Vegan Sourdough Pizza Crust

This Vegan Sourdough Pizza Crust recipe has a little more oomph in the form of the flavors produced by wild yeast fermentation, also known as sourdough. The wild yeast isn't enough to leaven the dough completely on it's own so it's spiked with some bread yeast to help it along. This vegan crust is great for cheeseless pizzas or other pizzas where you're not using intensely flavored toppings and you'd like the crust to contribute more flavor to the pie. It's also a great way to use the sourdough starter you've been keeping in your fridge. You do have a resident starter in your fridge right?

Find more Sourdough recipes on Veganbaking.net

Vegan Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe

1 ½ cups sourdough starter
½ teaspoon yeast

1 ½ cups bread flour
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt

1) Activate the yeast

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter and yeast. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so the yeast activates.

2) Build the dough and kead it

Stir in the bread flour, vegetable oil and salt. Transfer the dough to a clean surface and knead it for 12 to 15 minutes, kneading 1 Tablespoon of water into the dough at a time until just before the dough starts to stick to your hands.

3) Allow the dough to rise

Form the dough into a ball, coat it with vegetable oil and place it inside a clean medium mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a plastic bag or plastic wrap and let it sit for about 4 to 6 hours until it gets 80% to 100% bigger.

At this point the dough can either be used immediately or covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to several days. If you're using it later, make sure the dough is room temperature before removing it from the plastic wrap and forming it into shape.

4) Form the dough to shape and allow it to rise once more

Preheat your oven to 500F (260C). Form the dough into a disc with your hands. Place the dough on a baking sheet or pizza pan dusted with corn meal or flour and it push into shape with your fingers. The crust should be about 14 to 16 inches in diameter and 1/8 to ¼ inch thick. Once the desired diameter is achieved fold the outer 1 inch edge over the crust. Cover the pizza with plastic bags or plastic wrap and let it proof for 1 hour.

5) Apply the toppings and bake your vegan pizza to perfection

Cover the crust with tomato paste and your preferred toppings. If you're using spinach as a topping, make sure it's laid down first, with the sauce going on top. Bake the pizza for 7 minutes then rotate it 180 degrees and bake for another 7 minutes or until the outer diameter of the crust is golden. This recipe makes one Vegan Sourdough Pizza Crust.