Saturday, February 12, 2011

Whole wheat pizza!

Oh, the joys of pizza. If I ever have had a hankering for some cheesy dish, you can bet your ass it was for a fresh slice of pizza! With my discovery of Daiya mozzarella cheese a few months back, now I don't have to miss out. This is an incredibly easy recipe, but a tad time consuming; the crust takes an hour to rise. Not bad though, considering it only takes 20 minutes of hands-on prep time before you pop it in the oven. I chose whole wheat flour for the crust because of the health benefit, but I'm sure it tastes just as good with other flours.

For the Crust:
4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 tbsp active yeast
2 cups warm water
1 tsp sugar of choice
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1. In a large dish, combine warm water and sugar. Mix well, then add the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Mix in 1 tbsp olive oil, pepper and minced garlic. Slowly add the whole wheat flour until the mixture starts to clump and form dough.
3. Sprinkle unbleached flour onto counter, tip the dough onto flour. Knead and form into a large ball.
4. Use the rest of the olive oil to cover sides of a large bowl. Add dough, make sure to oil all of the dough. Cover and let sit for 1 hour.

For the Sauce:
36 oz tomato sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh basil
1/2 tsp fresh parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
5 cloves roasted garlic
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp local honey (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper


1. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil, heat in oven @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes on center rack.
2. In a saucepan, combine other ingredients and heat over medium-low . Stir occasionally, add garlic when finished roasting. Remove from heat, or turn to low. I'd suggest letting it sit and stew for 20-30 minutes.

For the toppings:
1 tbsp basil
1 bag Daiya (for every 2 pizzas)
Chopped veggies/fruits/whatever you like!


After the dough has risen and the sauce has sat in it's own juices, it's time to combine the two! The dough should be plenty for 2 pies, so size it up and split it. Get out your pizza pan, or pizza stone if you're a lucky bugger, and place the dough in the center. Evenly spread the dough out in all directions until you've reach a thickness and shape you desire. Pinch along the outside lip to raise the edge; this will hold in the sauce and give you a nice crust to grip when you eat. After you spread the sauce, cover with cheese (As I noted, I prefer Daiya cheese!) and sprinkle on your favorite toppings. On this batch I chopped up onions, green and red peppers, and mushrooms. It was delicious, I highly recommend the combo! Pop the pies in the oven, heat @ 425 for 18-20 minutes or until the crush is turning golden and cheese is melted. Take out, let cool for 2 minutes (that's about as long as I can stand the mouth-watering aroma before I tear into it), slice and serve! Might I suggest a hearty stout or porter to compliment the whole wheat crust... or an ale/lager if you're into lighter refreshment.



1 comment:

  1. Yum! You should get me some of that cheese for my birthday!! Then come over and make me a pizza with it

    ReplyDelete