Half Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Why do we always see our friends with bags of pizza dough from the local market or pizza shop in their fridge? Pizza dough should really be called lazy man’s dough, or easiest dough, because it is super easy and fast to make! I admit that I was one of those people not too long ago. When PB and I first started making our trips back and forth to Philadelphia (for me) and R.I. (for him), we often began our weekends together with a Boboli crust, canned sauce, and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.
Those days are long gone. I will be honest and say that it got to a point where one of us would call the other one to advise our arrival time and to get the oven hot and the dough rising! I remember many nights waiting in the airport, delayed, hungry, excited to see PB…. Arriving to his home with the smell of homemade pizza in the air was the greatest welcome. And it still is, except now it is our home.
PB is the doughmaker in the family. I just can’t make a classic pizza dough as well as he can. However, after a bit of experimentation, I was able to make a pretty rocking partial whole wheat dough! This one took a little while to perfect, and in fact I am still perfecting it, so any thoughts are greatly welcomed! I would love to make a perfect whole wheat pizza dough eventually. Also, I have found that you can’t use 100% whole wheat flour or the dough is just too dense.
Pizza Friday disappeared back in June, the last time I was in Philly before our wedding. I have decided to reinstate Pizza Friday, except now it will be Pizza Thursday since we are always out of town Friday night. So excited!!!! I am going to try really hard to make fantastic cheese-less pizzas for myself, but give me a few months to perfect that one… For now, I give you this:
One of last night’s cheese pizzas:
A random pizza two weeks ago, when PB had a stressful day:
Last night’s grilled zucchini pizza, which rocked:
And an extra cheesy pizza for PhillyBoy:
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Ingredients:
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1.5 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
olive oil for greasing the bowl before rising
Directions:
1. In the small bowl add the water and sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast has dissolved and the water mixture is slightly bubbly. Stir to dissolve if needed. Meanwhile, mix the whole wheat flour, bread flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the water/yeast mixture to the flour and combine. As the dough starts to come together dump it out on a floured surface and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Put the ball of dough in a large bowl coated with olive oil seam side up (I just wash the one previously used for the flour). Flip the dough over so that both sides of the dough are coated with the oil. Cover the dough directly with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until the dough has risen, about one hour.
4. Once the dough has grown in size, press it down, split into two for thicker crust pizza and into four for thin crust pizza*, and reform each portion into a ball. Place each in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, letting it rest for 15 minutes.
At this point you are ready to make your pizza! If you want to freeze it just pop it in a plastic freezer bag. To defrost place overnight in a large oiled bowl until the dough rises again.
*We usually make a big batch and freeze 2 of the balls for later use.
Basic tips of making your pizza:
1. Preheat your oven for at least an hour. The hotter the oven is the better your pizza will be. I usually preheat for about 60-80 minutes at 500 degrees.
2. Pizza stones are relatively cheap. Buy one. They do wonders for the crust. We keep ours in the oven at all times. Even if you don’t make sure you put it in the oven to preheat.
3. A quick brush of olive oil before placing your toppings on your pizza help the crust to not get soggy. Further, keep the toppings light so you don’t weigh down the pizza.
4. Cook your dough brushed with olive oil for a few minutes before adding your toppings. The dough needs more time then the toppings and you don’t want them to burn waiting for the dough.
5. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Everyone has different tastes and each component of the pizza can change the end result dramatically. Experimenting can help you find your favorite pizza… one that you can recreate at home over and over again.
To make your pizza:
1. Roll out your dough on a floured surface. I like my pizza to be super thin so I cut each bowl in half further to form 4 balls. Each one can make a 9 inch thin pizza. Brush with olive oil and place on pizza stone. Puncture in a few places with a fork so that the dough doesn’t bubble too much. Bake in oven for 5-6 minutes until the bottom of the crust is lightly brown.
2. Pull the pizza stone with the crust on it out of the oven and top the dough. I usually add about 1/2 cup of crushed tomatoes mixed with oregano plus about 1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese**. Put back in the oven until the cheese is bubbly and brown, about 5-7 minutes. Enjoy!
*We now buy dry mozzarella cheese in blocks and shred it in our food processor. We have found this method to be the best for the kind of pizza we like. However, you don’t even need cheese! I have experimented with adding sauce + vegetables and it is equally delicious, especially with a sprinkling of fresh basil before serving.
44 Responses to “Half Whole Wheat Pizza Dough”
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Thanks for the recipe! Your pizzas look delicious. If you don’t have bread flour, could you substitute white flour in the dough?
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Jen- Hi! You are a first time commenter yes? White flour/all purpose flour will be fine but I noticed that bread flour makes the crust crunchier.
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Hey girly! I love homemade dough- it is SO easy to make. I use the 101 cookbooks recipe with half whole wheat half all purpose. Love that you can freeze it and pull it out as you need it! Such a great easy week night meal. YUM! Hope you guys had fun last night. Josh was thrilled the Phils won!
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I love Party Pizza Friday! I do it almost every week – but my husband kind of gets sick of it every once in a while!
My dough recipe is no rise:
1 cup warm water
1 package yeast
let sit for 5 minutes
add 2.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
Mix together then knean for 1 minute and roll it out and you are good to go. This is enough for a 16 to 18 inch pizza. YUM!
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Hello – just found your blog, from the Wordpress homepage. I will definitely be bookmarking your page – looks like you have some great recipes here!
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LOVE our pizza dough – best part is NO oil in the dough (at least in my recipe)
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Congrats for making Freshly Pressed. Love the look of the pizza. I will bookmark and be back.
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I looooove whole wheat pizza dough. I put honey in my recipe and it is soo good. After reading your post, I really wish I was eating pizza.
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Pizza pie perfection!
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This looks so delicious…I would love to try and make it!
