Sourdough Pizza Dilemma Solved

 To get the attractive raised crust, snip along the edges of the pizza crust with kitchen shears before baking.

Use the basil in the last minute or so of baking to keep it from getting charred.


The dilemma was how to make a sourdough pizza crust that doesn't turn out like a very hard, chewy bread. My solution was to make a sponge, and use half of it for the pizza along with half the typical amount of yeast. I used the rest of the sponge for a bread. The crust came up light, with just enough elasticity to keep it interesting. It benefits from the sourdough flavor, and maintains the texture of a good deep dish pizza crust. All this time I thought the answer was, either/or when it was, "and".

Who knew?  If you have a sourdough starter, try using a bit of sponge in your next pizza dough, you really do end up with the best of both breads.