Plant-Based Sourdough Pizza

Recipe alert!

The temperatures are rising, the cold is slowly retreating to let the longer, warmer days in, and @martin_rojnik, @graska_mountain_farm, and I think this is the perfect time to make one last WINTER SOURDOUGH PIZZA with entirely PLANT-BASED toppings to pay homage to the budding spring. 

Dear Sourdoughmaniacs, 

Allow me to introduce you to this beauty – the hearty, juicy, truly fermented last winter pizza. 

To quote the maestro who created this tasty symphony, Martin Rojnik, 

“The key caloric components of this pizza are an extraordinary fermented dough, prepared with the help of Anita’s friend Rudl, a cream from Graška Mountain Farm’s exquisitely cured Hokkaido pumpkin, Graška’s “Batina” – an intensely caramelized plant-based herbal buckwheat sausage, “el fino” blanched brussels sprouts, chickpea ricotta with a dash of dill, red onions pickled in apple cider vinegar, and improperly grated horseradish from our farm (harvested from half-frozen soil – to give added value to this recipe). Oh, and we sprinkled some thyme on top, just to be a tad dramatic.”

PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE FROM SOURDOUGH MANIA: 

Time needed from preparing the dough to baking the pizza: approximately 24-72 hours.

Actual prep time: 20 min

The amount of dough needed for 1 pizza/person: approximately 250 g

  • 120 g white all-purpose flour or T500 flour or bread flour (90 %)
  • 13 g whole-grain white or spelt flour (10 %)
  • 87 g water (65 %) (adjust the amount of water to the type of flour you are using)
  • 3 g salt (2 %)
  • 27 g bubbly and active levain (20 %; mix together 7 g of active starter, 10 g of water, 10 g of all-purpose or T500 four approximately 6-12 hours before making the dough)

Mix all the ingredients together to form the dough and knead until all the clumps and dry parts have disappeared. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 15 minutes then knead it again.

OPTIONAL: If you have the time, make 4 series of stretches and folds in the next 2 hours. 

Let the dough bulk rise at room temperature for approximately 3-4 hours, then shape it into balls. Store the dough balls in a well-floured bowl or container, cover it with a lid or cling film, and put it into the fridge for 40-60 hours. You can make your pizza earlier if you wish, but the longer the dough is left to ferment, the tastier and easier to digest your pizza will be.  

Before you use the dough, it needs to at least double in size. If it hasn’t yet, leave it at room temperature until it does.

The pizza dough needs to warm up to room temperature before you shape it. Once the dough has warmed up, stretch and spread it with your hands, add the toppings sparingly, and bake at the highest temperature your oven allows. I use a steel pizza plate that I preheat to 275°C or 527°F for at least 45 minutes. The same process works well for granite plates and grog pizza stones too.

IMPORTANT TIP: adjust the amount of water used in making the dough to the type of flour you are using. Make sure the dough isn’t too runny or too wet.

P.S. You can find more information on sourdough starters, and abundance of recipes, a bubbling bunch of sourdo’s, and sourdon’t’s,  and fermented tips and tricks in my book Sourdough Mania.

This delicious and easily digestible pizza calls for equally healthy and balanced toppings. Scroll down for a few extra recipes for some truly sourtastic toppings and be on the lookout for all the delicacies courtesy of Graska Mountain Farm.

PUMPKIN CREAM:  

Bake equal parts pumpkin (or sweet potato) and onion in the oven for 45 min at 180°C or 356°F. Before baking, season the vegetables with coriander, smoked paprika, salt, garlic, and black pepper. Massage the seasoned vegetables with salt, a little bit of tomato concentrate, and a few drops of olive oil or water before baking too. This will ensure that all the natural sugars in the vegetables caramelize properly. After baking, blend everything evenly using a food processor.

PICKLED ONIONS:  

Cut some red onions into even slices. Bring equal parts apple cider vinegar and water to a boil on a stovetop, then set aside. Mix in 50 g of brown sugar, a few bay leaves, and some aniseed. Pour the mixture over the onions and store in the fridge. 

CHICKPEA RICOTTA:  

To get your hands on this delicious topping, contact Graska Mountain Farm and they just might be able to help you out. If you need alternatives, use tofu and blend it in a food processor until smooth. Then add in a few shallot slices, season with some lemon juice, salt, and a couple of capers, and blend again until smooth.

PLANT-BASED HERBAL BUCKWHEAT SAUSAGE aka “Batina”: 

Get in touch with Graska Mountain Farm to get a hold of this mouthwatering delight. If you need an alternative, you can use any plant-based sausage available in your area.

CRUNCHY BRUSSELS SPROUTS:  

Take the time to meditate and mindfully peel each brussels sprout leaf off its head until you have gathered a bunch of beautiful round leaves. To truly sensationalize the taste of the brussels sprout leaves, blanche them for a maximum of 3 minutes in boiling salted water, then quickly dip them in an ice bath to cool them off. The goal is to preserve both the taste and the crunchiness of this beautiful vegetable. 

FRESH HORSERADISH:  

This root vegetable works and tastes best in its raw form, so grate it onto your pizza as liberally as you please. It’s important to keep our immune system strong and stable until the cold days have truly passed, so you really don’t have to hold back on this white vegetable worth its weight in gold.

ASSEMBLING THE PIZZA:  

Smear the pizza dough with the squash cream, add a few dollops of chickpea ricotta, and apply as many slices of the buckwheat sausage as you’d like, then bake the pizza at 275°C or 527°F for 8-10 min. Once the pizza is out of the oven, top it with the brussels sprout leaves, horseradish, and the pickled onions.

For more information on this pizza and to see this collaboration bloom in all its glory, follow Graška Mountain Farm and Sourdoughmania’s social media accounts.

Enjoy your day and let’s ferment the world a better place. 

Yours truly fermented,

Martin Rojnik in Anita Šumer

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