Whole Wheat Rye Pizza Crust

It was Sar's birthday a few weeks ago (I KNOW I'm a terrible post-er...I'm busy...please try not to judge me) and, although I didn't make her a birthday loaf, I gifted her something a bit more lasting and still bread related, obviously.  I gave her a pizza stone! I'll be honest - I'm definitely going to enjoy the pizza stone, too, especially if we continue to make delicious pizzas like the one we made May 22nd.  Please do not check your calendars and think about how long ago that was.  Please.

This pizza was epic.  The battle we fought against the smoke detector - also epic. For some reason our smoke alarm detects not only smoke, but also heat in general and apparently our frustration, as well.  The worst part is that the alarm is 9 feet up on the ceiling and Sar and I are both short individuals.  There was no getting up there to dismantle the thing, so we had to resort to swatting at it with a towel while jumping wildly in the air.  Eventually I defeated the alarm by rigging a fan on high stacked on top of R2D2, our human-sized, portable pseudo-AC.   He's yet to pay rent, but he certainly played a solid role in defeating the smoke detector.  Anyway, the battle was won, but I'm guessing the war is not over.

Back to the pizza.  The pizza stone really made the difference in the crust - it was both crunchy and chewy, and it held up against the toppings even after sitting on the counter for a bit.  Dennis, Sar, and I downed a whole pizza - not too shocking, but definitely a positive indicator.  The combination of whole wheat and rye flours in the crust was fantastic.

Here's the recipe:

Whole Wheat Rye Pizza Crust
Makes 2 medium sized pizzas

Ingredients:
1 cup dark rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon maple sugar (which we actually had! if you don't, syrup is fine)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

What to do:
In a large bowl, combine the water, maple sugar or syrup, and yeast and let sit for about 10-15 minutes until the yeast gets foamy and active.  In the meantime, mix the flours and salt in another bowl until they're evenly combined.  When the yeast are nice and lively, mix in oil and then start adding the flour a bit at a time until you can no longer mix the dough in the bowl.  Stop adding flour if you notice the dough is getting dry or stiff - it should be soft, but not quite sticky.

Turn the mixed dough and any loose flour that hadn't quite combined onto a clean surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is well combined and elastic.  If it still feels dry while you're kneading, drip (and I mean one drop at a time) some water onto the dough and knead it in.

Once you're done kneading, clean out one of the bowls and oil it lightly.  Place the dough into the bowl and cover with a towel.  Allow the dough to rise until doubled.  This took about 45 minutes for me in a warm kitchen - it could be a bit longer, depending on the kitchen temperature.  After it's doubled, dump the dough onto the kneading surface again and gently deflate it.  Knead again for 1 minute and then return the dough to the bowl to double again.  Bread is a waiting game, what can I say?

After the second rise, you can then turn the dough out onto a surface and get it ready to be topped.  It's pretty easy to handle, as pizza dough goes, so be careful not to stretch it too thin.  That's exactly what I did here and we had to split it into two halves and then halve one of the halfs and make an accidental calzone.  I'm telling you - things get weird when it's too thin.

[Bigger than our oven]

While you're shaping your pizzas, pre-heat the oven (with the pizza stone in there if you have one!) to about 525 or 550 degrees F.

Top the pizza with our red or white sauces (recipes here ) and some fresh mozzarella, basil, or any other toppings you'd like.  We used broccoli florets sauteed with minced garlic.

[Half of that beast being topped by Sar's beautiful hands]

Transfer directly onto the pizza stone as best you can.  Having a pizza peel would make this a million times easier.  It would have also helped us avoid this:

[Strangely-shaped blob]

Or this...

[Accidental, yet delicious, calzone-ish thing]

Bake for about 15 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges, as seen above.

Warning: I suggest having at least 4 people around to eat this pizza because you will finish it.  Or maybe make sure you don't have anyone around, if you're feeling greedy :) 

Happy birthday, Sar.  You ask for it, you get it.

Basic Whole Wheat Pizza

NYC is famous for it's wide slices of thin-crust pizza.  I've heard the crust is so fantastic (and this is likely a myth) because of the minerals present in the tap water here.  But I think I believe the myth and ummmm I used water straight from our Upper East Side faucet for this recipe.  And this pizza was pretty baller.  That's not to argue with the fact that nothing beats a slice of New York pie (except maybe a bagel) but there's not nothing to making homemade pizza.  Double negative.  There's something to it.  So keep reading and try it!

Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
(Printable Recipe)
Yields one small, thin-crust pizza.  Double this recipe if you want a thicker, bready crust OR if you want a bigger, thin crust pizza.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine the dry ingredients, including the yeast.
Add the water and olive oil.
Knead on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes until it comes together.
Oil the original bowl (a little goes a long way) and plop the dough back in there -- making sure to roll it around so that the top is oily too.
Let rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to it's hottest setting.
Stretch into a pizza crust.  I really can't offer much advice on this but be patient and not too aggressive.  If you get frustrated let the dough rest for 10 minutes.  You'll relax and so will the gluten.
Once you have a good shape (and you'll see ours is a rectangle because we do not have a pizza stone- hint hint **wishlist**) pop your dough in the oven for 2-3 minutes.  No toppings.  Naked.
Take it out quick and spread the sauce, cheese, and other toppings to your liking.  Always remember if you are topping with veggies they have to be pre-cooked.  This dough only needs about 8-10 more minutes and that is not long enough for your broccoli to cook through.  No way.  Blanche that brocc!
Anyways, cook about 10 more minutes until it's just oozy and perfect.
Let it sit for about 5 minutes after it comes out so you don't burn  your life and get melty cheese everywhere.
Slice and eat up!

I topped my pizza with a simple sauce of canned tomato, salt, pepper, oregano, sugar, onion, garlic similar to the one from the Sourdough Pizza post and fresh mozzarella cheese and a little windowsill cultivated basil.

It was a hard winter on our herb garden.  

- Sarah

Superbowl-Sourdough Pizza

Since the last sourdough episode, we have kept the starter in the fridge so that we don't have to feed it everyday. It's been well-behaved and chilled out. Even when starter is stored in the refrigerator it has to be taken out once a week, fed, left to eat for about 2 hours on the counter, and then put back into the fridge. Instead of throwing out all but 4 ounces of the starter we are going to try to use it every week.

I read a recipe for Sourdough Pizza Crust and what better Sunday to make pizza than Superbowl Sunday. Making pizza is NOT complicated. Basic pizza has four parts: a dough, a sauce, a cheese, and additional toppings. Most of these can be purchased pre-made. Around New York you can get pre-made pizza dough at most grocery stores (in a past pizza experience, Dennis picked some up at Agata & Valentina), and most local pizza shops will sell you a ball of dough.

THE DOUGH

Superbowl-Sourdough Pizza Crust (recipe straight from kingarthurflour.com -- direct link to recipe above)

1 cup sourdough starter, unfed straight from the fridge

1/2 cup tap water

2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Combine all ingredients and let rest for about 4 hours or until doubled. We made two pizzas so we divided the dough in half, and shaped. Then, let it (and us) rest for 15 minutes before we continued to shape. Letting the dough rest between shaping gives the gluten time to relax. When the gluten is relaxed, it will be less likely to tear and so you will be less frustrated trying to get it to stretch.

THE SAUCE
Red sauce:
About half of a 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
2 - 3 whole cloves of garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

Stir olive oil, tomato products, and whole garlic cloves in a warm sauce pan. Keep flame low (near-impossible on our stove) and add the sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer until it smells awesome. Fish out the garlic before serving -- if you are brave, pop them in your mouth and eat them to fend off illnesses, vampires, and your significant other (especially if you are dating a vampire).

White sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion (or half of a large one) diced
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup light cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium flame. Add garlic onions and cook until translucent (3 minutes). Pour in the cream. Stir and add the thyme, salt and pepper.

Note: Both sauces should be cool when you apply them to your dough.

THE CHEESE
On the red pizza: parmesan and fresh mozzarella

On the white pizza: parmesan, ricotta and fresh mozzarella

THE TOPPINGS

On the red pizza: basil

On the white pizza: parsley

Here they are, assembled and uncooked:

Bake at 450°F for about 15 minutes or until the toppings are melted to your liking.

For a crispier crust, cook the crust before adding the toppings for 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven, and then add the sauce, cheese, etc.  Continue to bake until crust is totally browned and toppings melty. 

Serve with some of these Touchdown Rice Krispie Treats for dessert.

- Sarah