Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

rach1031's Note:

Here is my whole wheat pizza crust recipe. I adapted it from a book called "Health Eating for Two (Or Just You)" by Frances Rice. Her recipe is a little heavy and hard to work with. This crust is a bit more flexible and freezes nicely. This will make 4 pizzas that will have a thin crust in a 13x9 bar pan

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-6

Yield: 4.0 crusts

• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons honey (or sugar)
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast (not the quick rise, just regular)
• 3 cups bread flour
• 3 cups whole wheat flour (Pillsbury has a very nice whole wheat)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil (plus more to oil the pan)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine water with honey and yeast, stir to dissolve. Mix in half of the flour until it makes a smooth batter. Let sit for around 10 minutes until it looks bubbly or foamy. This creates a sponge.
2. Mix the remaining flour, salt and olive oil into the sponge. If you are using a heavy duty mixer, use the paddle attachment on low speed until it makes shaggy dough. Switch to the bread hook and knead the dough for around 4-6 minutes at medium/low speed until it's satiny and springs back to the touch. It should be easy to handle and only a little sticky.
3. If you are making this by hand, it will take strong a strong back and hands to get the right "pizza" texture. Once you've combined the ingredients into kneadable dough, turn it out onto a clean lightly floured surface and knead it by hand for a good 10 minutes until is is satiny and springy. Don't add too much flour while kneading or the dough will be tough. Did I mention how much I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer? I love it!
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, set aside one for your pizza. Take the other 3 portion, form into a ball and flatten into a thick disc. I just stick them into individual quart size freezer bags and put them into the freezer. When you want pizza, pull the crust from the freezer and let it sit out on the counter for at least 1 hour to thaw. It should be close to room temp, but don't let it sit too long or it will start to rise.
5. When I'm ready to make my actual pizza, I preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place one of the oven shelves on the bottom rack. To get good pizza, it takes a very hot oven. I lightly oil the bar or pizza pan with olive oil and my hands. This keeps the dough from sticking to you and to the pan. Lightly press into the bottom of the pizza pan to spread the dough into a crust.
6. Place your toppings on the pizza, don't put too many on or it will be soggy. DH and I like spinach and chicken pizza, with ranch dressing instead of tomato sauce. Yummy.
7. Once the oven is hot, place the pizza on the bottom shelf and allow to bake for 10-12 minutes until the crust is crisp and golden brown. Keep an eye on it, it can over cook easily with a hot oven.
8. Pull out of the oven, let sit for a 2-3 minutes to set. Cut into pieces and enjoy!