Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I can’t think of one person I know that doesn’t love pizza.  Traveling husband and I are no exception.  Recently we were in Chicago and had deep dish pizza twice in 4 days.  I think it’s more truthful to say we ate deep dish pizza everyday of our trip but only went to two restaurants.  Left over pizza is the best! 

I’m always looking for ways to make this American staple a little healthier so this whole wheat pizza crust caught my attention.  Since I was on a roll with yeast this week (ha-ha yeast roll), I thought there’s no better time to try making home-made pizza crust. 

I found this recipe on Tina’s blog Carrots ‘N’ Cake but was originally posted on cdKitchen.com.  We’re very happy with the end result.  I’ll try to cut the recipe in half next time as this made two large pizzas with an average crust, not too thin, not too thick.  The point is I will make this again.  It’s a keeper.

Our local Wegman’s grocery store has a home-made pizza section with fresh sauce and grated cheese ready to take home.  You can even buy pizza crust dough already made.  All you have to do is roll it out, slap the toppings on and bake.  But what fun is that?  I did pick up some sauce however, and grabbed the cheese too.  I thought it would be a little over the top to make everything from scratch!  Nobody likes an over-achiever!

Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
Ingredients:1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes.

Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings (sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables).

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

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Thanks so much for stopping by ~ Tricia