients: 
For the crust:

• 1 cup (227g) sourdough starter, active or unfed/discard*
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons to 3/4 cup (141 to 170g) lukewarm water
• 2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) active dry yeast
• Optional flavor enhancers: 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) MSG** and 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) garlic powder
• oil for the bowl

Assorted pizza toppings:

• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese***
• 1/4 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 onion, chopped 
• 3-4 sliced mushrooms
• dried oregano, for sprinkling
• nutritional yeast, optional

Optional veggie sausage:

• ¼ cup (59 g) boiling water
• 1 tbsp (16 g) soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tbsp (13 g) canola or mild tasting oil- for a richer flavor (optional)
• ½ tsp ground oregano
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) salt
• Dash of cayenne
• ½ cup (47 g) TVP (textured vegetable protein)****

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine starter, the lower amount of water, flour, salt, yeast, and optional flavor enhancers. Mix to combine, adding the remaining water, one tablespoon at a time, if the dough looks dry. Continue kneading, for about 7 minutes in a mixer with the dough hook (or by hand), until the dough wraps itself around the hook and cleans the side of the bowl.
2. Place a little bit of oil in the bottom of the bowl and turn the dough ball over just to keep it from sticking,   cover with a towel, and let rise until almost doubled in bulk. Depending on how active your starter is, this will take between 2 and 4 hours. For a faster rise, place the dough in a warm spot, or double the yeast.
3. Line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease them. Divide the dough into three balls, and shape each into a flattened disk. Place the dough disks on the cookies sheets, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes. After this rest, gently press the dough toward the edges of the pans. If it starts to shrink back, cover and let rest for 15 minutes before continuing.
4. Cover the pan(s) and let the dough rise until it's as thick as you like.
5. Towards the end of the rise time, chop your ingredients and prepare optional veggie sausage: boil the water. In a bowl, add soy sauce, oil, oregano, fennel seeds, cayenne, salt, and boiling water and stir well.​Add TVP, stir, and then let it sit for about 2 minutes before stirring it one more time. Set aside.
6. Preheat your oven or air fryer (set on bake) to 450°F.
7. Preheat cast iron skillet on the stovetop. Season it with a little oil (or a lot of oil for a pan-style pizza). When it is hot, gently lift dough disk up with a spatula and place directly in the skillet. Set a timer for 3 minutes and quickly add desired toppings while the bottom of the dough continues to cook on the stove. I love sprinkling the veggie sausage on top.
8. After 3 minutes, turn off the stove and carefully with an oven mitt transfer entire skillet into preheated oven or air fryer. 
9. Cook until cheese looks bubbly and top begins to brown, about 8 minutes in air fryer or 15 minutes in oven. 
10. Remove from oven, transfer pizza back to the cookie sheet to cool, and start the process again with another dough disk (steps 7-9).
11. Store leftover pizza covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

*This crust is versatile, so you can use active starter (meaning fed 4-6 hours ago) for a quick-rising fluffy crust or unfed/discard starter, which won't rise as fast, but will still add an amazing sourdough flavor to the crust. I've tried to both ways and like them both!
**I've recently started using a tiny bit of MSG (Monosodium glutamate) in my recipes as a flavor enhancer. It gets a bad rap for allergic reactions in some people, but for most people it can be a healthy addition to your meals since it gives you more flavor with less salt. Is it really as bad as we all seem to believe it is? Check out this video.
***Miyoko's Vegan Mozz melts beautifully and tastes amazing! Daiya and Follow Your Heart also make vegan shredded cheese, but I'd recommend only using a light dusting as these don't melt as well.
****Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is a defatted soy flour product. It is quick to cook and has a protein content comparable to animal-based meats.

I know it looks weird, but this is the best way to ensure the bottom of this thick pizza gets perfectly cooked!

My 9-inch cast iron skillet fits perfectly inside my air fryer

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