Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

As promised, here is the recipe for the Whole Wheat Pizza Crust I used when making my Leftover Steak Pizza.  Let me say upfront that I have a perpetual fear of working with yeast.  It is one thing that I don't have much experience working with.  I am trying to change that, and this crust seemed like a good start.  And, it was easy!  The original recipe came from my Food Science class at K-State.  I did adapt it to add some whole wheat flour.  I'm just trying to help you get your fiber, and your pizza.  Just in case you are a little fearful of trying this recipe as I was, let me walk you through it:

Here are the ingredients you need.  Simple enough.

The first step is the one that is kind of the scary for me.  Dissolve some sugar in warm tap water.  The trick is to get the water the right temperature.  For that reason, I recommend using an instant read thermometer.  Get the water to a nice and warm 110-114 degrees.    Then you just sprinkle in the yeast and stir until it dissolves, about 1 minute.  Let the yeast stand in a warm spot for about 5 minutes.  You should see a thin layer of foam covering the surface.  That means it's working!

Whew.  That's done now.  So just mix all of your ingredients in a stand mixer with the flat beater, and beat for about a minute.  

Now you knead to knead the dough.  I'm sorry.  I couldn't help myself!  Put in your dough hook and let 'er go for about 5 minutes.  At this point, the dough should be soft, elastic, and should bounce back if you push on it.

Then just shape dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl.  I just sprayed mine with cooking oil.  Now you sit and wait.  Better yet, now would be a good time to take a walk! 

After about 45 minutes your little ball of joy should be twice the size is was before your walk.  Here's mine:

This is the fun part--punch the dough down!  

Then, for me anyway, is the not fun part--spreading the dough.  But I did it, and you can too!  One tip I have found helpful when rolling dough such as this is to place the dough between layers of parchment paper.  This helps reduce sticking, and keeps your rolling pin clean!  The directions for this recipe indicate making a round crust.  I made mine square.  Do whatever feels right!  You might note that mine is not pretty, but it works for piling on ingredients!

And now you have made your very own pizza crust!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

makes 2 pizza crusts

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup warm water 

1 envelope active dry yeast

1 1/2cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (plus more if needed for rolling dough)

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Corn meal (for pizza pan)

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm tap water that registers 110-115 degrees.  Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir gently until it dissolves, about 1 minute.  Let stand in a warm spot until a thin layer of foam covers the surface, about 5 minutes.

Using a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, yeast mixture, and oil.  Using the flat beater, beat on medium speed until well mixed, about 1 minute.

Switch to dough hook and knead at medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Shape dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning to coat completely on all sides with the oil.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set to rise in a warm place about 45 minutes.

With your fist, punch down the dough as soon as it has doubled in bulk.  Reshape into a ball, pressing out all of the air bubbles.  Divide dough into two balls.

Place ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour (unless using parchment paper).  Using the heels of your hands, press the dough piece into a circle, then roll it out with a lightly floured rolling pin until it is about 1/4 inch thick, keeping the edges a little thicker than the center.  While rolling dough, pick it up and turn it over several times to stretch it.  

Continue to keep the outer edges thicker than the rest of the pizza and add a little flour to the surface of the dough round and use the other hand to push the dough against it to form a slight rim around the dough, working your way completely around the perimeter of the dough.  Repeat with the other half of the dough.  Lay the dough on a cornmeal dusted pizza pan.