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Saturday, 31 October 2009 09:16 |
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Learning the science of yeast is essential to make any dough to rise. This recipe has been tried and tested many times and finally arrived into a simple yet food proof method of making pizza dough. Experiment with your choice of toppings and sauces.
Makes: 2 - 15 inch pizza's or about 25 mini pizza's appromimately
Ingredients
- 6 cups of whole wheat flour and some extra flour for dusting
- 3 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil and extra as needed
- 3 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water for yeast, plus 2 cups lukewarm water for dough
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Basic Topping Suggestions
- About 3 cups of chopped oven roasted vegetables (zuccini, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- About 3 cups freshly grated cheese (preferably a combination of fresh mozzarella and Parmesan)
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups roasted tomato sauce with freshly chopped basil leaves.
Method
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Allow it to sit for 5 - 10 minutes until creamy and starting to bubble . Read more in Yeast in Truth About Yeast, Baking Soda and Baking Powder.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 2 cups lukewarm water, 1 generous tablespoon of the olive oil, salt, the 2 teaspoons sugar, and pepper. When yeast mixture is creamy and starting to bubble, add to mixing bowl and briskly stir in just enough flour, a little at a time, to create a mass. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using floured hands, knead dough in a brisk push fold and turn motion, until perfectly smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Add only as much additional flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking to your hands and work surface. Use a pastry scraper while kneading to scrape dough off surface cleanly as you continue to knead in a sufficient amount of flour.
Preheat oven to 200 C.
Place dough into a bowl greased with olive oil. Cover bowl with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and then with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm, draftfree spot until doubled, about 2 hours.
Punch down dough with several swift swats with the back of your hand until it is deflated slightly.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board and gently knead just to release air pockets. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. or about 25 - 2 inch diameter balls for making mini pizza's.
Typically the dough that is stretched out with the hand and fingers have a better texture than the dough that is rolled out with a rolling pin. Use your expertise and stretch the dough out evenly. You can also give a desired edge to the dough or just leave it plain and flat.
Place the dough on a prepared pizza stone or a baking tray. Brush the interior of the circle (excluding the 1inch rim) with some olive oil and prick the oiled section of the dough deeply all over with a fork. Sprinkle oiled dough with freshly ground black pepper.
Place the pan in the oven and bake until lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes. Remove pan from oven using a baker's peel and place it on a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, as crust is baking, remove the reserved half of dough from refrigerator and prepare the second crust completely through the preceding step. As soon as you remove the first crust from the oven, prick the second crust again, place in oven and bake as directed above.
Roasted Vegetable Pizza with whole wheat crust.
Firstly layer the crust with the sauce, the scatter some roasted vegetables and finally the cheese. Bake in the hot oven until crust is deeply golden, toppings are piping hot and cheese is bubbling, about 12 - 15 minutes.
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