So, you've got a sourdough starter in the fridge. Now what? My favorite way to use starter is to add unfed starter to baking recipes such as pancakes, pretzels, and pizza dough. What is unfed sourdough? It is the cup of starter that you remove BEFORE each time you feed your starter, hence the name "unfed." Using unfed starter gives your recipes a boost of yeast and a ton of flavor.
Here is the recipe I use to make an easy pizza crust in my bread machine:
1 cup unfed sourdough starter
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
Directions: Add all ingredients to your bread machine. The list above is in the order that my bread machine requires; adjust accordingly if your bread machine works better with a different order of ingredients. Run your bread machine on the Dough cycle. When the dough is finished in the bread machine, remove and shape into two pizza crusts (or one VERY thick crust). Cover crusts and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Prick the top of each crust in multiple places with a fork. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 minutes, remove crusts from oven and add pizza toppings, then return pizza to the oven to finish baking for 10 minutes more. Keep an eye on the pizza until you get a feel for the temperature of your oven, as they can burn quickly at 450 degrees, and adjust cooking time accordingly.
Remove 1 cup of unfed sourdough starter as the basis of this recipe..
