Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

These days I use a counter-top Hobart mixer with a dough hook, but this recipe’s easy enough to mix and knead by hand. I start the dough about an hour ahead of time on warm days, two hours ahead if the weather’s cooler. This allows plenty of time for the dough to rise and the yeast and gluten to develop properly.

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Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 2 14" pizzas

Ingredients

4 teaspoons instant yeast (2 packages)
2 cups tepid water
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1/4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour

Directions

Mixer instructions: Add all ingredients to the bowl and mix on low speed with dough hook until all ingredients are well-mixed. Let rest ten minutes, then knead with dough hook for 2-3 more minutes. Let rise until doubled. Punch down. Divide into two equal portions.

Hand mixing instructions: Whisk together the first five ingredients, making sure the sugar and yeast are dissolved. Stir the salt into the whole wheat flour, then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining flour in 1/2 cup increments, mixing well until the dough is too thick to stir. Turn onto a well-floured surface and knead in the remaining flour. When dough is smooth, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down. Divide into two equal portions.

Finishing the dough: This dough works equally well for a pizza pan or cooking directly on a hot pizza stone. If using a pan, oil lightly and roll out the dough to fit. If using a pizza stone, be sure to preheat the oven to 450 degrees about 45 minutes before baking time so the stone has time to get hot enough.

Categories: Breads, Pizza Crusts

Submitted by: laurap on October 4, 2010