When it comes to homemade pizza, the crust might be the most important yet undervalued aspect. Once you’ve had a dough that’s risen in the fridge for an extended period of time, you’ll know what you’ve been missing out on. In this post, I’ll discuss how I make my white whole wheat pizza dough.
Ingredients
White whole wheat flour
I am a big fan of using whole grains when baking. I typically use spelt flour, but white whole wheat flour is much less expensive and more readily available. Since I usually make 3 or more crusts at a time, white whole wheat is my go-to for homemade pizza crust. It is full of flavor, and produces a great, crispy texture when baked.
Salt
In my kitchen, I use pink Himalayan salt. The kind I have is extra fine, so I typically have to use less than what recipes call for. You want the dough to be slightly salty, but not so much that it’s overwhelming in taste or inhibits the yeast from rising. For me, 1 tsp. is a good amount.
Yeast
I’ve seen recipes that call for rapid rise or instant yeast, but I prefer active dry. Mostly because its what I have in my cupboard, but also because it allows the dough to rise slower, perhaps developing the flavor a bit better.
Olive oil
I’m sure another oil like avocado would work here. However, olive oil gives a great flavor. Not only that, but it compliments the olive oil used for the pizza sauce.
Sugar
This seems like a strange ingredient to put in pizza dough. I am always trying to keep sugar out of my food, but I think it’s important here. It gives the yeast something to feed on, and is what helps give the dough that aged flavor after sitting in the fridge for a few days.
Water
I try to use filtered water or whatever water I would drink with, but I’m sure tap water would work fine. Just don’t heat it too much or it might kill the yeast.
Method
My white whole wheat pizza dough recipe is loosely based on a pizza dough recipe from recipetineats.com. Their post is very comprehensive and helped me a lot when I first started making pizza. I have given my method in the recipe below, but if you want more information, I encourage you to check out their recipe.
White whole wheat pizza dough
A delicious base for a homemade pizza.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (515 g) white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. (7.6 g) pink himalayan salt
- 2 tsp. (6 g) active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 c. water
- 4 tsp. (20 g) cane sugar
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Heat water to body temperature. Add yeast and sugar, and mix until dissolved. In the meantime, mix flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Add olive oil and yeast and sugar mixture to flour. Stir with wooden spoon until all the flour is hydrated.
- Form into a ball, and let dough rest 10 minutes. Then, knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Place in large bowl, and cover all sides in oil.
- Let rise at room temperature for ~2 hours, or until dough has doubled in size. Use now, or place in fridge up to 5 days to develop flavor.
- Once ready to bake, remove dough from fridge. Punch down, and form into 3-1/2 lb. balls. Cover with a lightly damp towel, and let come to room temperature, ~3-4 hours. (If using fresh dough, let it rest ~1 hour.)
- Preheat oven and cast iron to 525°F. Stretch each dough ball to desired diameter (I do 12" to fit my cast iron.)
- Place one crust in preheated cast iron skillet. Prick dough all around with fork to reduce bubbling. Immediately par-bake for 3-4 minutes, or until center is fully cooked and crust is still pale. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Use now, or let cool and freeze for later use.
Notes
If letting dough sit in fridge, don't punch it down. Also, don't put a lid on the container airtight. Otherwise, the top might pop off from the gas being produced.
Do you make your own pizza dough? Do you like it thin or crispy? Let me know in the comments!
