Winter came to Minnesota yesterday and as the seasons have changed, so has my pizza dough recipe. Some of the renovations included a gradual increase in the ratio of whole wheat to white flour, I moved to warm water and regular yeast and now only let the dough rise once. You can check out my first recipe here, but I may never change again! I hope this doesn’t mean winter will never go away because I’d like to sit out on the patio again one day.
THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH EVER – All in the name of JUICING!
In the interest of increasing enzymes in my diet, I’ve turned to sprouted grains. Since changing my eating habits last summer to a more raw foods diet, I have a hard time eating heavy breads and grains, and this includes the pizza that had been coming out of our backyard behemoth! The last couple months, our baking parties have become sparse, but that won’t be true anymore. Last week I ordered some sprouted wheat flour, milled to order, from To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co., and experienced complete bliss. This flour made the most amazing pizza dough!
The first thing I noticed about the dough was that it was incredibly easy to stretch and shape. Other doughs have always been stretchy and easy to shape, but this was amazing. We were actually able to stretch it so thin that we made some fourteen-inch pizzas out of the same size dough ball normally used to use for a ten-inch. Other doughs have sometimes tended to tear when they start to get thin, but not this one. The gluten held together like a rubber band! It came out of the oven thin, crisp and chewy perfection. I suspect this was due to the fact that the flour is fresh, milled to order and has a nice moisture balance because of that.
The flavor was spot on and the dough seems to leave me feeling a little less full.
This recipe is really easy to make in a stand mixer. Once the dough is mixed, all you need to do is form twelve balls, set them on a proofing pan or cookie sheet and leave them covered in the refrigerator until about two hours before baking. Two hours before baking, set the dough out to rise. Remember, pizza dough is a tiny bit sticky so you’ll need a little flour to form it on a peel.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups warm water
- 2 tsp. regular yeast
- 3 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 Tbs. honey
- 7 cups sprouted whole wheat flour
- 3 cups white flour
Directions: Using the mixer paddle, mix yeast, water, oil, honey and salt together until dissolved. Next mix in three cups of the whole wheat flour. (If using a stand mixer, switch to the hook at this point.) Add the rest of the flour one cup at a time and let the mixer run for seven or eight minutes. If you are hand mixing be careful not to add too much flour. The trick with the stand mixer is to watch to see that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl yet sticks to the bottom. If the dough is too sticky, add a small spoon of flour one at a time until it is the right consistency. If it is too dry, add a few dribbles of water.
Once the dough becomes smooth and the gluten has lined up, remove it from the bowl and form into a large ball. With a pastry blade, cut the dough into twelve equal pieces. I form the dough into a round flat disk, cut it into fourths, and then each fourth into thirds. I can see where a scale might be nice if you want your pizzas uniform.
Roll or knead each piece into a ball, coat it lightly with flour and place it on a cookie sheet. Once you have all twelve pizza doughs prepped, cover the tray with plastic wrap and return to the fridge until two or three hours before baking. Set the dough out on the counter at room temperature to rise. The balls will soften and become very easy to work.
While the dough rises, preheat your oven stone and prep your toppings. Enjoy!
Vegetarian Perspective 