A few months ago I attempted to make pizza dough from scratch. It was complete disaster. Not sure where I went wrong, but it was so wrong I had no desire to try again. It's much easier to swing into Trader Joe's and pick up a bag of dough.
Encouraged by a dear friend to give it another go, this time with her recipe and the proper mixture of flours, I set out to prove my sweet, kind, and encouraging friend wrong. It totally backfired and what I ended up with was the most amazing pizza dough I have ever tasted.
I made
pizza bites one night. Seriously delicious and easy! The stuffing possibilities are endless.
And the next night I made a spinach pizza with sliced onion, tomato, mozzarella, and bacon.
Thank you Brandi for believing in me and my pizza dough skills. And thank you for
the recipe!
Recipe courtesy of Brandi from Pizzelles, adapted from Baker’s Illustrated
1/2 cup warm water, approximately 110 degrees F
1 envelope of dry active yeast
2 cups bread flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour (emphasis on the “white”)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup water at room temperature
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1. In a 2-cup measuring cup, place the warm water and add the yeast to it. Let stand for five minutes.
2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, add all the flours and salt. Pulse two or three times to mix the flours and salt.
3. Add the room temperature water and olive oil to the yeast mixture and stir once.
4. Pour most of the yeast mixture into the food processor, reserving 2-4 tablespoons. Pulse until a ball of dough begins to form. If the ball is too dry, add some of the reserved yeast mixture.
5. Remove dough from food processor and transfer to a floured work surface. Knead the dough a few times, then place it in a large bowl oiled down with olive oil. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 3 hours, so dough can rise. The dough will not rise as substantially with the whole wheat flour than it would if you only used bread flour. Don’t worry.
6. After dough has risen, remove from the bowl and return to floured work surface. The dough will make 2 large pizzas, or 4 small ones. I recommend cutting the dough in half and wrapping the half you don’t intend to use in plastic wrap. It can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for up to a month (just let it thaw in the refrigerator before using it).
7. Pizza stone should be heating in the oven at 400 degrees F.
8. Begin working your ball of dough, stretching it with the backs of your hands, not your fingers (you’ll cause tears). When finished, place on heated pizza stone, top with sauce and cheese (and other toppings), and cook for at least 15-20 minutes or until cheese browns to your liking.
