Half Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (a work-in-progress)

I am a pizza snob. While my parents are from Chicago, our favorite pizza is actually thin crust. We swear by Giordano's for deep dish, but what we actually spend nights dreaming about is the paper-thin crust of Nick & Vito's. My crust is a far cry from either of those, but it is a vast improvement on anything I can find around here.

My sister has been after me to start incorporating whole wheat flour into my cooking. I would highly recommend the recipe below if you are using all-purpose or bread flour. As for the whole wheat, it was good, but not great, and a little on the bitter side (although, that could just be my Wonder-Bread-trained palate), and that is why it is still a work in progress. I think the next time I make it, I will try adding a tablespoon or two of honey to the dough to see if it combats the bitterness.

The dough recipe is an adaptation of Emeril's, but I find I need far more flour than he uses. As for pizza sauce, I started with Giada's marinara sauce and tweaked it to suit my tastes. I will do a post on that once I make a fresh batch, but for pizza the other night, I just used a frozen batch from a while ago. You can also buy canned pizza sauce if you're looking for something quick and easy. With respect to toppings, use whatever you have on hand; peppers and onions happened to be already chopped in my fridge from salads and quesadillas earlier in the week. Other favorites of mine include drained, crushed pineapple or roasted garlic with caramelized onion. I usually top with a mixture of part-skim shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Fontina makes a very tasty topping as well.

Pizza Dough

1 c. warm water (about 110F, use a thermometer!)
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 to 3 1/4 c. flour (I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose this time, adjust to your preference)
Cornmeal for sprinkling

In a 2-cup glass or plastic measuring cup, mix the water, yeast, and sugar with a plastic spoon (yeast hate metal, for whatever reason, so always use glass or plastic when working with breads). Let stand about 5 minutes, until the yeast has "proofed" or turned foamy and bubbly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (metal works fine here), combine 2 1/4 cups of flour (whole wheat or a mixture), the salt, and the olive oil. Pour in the yeast mixture, and knead with a dough hook. I usually set it to 2 until the flour gets worked in, and then I move it up to about 5. You will want to knead the dough until it comes together such that it is smacking/thwapping (so techincal, I know) against the sides of the bowl and starting to pull away cleanly, about 5-7 minutes. Add flour as needed to get a smooth and elastic consistency. I usually add a 1/4 cup or so every 2 minutes and watch how it works in. If I were going to knead by hand, I would start mixing with a thick wooden spoon and adding more flour because the dough will be very wet and sticky at the beginning.

Once the dough looks smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides (mostly) cleanly, shape it into a ball, place it into a large greased bowl, flip the dough so the greased side ends up on top, and cover loosely with plastic wrap.


I cheat on rising: I put the oven to warm, let it heat up, and then place my bowl in the oven after turning it off. An alternative is to place a pan of steaming water in the rack below the rack on which the bowl will sit in a cold oven and let the dough rise in there. You are looking for a warm but not hot, draft-free space. You want to let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, which depending on temperature and draft is between 45 minutes to an hour or so.

Punch the dough down, sprinkle with flour, and divide into two halves. Pat out (I've never had much success with rolling) your pizza round to the desired shape and thickness, and place on top of sprinkled cornmeal on a baking sheet. The cornmeal is what is going to allow the bottom of the crust to crisp up. Preheat the oven to 400F while topping with sauce, toppings, and cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden. I usually wait for the cheese to brown to prevent underdone middles. Enjoy!