Further Adventures in Sourdough- Naan and Hot Pockets

My brother-in-law enjoys using chatgpt to find recipes. One day, we decided to see how the artificial intelligence would handle "sourdough discard recipes". It provided a whole list, most of which I knew already. Somehow, I thought he said naan as an option. It wasn't, but we looked it up anyway. Here's what it came up with: 

Using sourdough discard in naan is a fantastic idea! Here's a simple recipe for sourdough discard naan:

Ingredients:

- 1 cup sourdough discard

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 cup warm water

- 2 tablespoons melted butter or ghee

- Optional: chopped garlic, chopped cilantro, or nigella seeds for topping

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the sourdough discard, flour, sugar, and salt.

2. Gradually add the warm water, mixing until a soft dough forms.

3. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes until smooth.

4. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rest in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or until it doubles in size.

5. Once the dough has risen, divide it into 6-8 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball.

6. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.

7. Roll out each dough ball into a thin circle or oval shape.

8. Place the rolled-out dough onto the hot skillet or griddle and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown and puffy.

9. Brush each cooked naan with melted butter or ghee, and sprinkle with any optional toppings if desired.

10. Serve warm and enjoy your homemade sourdough discard naan!

Feel free to customize your naan by adding garlic, herbs, or seeds to the dough before cooking.

So... We made it! My sourdough discard was verrrrry old, so the naan didn't puff up much while cooking. Still, it had good char and good flavor. I would try it again!

My next adventure was making a sourdough pizza crust to use as the outer dough for a meal inspired by a runza/calzone recipe my mom liked to make when I was growing up. What I made is nothing like her's. 😅 I had leftovers/wrinkly potatoes to use up and wanted something G could grab and go for lunch during this busy week at the garden center.

What I came up with... Sourdough pizza crust on the outside and filling option one- shredded pork, shredded potatoes, shredded carrots; filling option two- sloppy joe meat, spinach, shredded potatoes, and cheese. 

The recipe involved using some active yeast to get a better rise. Here's the dough ready to rise. 

I forgot to take a picture after the rise before I rolled out the dough, but it definitely doubled in size! 

They turned a beautiful golden brown and tasted pretty good too!