Sourdough Whole Wheat Fig Prosciutto Pizza

With Gorgonzola & Arugula

This recipe is a mashup of two or more recipes that started with the "Shannon Pizza" in the book, "The United States of Pizza" This recipe called for whole wheat pizza dough, but it wasn't sourdough based and that led me down a "rabbit hole" looking for similar recipes. 

The dough

Ingredients

Instructions

1) Mix Dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the called-for flour, active sourdough starter, olive oil, honey, salt, (chopped herbs and seasonings.) Lightly mix.

Next, slowly add up to a quarter cup of warm water – you may not need all of it! Pour in small amounts of water at a time, mixing and assessing the consistency of the dough as you go. I typically mix my sourdough with clean bare hands. It doesn’t need to be heavily kneaded. Form the finished pizza dough into a ball, and leave it in the bottom of your mixing bowl.

If you’re accustomed to making sourdough bread, keep in mind this dough shouldn’t be quite as wet or gooey. However, it shouldn’t be crumbly and dry, like when you make sourdough crackers either! The amount of water needed will vary depending on the hydration and consistency of your sourdough starter. The last time we made this, I added the whole ¼ cup of water but found I needed to add just a pinch more flour afterwards to get it how I like it.

2) Proofing
After mixing, cover the bowl and dough with a tea towel. A damp tea towel will help it maintain even more moisture. Allow the pizza dough to proof for at least 30 minutes, up to several hours. We opt for a longer proof (about 3 hours) for a better rise! You can go beyond this if you wish. The more fermentation time, the healthier it is and easier to digest too. [We mixed dough early morning and let it proof all day until just before supper]
https://homesteadandchill.com/cast-iron-sourdough-pizza-crust/

Ingredients

  1. 9-oz package mission figs (original recipe called for 3-oz and 1/2 cup apple juice, we used the whole box and saved what we didn't use for later )
  2. 1- cup apple juice
  3. 2- teaspoons butter
  4. 2-cups shredded mozzarella (original recipe called for 1-cup)
  5. 4-oz thinly slice prosciutto (we used what we had from Newsom's Hams Old Mill Store, Princeton, KY, probably more than 4-oz)
  6. 1/2 cup or so crumbled Gorgonzola
  7. 1/2 onion, thinly sliced and caramelized
  8. 2-3 handfuls of arugula
  9. balsamic reduction
  10. flaky sea salt

(The first six ingredients came from the Shannon Pizza)

What to do

  1. At least thirty (30) minutes before baking the pizza, place the pizza stone in the oven and heat to 500 deg (pizza can be done on a pizza pan or screen
  2. Chop the figs and combine with the apple juice and butter in a small sauce pan. Simmer over medium heat until the figs are soft and all the liquid has been incorporated. Mash the figs with a fork until they are a jammy consistency. (we did this some time before constructing the pizza and needed to add a splash of juice to have a spreadable consistency.)
  3. Thinly slice the onion and then caramelize in a frying pan with a slight amount of olive oil.
  4. Construct the pizza.
    1. On a floured surface roll out the dough to around 12" in diameter; we used a peel to transfer the pizza to the stone; we stretched the dough to cover the pan.
    2. lay a piece of parchment paper on the peel and transfer the dough to the peel
    3. spread a thin layer of the fig jam on the pizza leaving a thin 1/2" border of dough around the outside
    4. Brush the exposed dough with OO
    5. Evenly distribute the caramelized onion over the pizza
    6. Evenly distribute the mozzarella over the pizza (use what you deem necessary) Don't go past the jam.
    7. Ball up the prosciutto and evenly space around the pizza, (we had nine) as well as three in the center
  5. Slide into oven onto the pizza stone and bake for ten (10) minutes. Lift the edge to check if bottom is brown
  6. When done and out of the oven, sprinkle with the Gorgonzola
  7. Let rest for five (5) minutes before distributing the arugula.
  8. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction
  9. Eat