Monday, March 14, 2011

Herbed Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

This is a recipe from the King Arthur Flour cookbook Whole Grain Baking. The recipes have been really great so far and of course they all involve King Arthur Flours which are the best! (Sidenote: All the recipes are whole grain but not necessarily low fat...)

3 3/4 C white whole wheat flour
1 T plus 1 1/2 t instant yeast
1 1/2 C cold water
1 T honey
1 T olive oil
2 t salt
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried basil or rosemary
1/2 t cayenne pepper (I left this out for my kids' sake)

DIRECTIONS:
Measure 2 cups of the flour into a medium mixing bowl and stir in the yeast. Combine the water and honey, add to the flour mixture and stir to mix well. Cover with plastic and let rest for 1 hour.

Stir in the olive oil, salt, herbs and pepper, then add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until shiny and elastic but still soft. (I just left mine in the mixer for three or so minutes with the dough hook.) Resist the temptation to keep adding flour--this should be softer than bread dough. The whole grains will also soak up more of the water in the dough as it rests. Divide in two and let rest for 1 1/2 hours. Roll into two pizzas, top & bake at 450 for 12+ minutes and voila!

PS: I recently discovered that my kids love "cheese and rosemary pizza", which is actually this crust recipe with no sauce & topped with finely chopped spinach and cheese. Ha!

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