One reason that I have never learned to make pizza is that pizza is junk food in my mind – white flour and loaded with saturated fat from cheese and maybe some sausage too. But Judy helped me take the first step in changing that mental view by sending the recipe for whole-wheat dough. I used toppings that I would feel good both about serving to Dr. Grandpa (diabetic friendly menu item) and eating myself.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole wheat flour (Note: If someone is unsure about whole wheat pizza, they can start out by breaking into the taste difference. They can blend 2 cups whole wheat with 2 cups unbleached all-purpose. Another alternative is using white whole wheat flour, which doesn't have that hearty wheat taste, but it still nutritious.) Joyce note: white, whole wheat flour is a small step down in nutrition.
  
  

• 1 tsp. Morton's low-sodium salt
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 packages dry yeast or the equivalent from jarred yeast (one package is 2-1/2 tsp. so - 4-1/2 teaspoons) Joyce’s note: I used 4 ½ teaspoons of yeast for bread makers.
• 1-1/2 cups warm water (not above 110 degrees)
• 2 tsp. light brown sugar or a sugar alternative if preferred. Honey is a nice mix with the whole wheat. Joyce’s note: Don’t use a calorie-free sweetener here.

Directions:

Measure 1/2 cup warm water into a measuring cup. Stir in the brown sugar and then dissolve the yeast in this mix. The yeast mixture will become frothy. Set it aside for at least 5 minutes.

Sift four cups of flour into a large mixing bowl with the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the olive oil and the remaining one-cup of water. After at least the five-minute resting period for the yeast, add it to the flour. Mix all of the ingredients by hand and knead for 8 to 10 minutes.

With a stand mixer, attach the dough hook. Add the yeast to the flour olive oil mix and blend at level 2 until all ingredients are combined. Continue to blend until the dough forms a smooth ball. This is approximately 4 - 5 minutes. If the dough seems too sticky, add some flour a bit at a time until it smoothes out. Joyce’s note: I have a stand mixer, but decided to do it all by hand. Having done it by hand, I’m not sure it is worth getting the mixer out and washing it.

 

Rub the inside of a large bowl with olive oil to coat. Place the dough into the bowl and turn to coat with the olive oil. Cover with a clean towel and let rest in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours. Dough will approximately double in size. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a floured surface and get ready to roll out those pizzas.

This recipe will make 3 - 4 thin crust pizzas. We enjoy a really thin crust, so we can usually make 4 12" pizzas for us (rolled out to almost the size of the pizza peel). Joyce note: I ended up with 3 12” pizzas – the third one was about 14” pizza. The dough also freezes well for one month. Thaw in the refrigerator; bring to room temperature and roll.

We use a docker on the pizza crust for the thin crust. Joyce’s notes: If you don’t have a docker use a fork and just poke the flattened dough all over. Some of our favorite toppings are homemade chicken or turkey sausage, fresh mushrooms; fresh spinach, roasted red peppers and I make a pretty mean taco pizza!

So yummy and fun to do!

Take care,

Judy