Pizza, from an unexpected source...

pizza margherita!

We love pizza. Who doesn't, right? Better said, we love making pizza. Since our very first days together, DH and I have been making pizzas in just about every oven, grill, even campfire for family and friends. It is the one meal we always end  make together and have made more than any other.

As with any kitchen staple, our pizzas have improved greatly over the years. Where we once bought pre-made doughs and baked them on a cookie sheet (still delicious) we now make our own dough and use a baking stone. We have tried just about every pizza dough recipe we can get our hands on and  are constantly ‘researching the market’ for the best pizza around!

Alongside this ongoing pizza-improvement project, I have grown increasingly consumed with the art and craft of bread making. Bread making is fairly easy with a stand mixer and commercial yeast. But with the start of the year and the move to the Bay Area I was determined to successfully ‘grow’ and bake with a natural yeast starter.  After trying and failing what felt like several times, I finally succeeded this week!

tartine's basic country loaf

Working from the ‘Tartine Bread’ cookbook, I managed to cultivate a very active natural yeast starter and bake a delicious country loaf using only flour, water and salt, and a little elbow grease!

Tartine baker and cookbook author, Chad Robertson suggests pulling off a bit of the dough right before baking to use as pizza dough.

bread dough as pizza dough!

 Of course! What a novel idea…why hadn’t I ever thought of this!?

mozzarella w/ hot chili oil

We gave it a try and sure enough, it was some of the best dough we’ve made. Scratch that, it was the best, hands down.

Thin, hearty and slightly tangy, the dough had a perfect tooth to it. I’m also a total sucker for 2-in-1 style recipes.

We made one ‘margherita’ and one with stinging nettles and an obligatory egg.

wild nettles w/ a egg
What a perfect dinner. We look forward to making it for you soon!