Whole Wheat Pizza: I Need to Knead More
My first attempt at homemade pizza. It was quite the adventure but I’m glad I gave it a try. While this turned out pretty good, I’ll try a couple tweaks next time to see if it can be improved. What I was going for with this recipe was:
1. Whole wheat crust
2. Super simple ingredients and process
CRUST
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
SAUCE
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp water
TOPPINGS
1 package part skim mozzarella cheese
8 to 10 button mushrooms, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
First I combined the warm water, honey, and yeast in a bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then I added this to the mixture of flour, salt, and oil and mixed until a soft ball was formed.
I didn’t time this next part but I probably kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes at this point. Then I placed the dough in a bowl and covered it with some plastic wrap and left it on the counter. In other recipes it’ll say to let this rest in a warm area. In Hawaii, my whole house is warm at this time of the year so that was no problem.
While it sat and did its thing, I chopped up my toppings – in this case mushrooms and bell peppers. I also prepared the sauce combining all the sauce ingredients and mashing up the pieces of tomato with a fork.
Next, out came the dough and I divided it into two halves. Each piece can make a pizza approximately 12 inches in diameter. I figured one pizza would be enough for dinner this night. I kind of half rolled out, half stretched out the dough and placed it on a round pizza pan. Slathered on some sauce, piled with toppings, sprinkled with cheese, and placed it into the oven at 425 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
It turned out pretty well, especially for my first time…and for using whole wheat flour. Next time I’ll try kneading for 8 to 10 minutes so that the dough gets a little more smooth and elastic. Also I’ll try to get the dough rolled out a little thinner, just to see how that works out. But taste wise, this was pretty good. We even got out that other half of dough and made another pizza right after finishing the first one. The two of us were able to eat every last bite of the second one as well. oink oink.
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12 comments - May 24, 2008
That looks good. I like the use of the whole wheat in the crust.
Oh my, that looks so delicious! I’ll have to try this one day soon! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Kevin,
The whole wheat crust makes the pizza so much more filling!
Hi jenny,
You’re welcome, hope it works out for you. Don’t forget to knead it a little longer.
This is great because with the whole wheat I am able to stop myself at two pieces!
Looks good for a first. I need to start making whole wheat crusts…
Hi noble pig and cookinpanda,
Thanks for stopping by…I’m glad you liked that it was whole wheat.
my crust recipe says to knead for 15 minutes…be prepared to have sore arms
this pizza looks like a pro!!
Hi kat,
Thanks, that’s so nice of you to say. And thanks for the tip, I’ll try 10 to 15 min. of kneading instead.
I love your post title! And from reading it, figured that you had something to say about kneading dough. I gotta admit that I don’t make pizza dough that much (eh, get plenny pizzerias around here!), hence, the sore arms and hands when I occasionally do. Looks great though!
Hi rowena,
Yeah, let the guys at the pizzerias get the tired arms.
I so miss the pizza in Italy!
Great job on the pizza–it looks fantastic! I really need to start making dough at home, preferably whole wheat.
Hi Elle,
Thanks for the encouraging words! The whole wheat was good, didn’t rise as much – but much more filling.
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