100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

 

Yield: 2 medium to large pizzas

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. yeast
• 1 1/3 cups cold water
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Pizza sauce (see notes or farther up in the post for a great recipe)
• Cheese
• Toppings

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix to combine. Add the cold water and oil and mix until a soft dough forms. The dough will be sticky to the touch and a lot wetter than a traditional yeast bread dough. This is how it's supposed to be.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days. The dough will not rise much in the fridge and that's ok.

Pull the dough out the the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for one hour before using. While the dough is resting preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to heat, too. I would recommend using a stone for baking this pizza. If you don't have a stone you can turn your biggest cookie sheet upside down (so that the flat side is up) or use a rimless sheet. If you are using a stone let the stone heat for 30 minutes. If using a baking sheet, let it heat for 15 minutes.

When the oven is hot, cut your dough in half. Place half of the dough on a piece of parchment paper that is 18 inches long. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough (on top of the parchment paper) into a 12 to 14 inch circle. The dough should be pretty thin (and the thickness of the dough determines the size of pizza in the end). I like mine very thin so I roll it out to about 1/4 inch in thickness. My husband likes a more "bready" pizza so I make one that is about 1/2 inch thick for him. The dough will rise a bit while baking and the very thin does not get crispy. I say try a few thicknesses out and see which you prefer.

Top with 1 cup of pizza sauce, 1/4 cup grate Parmesan, 1 to 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella, and toppings of your choice.

When the pizza is all ready, slide the pizza, which is on the parchment paper, onto a rimless cookie sheet or one that is upside down. This will help you get the pizza to the oven.

Open the oven and slide the pizza which is still on the parchment paper, from the cookie sheet onto the hot baking stone or hot cookie sheet. I just tug on the edge of the parchment paper with my hands and slide it on to the stone. BE CAREFUL! Your oven is set to 500. It's super hot, obviously! Make sure the babies are out of the way and be careful when sliding the pizza into the oven.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the top is bubbly and the edges are starting to brown. When the pizza is done, tug the edge of the parchment paper and slide the pizza back onto the cookie sheet you used to transfer it to the oven. Again, be careful!

Let your stone reheat for 10 minutes. While the stone is heating, repeat the whole thing with the second half of the dough and bake the same way.

Enjoy, enjoy enjoy!

I serve it right off of the parchment paper (which gets all dark and cooked looking) or I'll tear off a new piece and serve it on a crisp white sheet of parchment. Very pretty!

Notes

Quick and Easy Pizza Sauce from America's Test Kitchen: 2 T. olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (extra points if you home can them, which I do every summer!) - In a small sauce pan cook the oil and garlic together over medium heat until the garlic starts to smell good. Add the tomatoes and simmer until it thickens a bit, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. DONE!