Sourdough Pizza Crust (including sourdough starter)

 Sourdough starter

• 1 (1 tablespoon) package dry yeast
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cups water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, rest for ten minutes.
2. Mix in flour, sugar& remaining water.
3. Allow to stand, loosely covered, in a warm place for 3 or 4 days. Use a large (preferably ceramic) bowl as it will rise considerably.
4. Every time the batter is used to make a product set aside 1 cup to be used as a"starter" for another batch.
5. Keep covered in the fridge (a pint jar works nicely).
6. To make it into a basic batter again, add another 2 cups flour& 2 cups warm water and allow to stand at room temp overnight It is now ready to use, but again reserve a cup of the starter.

Starter notes...

"This is a great starter. I have used it to make sour dough bread as well as adding it to my pizza dough recipe. The starter is at least 3 months old and just keeps getting better and better. I feed my starter about every 9 to 10 days, I add 1/2 cup warm water to the starter mixing well and then add 1 cup flour mixing well (ok to have some lumps) and let it sit out at room temp for an hour or two and then back to the fridge it goes until the next time."

"Separation of the sourdough starter is completely normal. The liquid on top is called "hooch." You can either pour it off, or stir in back into the starter (if your starter looks too thin, pour it off, too thick, stir it back in). If your sourdough is tinted pink or green, it is contaminated and needs to be thrown out."

Crust Ingredients

• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups sourdough starter
• 4 -5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups flour (plus a little more or less to adjust consistency)

Crust Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 500°F.
2. Mix starter, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and flour together in a mixing bowl until it blends and forms a ball (add more or less flour to adjust consistency; if you get it too dry just add a little more starter).
3. Allow dough to rest for about 30 minutes (don't look for it to rise, just to get the dough where it is easier to roll).
4. Roll out mixture on parchment paper or a lightly floured surface until it fits the size of your pan, turning the dough as you roll (if you want a more even circle).
5. Par-bake the crust on a pizza stone or pizza sheet for about 7 minutes, then remove from oven.
6. Before topping your pizza with any sauce, cheese, or toppings, brush the top of the crust all over with remaining olive oil (as needed), using a pastry brush (this helps keep soggy moisture out of the crust as it bakes).
7. Top as desired and cook until browned and cheese is melted.
8. If you use certain vegetables as a topping (onions are the first thing that comes to mind) you might want to cook those about halfway before topping the pizza with them (or they will be too crunchy).