One of our family’s weekly dinners is pizza. We all love it and have found it pretty simple to make at home. I thought I would share the pizza dough recipe we use. This recipe is adapted from homemakers.com Whole Wheat Pizza Crust. Using half whole wheat flour increases the nutritional value of the dough from all white flour.
My favorite way to make the dough is in our bread machine on the dough only cycle. Our machine actually has a pizza dough cycle that we use but dough only would work just fine. Although the original recipe is not intended for a bread machine it still works great. I will list the recipe in the order you would put them into the machine.
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon honey
1 ½ cups white flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt (if using bread machine poor in the corner)
2 teaspoons yeast (for bread machine put yeast in a well in the center of the flour)
Tip: use the same measuring spoon for the honey that you originally used for the olive oil without cleaning it first. This way the honey does not stick to the measuring spoon and slides out easily.
One ingredient I leave out that the original recipe calls for is ½ teaspoon pepper. I like the dough better without the pepper. In addition the recipe calls for cornmeal to sprinkle on the baking pan to keep the dough from sticking.
Instead of cornmeal my favorite thing to do is to lightly spray a piece of waxed paper with olive oil. I spray both sides to keep the paper from sliding around the pan when spreading the dough. As well the dough when cooked doesn’t stick to the paper and the olive oil gives the dough some added flavor. Using waxed paper makes it super easy to lift the pizza right out of the pan and onto the cutting board. With the waxed paper underneath your cutting board doesn’t become a cheesy, saucy mess so it makes for an easy cleanup.
If you are not ready to use the dough yet lightly oil a bowl, cover, and store in the fridge. You can even make the dough the day before, or store it tightly wrapped in the freezer. Sometimes I will make a double batch of dough and store half in the freezer for the next week. 1 or 2 days before I want to use it I let the dough thaw in the fridge.
Chilled dough for me has always been easier to spread in the pan. It is less sticky and stretches better without ripping as much.
Tip: it is easier to stretch the dough some working with gravity first, and then place into the pan to finish stretching it.
Just add your favorite sauce and toppings! I use a tomato based pizza sauce, and my son’s favorite topping is pepperoni. I also like to use a blend of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Pizza seasoning on top of the cheese is a great addition as well.
For this dough recipe I use my 17.25 x 11.5 inch baking pan.
Cook the pizza at 425 degrees F for about 10 – 15 minutes. Look for the cheese to be completely melted and slightly browned in spots.
My favorite way to make the dough is in our bread machine on the dough only cycle. Our machine actually has a pizza dough cycle that we use but dough only would work just fine. Although the original recipe is not intended for a bread machine it still works great. I will list the recipe in the order you would put them into the machine.
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon honey
1 ½ cups white flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt (if using bread machine poor in the corner)
2 teaspoons yeast (for bread machine put yeast in a well in the center of the flour)
Tip: use the same measuring spoon for the honey that you originally used for the olive oil without cleaning it first. This way the honey does not stick to the measuring spoon and slides out easily.
One ingredient I leave out that the original recipe calls for is ½ teaspoon pepper. I like the dough better without the pepper. In addition the recipe calls for cornmeal to sprinkle on the baking pan to keep the dough from sticking.
Instead of cornmeal my favorite thing to do is to lightly spray a piece of waxed paper with olive oil. I spray both sides to keep the paper from sliding around the pan when spreading the dough. As well the dough when cooked doesn’t stick to the paper and the olive oil gives the dough some added flavor. Using waxed paper makes it super easy to lift the pizza right out of the pan and onto the cutting board. With the waxed paper underneath your cutting board doesn’t become a cheesy, saucy mess so it makes for an easy cleanup.
If you are not ready to use the dough yet lightly oil a bowl, cover, and store in the fridge. You can even make the dough the day before, or store it tightly wrapped in the freezer. Sometimes I will make a double batch of dough and store half in the freezer for the next week. 1 or 2 days before I want to use it I let the dough thaw in the fridge.
Chilled dough for me has always been easier to spread in the pan. It is less sticky and stretches better without ripping as much.
Tip: it is easier to stretch the dough some working with gravity first, and then place into the pan to finish stretching it.
Just add your favorite sauce and toppings! I use a tomato based pizza sauce, and my son’s favorite topping is pepperoni. I also like to use a blend of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Pizza seasoning on top of the cheese is a great addition as well.
For this dough recipe I use my 17.25 x 11.5 inch baking pan.
Cook the pizza at 425 degrees F for about 10 – 15 minutes. Look for the cheese to be completely melted and slightly browned in spots.
