Most of us are familiar with probiotics in dairy products, especially, cultured dairy we have grown up with our whole lives such as yogurt, sour cream, butter, cheese and buttermilk. What we probably didn't know until recently is what made these dairy foods good for us, such as the probiotics they contain because of the fermentation process they undergo when these products are produced. Probiotics was a term I was unfamiliar with until several years ago when the vitamin supplement companies started touting probiotics as a way of healing a digestive track that was a bit off track.
Now, I see this term everywhere and know what it means and what it can do. It can make a really bad tummy and digestive system right again. Even if you know this, you may not know that all cultured foods have this ability, not just dairy. If you are lactose intolerant, don't fret. There are loads of other foods you can consume with these same wonderful and natural side effects such as, yes, you guessed it, pizza! How you say? Let's identify some cultured and fermented products we know and love: pizza, beer, sourdough bread, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles of all kinds, sake and of course, most of the dairy products we have already mentioned.
The important part of the pickle equation, however, is that they are naturally fermented pickles. This means that the American pickles which are processed using vinegar, are not exactly the kind of pickles that are good for you, although they are not bad, they just don't have the healthy probiotics which come from the natural fermentation process used in making old fashioned pickles. The Germans and many of the Asian cultures still ferment vegetables the old fashioned way and that is the style that is quickly making a comeback, both for health reasons and of course, for the very fact that it is an excellent way of preserving your summer crops for winter eating. It is not only healthy, it's practical. It's green! Make your own and not only will you be blown away at how much better a naturally fermented pickle is but you will giggle at how easy it is to do once you know how.
For today, though, I thought I'd introduce you to another fermented and cultured product that most Americans adore in um, large quantities. :) Pizza. The simplest way to explain how pizza IS good for you is to talk about it in terms of sour dough bread. This pizza is made with an Italian Pizza culture I bought from Cultures for Health. I buy all my cheese and sourdough cultures there and have found them to be easy to follow, as well as very educational with videos, recipes, etc. They make learning about this way of preparing healthy food really fun. But being that this is still a cultured food, it means that some of the sugars in the flour are already broken down into a form the body can more easily digest and of course, they are also loaded with the beneficial bacteria your body needs for long term healthy digestion and natural immunity.
Try, then trust and as always, do your own research and self-validation, like I like to do. Sourdoughs are also supposed to help people with gluten intolerance who really miss their breads. Couple this with the best and freshest flour you can find and you might just see gluten intolerance disappear all together, but that is for you to explore and I wish you all the best.
To make the pizza culture:
A packet of Italian Calmodoli sour dough starter (or fresh if you have this going already)
1/4 c lukewarm water
1/4 c flour
Large quart mason jar or other wide mouth jar (NO METAL TOP, very important)
Clean coffee filter and rubber band for sealing the jar to allow gases to escape and to keep out critters.
**Metal tops will rust and are generally bad when fermenting food as the acids can essentially eat the metal which is simply put, bad eats.
Care and Feeding:
That's it. Use a large glass quart jar to get it started and feed your starter once or twice a day with 1/2 c water, 1/2 c flour. When the starter is happy, it bubbles and grows or rises. You can see it. If you forget to feed it, a shallow film of liquid will pool on top. Not to worry, just pour this off and continue to feed. If you forget to feed it for a long while, you may need to start over if the film is green, white or moldy. I won't go into the education behind sour dough starter, but if you have questions, let me know and of course, check out Cultures for Health, a wealth of information. I'm a student, too. :)
Pizza Party:
This recipe is a work in progress but how I did this one...
- Liquids = sourdough starter, equal part water (if you have 3/4 quart of starter, use 3/4 quart of water)
- Flour = Double the amount of liquids above (if you have 1 1/2 quart of liquids above use 3 quarts of flour)
- 1/2-1 tablespoon of instant yeast (optional)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt
Mix it however you normally would. I use my Kitchenaid mixer and once it comes together, I put it in my proofing container and let it double. The yeast is optional. Why? Because natural sourdough will rise if given enough time. However, most people don't want to wait 6 hours for bread to rise. If you have time, try it at least once. I personally, need to control the rise and timing, so I use yeast... I know, sacrilege, but seriously, it is up to you.
Once it has doubled in size, the dough is ready for shaping and it's final rise. I divide the dough into balls, depending on whether I want large or small pizzas and then roll them on a floured surfaces to the desired shape and size. If you like sheet pan pizza, do that. If you like round, do that.
My favorite pizza pan is an old perforated (yep it has little holes in it), round 12" pizza pan that arrived in my house from a delivery pizza that was so hastily boxed that the pizza dude left the pan right on the pizza. We haven't had delivery pizza in like 15 years, but this pan is a keeper. I use that pan all the time and recently bought one for my niece. What is special? I don't know exactly. But if you grease the pan or forget, the crust never sticks to this pan. It isn't a non stick pan, it is just some aluminum cheap pan that looks well used. I grease it just in case and the crust is crispy and perfect. Mine looks a little like this one.
Baking:
450 degrees 12-17 minutes, depends on oven and whether you like a semi-burnt cheese or just gooey. I like mine a little crispified.
One last tip: I prebake my crust for about 5-7 minutes on 450 degrees. THEN, I add the sauce, cheese, etc. You don't want to overload the pizza with cheese and toppings or maybe you do. I just find that with thin crust pizzas, less is more and with Chicago or deep dish style pizzas more is usually expected. It all depends on what "load" your crust can handle so experimentation as always, is my best recommendation.
*Please comment! I am learning, too, and would love to know how this works for you or if you find some helpful tips to share, I will be happy to include them here. Thanks!
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