Honey Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
This is not a completely whole wheat dough. I have found that trying to do most any bread recipe with completely whole wheat flour just does not have the same tenderness that I require. It is also difficult to have completely whole wheat dough develope the gluten needed (in my opinion) for bread and pizza. You can certainly try more whole wheat flour if you’d like to up it in this dough but this is the recipe I follow and it gives just the right bit of nuttiness so that I don’t feel TOO sinful eating pizza.
Generally, when I make this dough I will spread the whole thing out on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with olive oil. You could certainly get two good sized pizza’s out of this dough and do cornmeal on the bottom (also a favorite of mine).
I know that most people would rather buy premade dough or buy premade pizza but I find that making pizza dough was one of my ‘gateway doughs’ to making my own bread. I got tired of spending $20 on a mediocre pizza when I could make fabulous homemade pizza at home for pennies. This is my first dough creation and it takes hints and tricks from some of my other favorite pizza doughs.
Honey Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 tsp honey
2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one packet)
1 1/4 cup warm water (about 100-110 degrees)
2 TBS olive oil
2 cups AP flour (1/2 cup divided out)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
Optional cornmeal for dusting
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1. Place honey, yeast, olive oil, and warm water into the bottom of your mixing bowl (I use a kitchenaid with a dough hook for this). Let stand for 5-10 minutes or until foamy.
2. Add all of the whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups AP flour and salt. Turn on mixer (or combine by hand) for 5-10 minutes. I do this on low, occassionally scraping down the sides and adding more flour as I go until I have added the last 1/2 cup.
3. You want to continue to mix the dough in the mixer until it has formed a ball around the dough hook. The pizza dough should be anchored on the bottom of the bowl, moist, and still smooth. It will feel very warm and nice if you touch it. Some people prefer to take it out and do some of the kneading by hand, but I do not find this necessary. Depending on the time of year, the moisture in your kitchen, and other factors you may need up to 1/4 cup more flour or a few extra drops of water.
4. Spray a glass mixing bowl with your olive oil spray (or dribble some in). Transfer your dough and turn it in the spray/olive oil. Place in a warm dry place and top with a towel, cling wrap, or tight fitting plate. Let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours (or until it is doubled in size and you can stick your finger in the middle and it will bounce back).
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If you have a pizza stone you may want to start this when you first start the pizza dough rising to let it heat. If you do the cookie sheet method you do not need to let the oven heat beyond the regular pre-heat time.
6. Spray your cookie sheet with olive oil spray (or sprinkle liberally with cornmeal). Take your pizza dough and stretch it out until it is completely covered with the dough. This is a pretty forgiving dough and if it rips in the middle or whatnot just try and re-stretch it. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 18-25 minutes (until it is done to your desired brown and crispyness).
For my Weight Watchers friends: You can have 1/4 of this dough for 8 points or 1/6th of the dough for 5! Not a bad deal.
1.
Still to wet. . . time to add the other 1/2 cup of flour.
2.
Perfect! See how it clings to the hook but is still moist? You don’t want it too dry. Definitely stay on the side of too wet instead of too dry.
3.
Before the rise! Go baby go!
4.
Perfect! Time to make your favorite pizza!
Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza
This recipe was originally another one by Ina Garten on Barefoot Contessa. I decided to funky it up a little bit by adding butternut squash instead of arugula salad on top of it. This is her pizza dough recipe and I did the dough and olive oil exactly as stated in the original recipe. From there I changed it up!
This pizza was inspired by a brick oven pizza place in my home town. They have all sorts of strange combination pizzas.
- For the pizza
- 1 1/4 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
- 2 packages dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Good olive oil
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
- Kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme, set some aside
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups grated fresh mozzarella (7 ounces)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 11 ounces creamy goat cheese such as Montrachet, crumbled
- 2 cups of cubed and roasted butternut squash *
Directions
For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 3 tablespoons olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups of the flour, then 2 teaspoons salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup of flour, or just enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl. When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Place 1/2 cup olive oil, the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Dump the dough onto a board and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Shape the dough into two pizzas (can be made into as many as 6 if wanted). Place onto a lined sheet or put directly on pizza stone if you have that option. (If you’ve chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.) Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Parmesan, mozzarella, and goat cheese. Top with roasted butternut squash and fresh thyme leaves. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.
*To roast butternut squash peel and cube into small pieces. Toss with salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Roast in the oven at 350 for thirty minutes. Let cool before putting it on pizza.
Garlic Parmesan Knots
I was feeling a little guilty that the Hubs was getting a dinner a la the freezer tonight (see Pasta Bolognese) and had some time on my hands. It was too late in the afternoon to make our favorite french bread or no knead bread so I decided to tweak our favorite pizza dough recipe into some garlic parmesan knots. This might take a little playing with to get the right dough but well worth it and great for dunking! This recipe would be easy to double up. It will make enough knots for four people as is!
I did these in my kitchenaid mixer with a dough attachment. There is so little dough that it could easily be done by hand though!
Garlic Parmesan Knots
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water (it should feel warm to the touch, not hot)
1 tbs olive oil (the best you have)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or less, to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (plus 1/4 cup to add if still to wet)
1-2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
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Place sugar, yeast, and water in the bowl of your mixer. Agitate a little bit (with a wooden spoon or the dough hook of the mixer) and let set until foamy and smells like yeast. Add olive oil and flour. Combine with dough hook. Add salt, oregano, and garlic.
Turn the mixer back onto medium speed. You will have to keep your eye on the dough until it comes together. You want it to be lifted off the sides of the bowl and grasp to the dough hook but still be slightly tacky. Add flour as needed (I needed about 1 3/4 cup but it depends on the day and weather). Let the dough hook go for at least 7-10 minutes to develop a nice chewy dough. It should be shiny.
Place mixture into a small mixing bowl that has been sprayed with olive oil spray or drizzle with olive oil. Turn the dough in the oil to make sure it is coated. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place. Let rise 1 hour until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you have a pizza stone make sure it is in the oven when preheating. If not you can just use a cookie sheet.
At this point you can shape the dough however you like. You could easily pull it into braids or bread sticks. I decided to do little knots. To do this I divided the dough into eight portions (you could go bigger and do only four knots) and then pulled them into a long snake and then pulled it into an easy sailor knot. I placed it on a silpat, covered with olive oil spray, and let rise for another half hour.
Top each knot with parmesan cheese and spritz again with olive oil cooking spray for even browning. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
They turned out great! Fabulous for soaking up sauce. You could even put a little nuget of mozzarella cheese in the middle of these to make them extra yummy!
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