New here, not new to baking
Hi all-
Just want to introduce myself and my obsession with homemade pizza made from freshly ground wheat berries!
A few months ago my favorite pizzeria for grainy-textured whole wheat pizza closed down, so I was determined to make my own. So I woke up dreaming one day about making a pizza where I wouldn't have to struggle with rubbery dough that springs back as I try to stretch it out. It occurred to me that I could follow (loosely) one of the many recipes online for no-knead bread. The resulting dough, if done right, could be practically poured onto the pan over a bed or cornmeal and spread out with my fingertips. I made my own long-simmered sauce as well, with lots of crushed fennel, fresh garlic, pepper flakes, etc. It was so good, I started making a "pizza for one" every night after work.
Then, I can't even tell you where it came from (maybe another dream?) I got the idea of grinding my own wheat for a fresher, maybe better, result. After researching actual grain grinders, I went a different way because I don't need much for my household of (usually) one. I settled on a Cuisinart coffee grinder with grind size selection and automatic shut-off. It's fantastic! And no mess! It cost me $50.
Making these fresh pizzas takes only around 20 minutes because I have the batter/dough ready-to-go in my fridge at all times now. Plus the sauce which I make in largish batches and freeze in smallish batches.
To be honest, I don't taste the fresh-grind as much as I thought I would, but when it's baking-- man oh man!-- unbelievable aroma. So sweet!!
So, confession: I don't think you'd call my dough strictly sourdough because I do add yeast when it feels like it's getting wimpy. I hope to learn from you all about keeping actual sourdough going... I've never had much luck with that in the past. Now that I keep my dough in the fridge, it works very well.
Also, I forgot where I read it (maybe in a NYT foodie article?) that orange juice goes well in whole wheat doughs. I can confirm this! I always use some water and some OJ in my pizza dough now.