Skillet Sourdough Pizza
Dough mixed at breakfast, pizza at dinner. The fire does the work in twelve minutes.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 90
- protein
- 23 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 37 min
- water
- 420 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Dutch oven
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 4 cups | bread flour is better if you have it |
|---|---|---|
| Active sourdough starter | 1/2 cup | carried in a screw-top jar, fed the morning you leave |
| Water | 1 1/2 cups | cold from the filter is fine |
| Salt | 2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp, plus more for the pan | |
| Tomato paste | 1 tube (4.5 oz) | thinned with water and a pinch of dried oregano |
| Shredded mozzarella | 2 cups | low-moisture, kept in the cooler |
| Toppings | 4 servings | olives, sun-dried tomato, jarred peppers, dried mushrooms rehydrated in the sauce |
Method
- In the morning, dump flour, water, starter, salt, and oil into a large zip bag. Squeeze it together until no dry flour is left. Push the air out and seal it.
- Leave the bag somewhere shaded and not freezing for eight hours. Give it a squeeze whenever you walk past. It should roughly double.
- Burn the fire down to coals. You want steady heat, not flames.
- Squeeze the tomato paste into a cup, thin it with a few spoonfuls of water, and stir in the oregano.
- Oil a cast iron skillet well. Pull off a quarter of the dough, press it flat into the pan with your knuckles, and set the pan over the coals.
- Cook three or four minutes until the underside is set and browned. Flip the crust.
- Spread sauce on the cooked side, scatter cheese and toppings, and cover the pan with a lid or foil. Rake a few coals onto the lid if you have a dutch oven.
- Another five to eight minutes, until the cheese melts and the bottom smells close to burnt. Slide it out and start the next one.
Sourdough is one of the few doughs that suits camp, because it does not need a packet of yeast or a warm kitchen. It needs time, and a day of hiking or paddling is exactly that. Mix it before you leave camp in the morning and it is ready when you get back.
The original bakes on a stone at oven temperature, which nothing in camp can do. Flipping a thin crust in a hot skillet gets you to the same place: the pan browns the base, and the lid traps enough heat to melt the cheese. Tomato paste replaces a jar of sauce because it is concentrated, resealable, and does not slosh. Keep the crust thin. A thick one chars underneath before the center cooks.
Packing
Measure flour and salt into one bag at home. The starter rides in a small jar with the lid loose enough to vent, wedged upright in the cooler door. Tomato paste in a tube beats a can with no opener and no way to carry leftovers.
Variations
- Skip the sauce and go with oil, salt, and hard cheese. Faster and it browns better.
- Cold nights slow the rise to a crawl. Mix the dough the night before and let it go long, or keep the bag inside your jacket while you hike.
- No fire? The same dough cooks in a covered skillet on a two-burner stove, but you have to move the pan around to keep the crust from scorching in one spot.
https://mealswithmaria.site/sourdough-pizza-crust-recipe