Healthier Alternative Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Food

HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Mix the first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix well until dough leaves the side of the bowl, I usually do this with a serving spoon and then a use my hands.
• Knead dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes or until smooth with some elasticity.
• You may use it immediately by rolling it out on a 12in. pizza pan or place in a bowl and cover with a towel and let stand, if you do this punch down before rolling onto a 12in. pizza pan.
• Put on your desired toppings and bake at 425 for about 20-23 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine water with honey and yeast, stir to dissolve. Mix in half of the flour until it makes a smooth batter. Let sit for around 10 minutes until it looks bubbly or foamy. This creates a sponge.
• Mix the remaining flour, salt and olive oil into the sponge. If you are using a heavy duty mixer, use the paddle attachment on low speed until it makes shaggy dough. Switch to the bread hook and knead the dough for around 4-6 minutes at medium/low speed until it's satiny and springs back to the touch. It should be easy to handle and only a little sticky.
• If you are making this by hand, it will take strong a strong back and hands to get the right "pizza" texture. Once you've combined the ingredients into kneadable dough, turn it out onto a clean lightly floured surface and knead it by hand for a good 10 minutes until is is satiny and springy. Don't add too much flour while kneading or the dough will be tough. Did I mention how much I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer? I love it!
• Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, set aside one for your pizza. Take the other 3 portion, form into a ball and flatten into a thick disc. I just stick them into individual quart size freezer bags and put them into the freezer. When you want pizza, pull the crust from the freezer and let it sit out on the counter for at least 1 hour to thaw. It should be close to room temp, but don't let it sit too long or it will start to rise.
• When I'm ready to make my actual pizza, I preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place one of the oven shelves on the bottom rack. To get good pizza, it takes a very hot oven. I lightly oil the bar or pizza pan with olive oil and my hands. This keeps the dough from sticking to you and to the pan. Lightly press into the bottom of the pizza pan to spread the dough into a crust.
• Place your toppings on the pizza, don't put too many on or it will be soggy. DH and I like spinach and chicken pizza, with ranch dressing instead of tomato sauce. Yummy.
• Once the oven is hot, place the pizza on the bottom shelf and allow to bake for 10-12 minutes until the crust is crisp and golden brown. Keep an eye on it, it can over cook easily with a hot oven.
• Pull out of the oven, let sit for a 2-3 minutes to set. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve sugar into water. Add yeast and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes in a warm spot for yeast to grow. It should look foamy on top when it is ready.
• Meanwhile, mix whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl.
• After yeast has developed for 10 minutes, add it to the flour mixture and mix. Once it is blended, add the olive oil. Knead for 2 minutes (until oil is fully incorporated). It will probably be quite sticky.
• Cover the bowl of dough with a damp towel and leave in a warm place for dough to rise. The dough should approximately double in size (this can take 20-60 minutes).
• Turn dough onto floured surface and knead for a couple minutes. If your dough is still sticky, you can incorporate more flour while kneading until it is easy to handle (I usually need to add another tablespoon at least).
• Divide dough into 4 balls. each ball will make one pizza (approximately 10 inches, depending how thin you roll it out), or 1 calzone. Dough can be refrigerated for a day or two, or frozen for longer.
• Lightly oil pizza pan before putting dough on it. Bake each pizza at 450F for 10-20 minutes (time will vary depending on the amount of toppings). You can pre-bake the crust for a few minutes if you like to keep the crust drier (often a good idea if you use a lot of "wet" ingredients, like fresh pineapple).