What I'm Cooking: Whole Wheat Pizza

So one of my friends is leaving for the East Coast tomorrow and decided to throw a goodbye party for himself on Saturday. Being a proper, hot-blooded American he decided his (almost) final meal by the Pacific should be pizza. And lo and behold, the most recent issue of Cooks’ Illustrated just happened to have a recipe for whole wheat pizza, which turned out to be FANTASTIC. So come, join me on my not-so-mystical journey into the mildly healthier world of whole wheat pizza.

Like most recent recipes, this one recommends using a food processor to make the dough, mixing in the yeast with the other dry goods. I’ve always found this odd because I’ve always been under the impression you wanted to activate the yeast first by throwing it in warm water with the sugar. *shrugs* But who am I to argue with Cooks’ Illustrated?

The Dough (makes 2 12-inch pies):

1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 ounces) whole-wheat flour
1 cup (5 1/2 ounces) bread flour
2 teaspoons honey
3/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 cups ice water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 teaspoons salt

The first step is to combine the flours, yeast and honey in the processor and give it a quick spin. I’ve used honey before, but never in combination with dry goods and was worried it was just going to clump, but it was an unnecessary concern.

Next, while the processor is running, slowly poor the ice water and continue to spin until there is no dry flour remaining. Let the dough stand for 10 minutes.

Finally, add the oil and salt to the dough and process until it forms sticky ball that clears the sides of processor. That completed, remove the dough and give it a good knead on an oiled countertop until smooth (something else I had never done before). Shape dough into tight ball and place in large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 18 hours or up to 2 days.

The Sauce:	The Toppings:
¼ cup olive oil 2 cloves of minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes 1/8 teaspoon of salt	1 cup of fresh basil 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese 2 cup mozzarella cheese 3/4 cup Ricotta cheese

Toss the oil in a skillet on medium-low heat until shimmering, then throw everything else in and constantly stir until fragrant, about thirty seconds to a minute. Let cool before using.

An hour before you plan to cook your pizza, remove the dough from the fridge, split it into two equal balls and let them rest on a well-oiled surface covered with an equally well-oiled bit of plastic wrap.

Now at this point CI would have you preheat the oven to 500 degrees, with the pizza stone resting on the highest rack available, just below the broiler. Then they’d have you blast the broiler for 10 minutes to really heat up the stone before returning the oven to 500 and throwing in the pizza. Unfortunately, my pizza stone is only rated for 450 degrees, and sticking it under a broiler would definitely crack it, so 450 degree it is.

Anywho…once you’ve fully preheated the stone for an hour, start rolling out your dough. Using a spoon, spread half of the sauce over each pizza, followed by the basil, Romano and mozzarella. Once your toppings are complete toss the pizza into the oven for 8-10 minutes. Depending on what temperature you cook it at you might need to add a few minutes.

Once the pizza is done, remove it from the oven and dollop on as much ricotta cheese as you want. After letting it rest for about five minutes, cut that sucker into slices and chow down! This pizza was delicious and I will absolutely make it again.