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Sabrina! This looks incredible. I’ll give it a go this weekend.
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I’m always astounded by people who can make homemade dough, but you make it seem so very easy! Thanks.
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interresting but can you grill it
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Hey! This was on the wordpress homepage as “freshly pressed”. When I saw “whole-wheat pizza” I knew it was you! Wonder how they pick them, anyway weird that I saw your blog when there are thousands of blogs out there!
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Justin- yes you can grill it! Here is one of my earlier batches when I was still experimenting: http://rhodeygirltests.com/2009/05/28/grilled-pizza/
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i loved reading your pizza making memories. i’ve always been so intimidated by making any kind of bread product from scratch. this recipe makes it seem easy though! perhaps i’ll consider an attempt.
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I’ve got to agree with you. Homemade pizza dough is where it is at. It is SO easy and tastes so ‘fresh.
Great post since I adore pizza!
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I am so impressed that you guys make your own pizza dough! Wish I could have dinner at your house!
http://www.theprettyproject.com
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grilled zuchini! yummmm
jenna
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I love homemade pizza crust – try honey instead of the sugar – it is amazing.
I agree about the pizza stone – I got mine for $15 and it is one of the most loved things in our kitchen.
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Nothing beats homemade pizza crust. A pizza stone is a super investment.. my parents have one but we dont.. AHHHH shoulda put that on the registry..lol.
Although I dont eat cheese, I gotta say your pizzas look incredibly yummy. I like that you guys buy moz. in blocks.. I bet its soo much fresher than the bagged kind.
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Your pizza looks absolutely out of this world! We get together with a group of friends (for ten years now) for pizza once a month. On the other weeks, I make pizza at home – love the whole wheat recipe!
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Love this!! Sounds and looks delish!!
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It’s funny, I made some whole wheat pizza dough last night without seeing your blog. Mine was ok, but to dense. Not airy or light. I think I screwed up by not getting the water warm enough or using enough water to activate the yeast. But crust was firm and crisp but not light inside and it didn’t expand much. It was more like a flat bread then a pizza crust. Ah will, I plan on trying again. Great directions.
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Great tips on the making of pizza and great pics. I have been experimenting with whole grain crusts and you are right so far, they are just too dense. This last time I got closer, so I am not giving up though.
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Hi Sabrina,
I just read your biography after seeing your posting on Pizza. My family and I have been crazy about delicious organic food for years now. I am totally in support of the belief that organic is better for our bodies. It is the way all food used to be and hopefully will return to being.
The problem is that I have encountered many people who say organic food is too expensive, not affordable etc. Good news is one solution. Since my family where on a sub $1000 a month budget when we started eating organic we have sort of mastered the ‘eating on a budget organic food’ technique. This led me by request of friends to writing an e book on ‘how to buy organic food inexpensively’. I am hoping you will post this post with the link to this inexpensive book so more people will start to buy and enjoy organic food.
The link is http://www.thewondertechnique.com/buyorganicfood.htm
Thank you for writing and sharing your passion.
David
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Yum! So glad I’ve got pizza on the menu at home this evening after seeing such a delicious looking post! I’ve found that I can use 100% whole wheat flour if I roll the dough reeeeeaaaaaly thin (which is how I prefer it anyway), almost like a flatbread. The recipe I uses looks fairly similar. Maybe it’s worth another try? LOVE the idea of a grilled zucchini pizza!
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Your pizza looks delicious- I am a pizza dough newbie- actually never made it and would love to give it a try!
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I’m loving all of your pizza creations! I haven’t made my own dough yet but it seems so easy – thanks for the recipe
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The coolest moods on the southcoast
U must indulge…
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Wua… cool idea. I would like to make it some time, just had Hawaiian pizza for dinner tonight.
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all the pizza’s look so good! I love home made pizza for dinner
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pizzas do look delicious
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Love this…pizza looks delicious and all homemade too. I used to make pizza at home but too busy nowadays…so Pizza Express comes in handy but this is sensational!
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Its looks delicious, bt i wish it will be available here soon. whole wheat is healthy and tasty, Making pizza with it is great
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Whole wheat great for health and pizza great for taste. Combination of both are great!
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Que delícia! hummmmmm
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MAN! PIZZA IS SOOO GOOD!!
love it.
P.S. I’m doing a bloggy COAT post, of coats from all around blog world, so if you have a picture with your favorite coat, please email it to me!!
glidingcalm AT gmail DOT com !!
happy weekend!!!!!!!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
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This pizza looks amazing!! I’m definitely trying it out this weekend!
I love that PB comments on your posts. So cute! How did you guys meet?! I’m sure you wrote about this somewhere – I should go find it!
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Erin- You just sent me on a serious search!!! Here is a poorly written story about the night we met: http://rhodeygirltests.com/2008/04/09/how-our-story-began/ and here is the proposal story (also very poorly written for some reason BLAH!): http://rhodeygirltests.com/2008/05/02/engaged/
Have a fabulous night!
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rhodeygirltests Reply:
October 30th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
P.S. thank you for your nice comment!
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How would it work with white-wheat flour?
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can you calculate the calories for this recipe? we are invited to go to a pizza party tonight where the host will make homemade pizza so we’re doubly excited. we haven’t had a chance to make our own yet (no pizza stone, and dead yeast) but i will give your recipe a chance once i get ahold of yeast which isn’t expired
as far as block of dry cheese, cheaper to buy bulk then shred?
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RhodeyGirlTests Reply:
March 18th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
@chau, You can make pizza on a baking sheet- no pizza stone necessary- so keep that in mind when you are ready to make your own! When we are making a lot of pizza we always buy the blocks and shred the cheese ourselves- yes it is much cheaper. However, when we are making only one pizza we usually use shredded as we are lazy! I am not sure of the calories of this recipe.
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