BBB - Genzano Potato Pizza

Quite a bit of Peru's flour is imported from other South American countries. But just as you are being affected by rising flour prices and flour shortages, Peru has also been affected. Bread rolls are a fundamental part of the Peruvian breakfast. When I moved here, you could easily buy 10 rolls for a Peruvian Nuevo Sol from one of 5 panaderias on the block; at the time, that meant a roll cost about 3 US cents. Now, the price has almost doubled and the value of the dollar has dropped dramatically, making a morning roll cost double. Although that may not sound like a lot to you or I, so many people here in Peru earn less than $5 per day to support a family with food, shelter and other necessities. Increasing prices simply means less food for those who already lack nutritious meals.

The government has proposed that panaderias make papipan - a combination of half potato and half flour! I have not tried my hand at the recipe they flash across the tv screen every so often. Instead I decided to try another version of potato bread; namely a potato pizza.

The Bread Baking Babes were at it again with their adventurous bread making. This time, they had a showdown with potato pizza. Some tackled the Sullivan Street Pizza and some the Genzano Potato Pizza, and some both! With the option at hand, I chose to make the Genzano Potato Pizza because it seemed like a more feasible "by-hand" option and it gave me another chance to use my sourdough starter.

The dough came together easily. To compensate for low protein, low gluten flour, I did add 1/4 cup of instant potato flakes to the dough along with the flour. I kneaded by hand 20 minutes and by the feel of it, knew it was ready for a rise. I did not punch and fold half way through - well, I started to and saw it begin to deflate and due to deflating problems with other breads, I decided to allow to rise without injury.

The dough spread easily, but did resist in sticking to the corners as others had mentioned. I used the papa peruana, a Peruvian yellow potato with red and white skin (like the flag!) as the main substance in the topping along with Peruvian red onions and rosemary. Everything baked up nicely and tasted okay. Should I make this again, I would try to make the potato slices thinner, add more onions (yellow ones) and definitely add garlic! I liked it, but thought it needed a bit more flavor. The pizza bread part was delicious and I plan to use it to make a cheese & meat pizza sometime.

Genzano Potato Pizza
Adapted from Local Breads: SourDough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe’s Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader
Serves 16

Biga Naturale
2 tablespoons (1oz) (28g) of liquid levain (sourdough starter)
2/3 cup (4.9oz) (140g) of water (70F - 78F)
1 2/3 cups (7.1 oz) (200g) of unbleached bread flour (preferably hi-gluten)

1. Mix the liquid levain and water together. Stir in the flour. Knead it together into a rough ball.

2. Cover and allow to stand at room temperature 8 to 12 hours. (I made this to sit overnight and it reached 12 hours.) At the end of that time it will have probably doubled in size and should be sweet smelling and have a tangy taste.

Pizza Dough
1 1/2 cup (13 oz) (368g) of biga naturale
1 3/4 cups (14.1 oz) (400g) of water (70F - 78F)
3 1/4 cups (17.6 oz) (500g) of unbleached bread flour (preferably hi-gluten)
3/4 teaspoon (.2 oz) (4g) of instant yeast
2 teaspoons (.5 oz) (15 g) of salt

1. Mix the biga and water. Mix in the flour, salt and yeast. (This is when I added 1/4 cup of potato flakes to compensate for the flour quality.) Knead by hand about 20 minutes or until the dough seems to begin to pull away from the sides. When the dough is stretched, you should see long thick strands of dough.

2. Leave the dough covered at room temperature for about 90 minutes. Push it down gently in the center and pull it up around the sides. (I did not push and pull much at all for fear of deflation.) Cover again and allow to rise another 90 minutes or until doubled in volume.

3. Preheat oven to 500F.

4. Oil a 12x18 inch baking sheet. Stretch the dough to cover the pan, being gentle so as not to burst too many air pockets. Allow the dough rest 10 minutes to do this, if needed.

Potato Topping
4 potatoes (about 2 pounds), very thinly sliced
1 onion (1/2 cup) (4.4 oz) (125g), half-moon sliced
1/4 cup (.4oz) (12g) of fresh rosemary chopped
1/2 of teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil

1. In a medium bowl, combine potatoes, onions, rosemary, salt and olive oil.

2. Bake at 500F for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes, onions and crust are browned.

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Genzano Potato Pizza is being served up as the Bread Baking Buddies challenge of the month. This months challenge was hosted by Tanna of My Kitchen In Half Cups.

Interested in being a Bread Baking Buddy for May? Check out the instructions for sourdough starter at The Sour Dough as the starter must be made in order to participate that month and you have just enough time to get yours started!