If you have some sourdough discard on hand, this whole wheat sourdough flatbread pizza is a perfect cross between focaccia and pizza, but also healthy and fast . . .
Quick, Satisfying Meal
As mentioned on previous posts, I pretty much always keep sourdough starter on our kitchen counter. After a while, I had to think of ways to use it up. This is one of several easy ways I use up sourdough discard and sometimes make lunch for our kids at the same time! (If you’re wondering about this whole sourdough situation, here is a good post walking through the steps to make a sourdough starter.)
This is essentially a healthier version of pizza. I just wish our kids liked tomatoes! It would make this easier because they wouldn’t keep trying to eat around the tomatoes. But what better way to get them to like tomatoes than to keep offering them?
This sourdough pizza flatbread takes maybe 20 minutes start to finish. I prefer to use fresh mozzarella, but you could use cubes of ordinary mozzarella as well – just not grated mozzarella. The key is to use little chunks of it so that you get pockets of melted cheese.
Simplified, Healthier Pizza
Sourdough works really well with tomato and fresh mozzarella. You get a bit of tang from the sourdough discard, which highlights the sweetness and the richness of the mozzarella. With the tomato, you get little bursts of fresh acidity – a bit different from a sweet tomato sauce, because these will be more like roasted tomatoes than a cooked tomato sauce.
In my sourdough starter, I use all whole wheat flour. There are some benefits to eating whole wheat over white flour. So this sourdough pizza flatbread is entirely whole wheat flour. That said, because you’re making it as this savory almost focaccia-style flatbread cooked in olive oil and filled with toppings, it really doesn’t taste at all like a dry or uninteresting whole wheat bread. It just tastes tangy, light, and delicious.
Now, on to the recipe!
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Sourdough Flatbread Pizza
Delicious, easy, pizza-style flatbread!
The recipe below makes 1 flatbread assuming you’re using an 8-inch frying pan, but you can adjust the recipe as follows. Note that the cook times may require a couple of extra minutes at each stage.
For a 10-inch frying pan, multiply each ingredient by 1.5, so:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup unfed sourdough starter
- 4.5 ounces fresh mozzarella (9 ciliegine or 1 1/5 ovoline in 9 pieces)
- 9 cherry tomatoes
For a 12-inch pan, multiply by 2.25:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups unfed sourdough starter
- 6 3/4 ounces fresh mozzarella (about 14 ciliegine or 2 ovoline)
- 14 cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (approximate)
2/3 cup unfed sourdough starter (ideally on the thicker consistency side)
3 ounces fresh mozzarella (approximately 6 ciliegine or 1 ovoline, cut into 6 equal pieces)
6 cherry tomatoes tomatoes
Optional
6 kalamata olives
fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, or marjoram)
Instructions
1. Prepare the skillet.
See my note above about how much starter to use if you want a larger flatbread.
Distribute the 1 tbsp of olive oil as evenly as possible in a nonstick skillet that has a cover. I will usually spray it in (with my glass olive oil spray bottle, 12 -18 squirts) for this reason. Preheat for about 30 seconds over medium-low heat. Sprinkle the olive oil with some salt (necessary because the starter does not have salt, and I’d rather not stir salt into the starter and lose any bubbles that may already be in there).
Note: You can use a cast iron or carbon steel skillet, but the heat distribution & nonstick properties will not be great so this may be more challenging. If you’re determined nevertheless, consider using extra olive oil and preheating for at least 3 minutes.
2. Add the starter.
Pour the 2/3 cup of unfed sourdough starter directly into the hot olive oil and all around the pan as evenly as possible.
3. Add the toppings.
Place the cheese and the tomatoes (+ olives & herbs if using) around the flatbread, pressing each piece down into the starter until it touches the bottom of the pan. The pieces do not need to be fully submerged, so long as they touch the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle everything generously with salt.
Cover the pan with a lid, reduce heat to low, and let it cook for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes, flip the flatbread.
Slide a spatula under the flatbread and make sure it feels sturdy enough to flip. If not, let it cook undisturbed, without the lid, for another 2-5 minutes until it feels sturdier. Consider turning up the heat, but only slightly.
After flipping, drizzle a little olive oil around the edges of the flatbread (so that it seeps under the flatbread). If the heat level is correct, the olive oil should start to bubble after about 15-20 seconds. Adjust the heat accordingly (it should still be quite low) and cook for another 10 minutes. It is very difficult to overcook this (but not difficult to burn if you don’t keep the heat low), so err on the side of overcooking.
5. After 10 minutes, remove from heat.
To remove the flatbread from the pan I grab a wooden cutting board and put it next to the stove. Use a spatula under the flatbread to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then I grab my pan and flip the flatbread down directly onto the cutting board. So the flatbread comes out, bottom up, onto the cutting board. If it is a very large flatbread, I may place the cutting board down onto the frying pan and then carefully invert.
If the flatbread hasn’t picked up much color, return it to the pan and turn the heat up slightly. Let it cook for 2-3 more minutes.
6. Enjoy!
When it comes out, keep in mind that the cheese will be quite hot. So eat (and warn children) accordingly.
