This was the sorghum pizza I made a few months ago and it was fabulous. Made with Starline Organics sorghum syrup and sorghum flour with fresh spinach, Bulgarian Kashkaval cheese, cilantro pesto, Italian soprasetta and roasted red pepper. Yummy!
“Holy Crap, can you taste the cinnamon in this dough?” I screamed over the chaos of this busy tuesday at Avalanche Pizza as I first tasted it. The crust on this pizza was magnificent. I looked around the dough table like a confused dog. “Hey guys, taste this…I put some cinnamon in the pesto but this taste is coming from the crust.”
All four employees concurred with me, the sorghum flour formula was 2 to 1 in this dough and made such a wonderfully sweet, grab-the-roof-of-your-mouth-and-lightly-spice-the-back-of-your-throat experience that it triggered memories of cinnamon in all of us.
These guys all gobbled this pie up with abandon and I felt like doctor Frankenstein-in a good way and sorghum was my new friendly creation.
There are two types of sorghum, the Sorghum Bicolor, or seeded cereal which when milled is eaten throughout the world, (Below.) In India, they make Chapati with it as well as other unleaven breads from this millet-looking grain.
The other sorghum is from the saccharatum group. This is what Matt Starline grows here in Athens, Ohio in his lower, swampy pastures and what we made sorghum syrup with (see blog entry.) This is sometimes referred to as “Chinese sugar cane” or “sorgo.” It’s deliciously sticky flavor was a cheap alternative to maple syrup in the late 19th century.
Matt Starline and the Amish make the sorghum syrup from Matts 2011 crop of sorghum cane. Right is the finished product in order; first of the batch and the darker end of the batch of sorghum syrup.
This fantastic grain was initially cultivated in Ethiopia in 4000 B.C. and since it’s such a young culinary treat, I decided to do what no one has ever attempted. (Insert sarcastic, lying cough here.) I am gonna make this pizza with sorghum flour and syrup now.
Recipe:
For the Pesto:
One big bunch of cilantro (2 cups)
One whole chopped jalepeno
One half tablespoon cinnamon
two to three garlic cloves, minced
One cup extra virgin olive oil
half cup sorghum syrup
One pinch powdered coriander
salt to taste
Mix all in a bowl adding the sorghum syrup last. Blend with an immersion blender or food processor adding salt to taste.
For the pizza:
Two cups sorghum flour
One cup high gluten flour (or bread flour)
One half teaspoon yeast
One cup water
One half teaspoon salt
One cup Bulgarian Kashkaval Cheese. (Or any mild cheddar or mild sheeps milk cheese.)
One cup fresh spinach
Five slices (or 3-4 ounces) of julienned soprasetta or Italian salami.
One half roasted red pepper
Cilantro pesto (made above) as needed after the oven.
Put 2 cups sorhum flour in bowl, add one cup bakers or higher gluten flour, mix in half teaspoon yeast. Add one cup water.
Mix well. You may have to add more water or flour until a cohesive dough ball forms. Cover at room temp for four hours.
The dough will have almost doubled after four hours. Cut in half and reserve other half. Form another ball. let rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 460 degrees with an upturned heavy cookie pan or pizza stone in the oven.
Using fingers, form a pizza round. Remember, there is less gluten in this dough so be careful. Place on parchment.
Place Bulgarian Kashkaval cheese on dough, then spinach and soprasetta followed by the roasted red pepper.
Cook in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until done. NOTE: The sorghum flour does not brown like wheat flour so gauge the doneness by the bottom of the pizza and the feel of the crust instead of the appearance. Pour cilantro pesto on and enjoy your sorghum pizza.
