Homemade Pizza Crusts (Whole Wheat)

Okay Ladies and Gents! (I’m not sure if I actually have any male readers other than my ever-loving hub, but I do try to keep it equal opportunity around here… at least when it comes to the recipes 🙂 Get your flours ready: we’re making – and freezing, because y’all know I love my freezer – pizza crusts! *and the crowd. goes. wild*

I usually make a double batch of these crusts* because 1) once I have all the ingredients prepped, it’s really not much more work to make twice as much, 2) it’s such a no-brainer quick meal to pull out a crust, top it, and bake it (literally 15-20ish minutes from freezer to table, not including time to bask in all the “Ooooo’s” and “Ahhhhh’s” from your guests), and 3) homemade pizza is one of those meals that elicits spontaneous happy dances around my house.

*My technique is a little different from the one detailed in the original recipe, but I’ve found that making the crusts this way works better for me.

Ingredients: Makes 16 roughly 8inch thin crusts or smaller, thicker crusts

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3 cups really warm water
• 4 packets active dry yeast (I use Original Red Star)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus extra for bowl

• In a large bowl, stir together flours and salt.
• Make a “well” in the center by pushing the flours to the sides of the bowl, as pictured above.

• Add sugar to a smaller bowl or 4 cup measuring cup.
• Pour very warm water over the sugar, and stir.
• Empty contents of yeast packets over sugar-water.

• Let sit until foamy (as pictured above), apr. 5 minutes.

• Pour yeast mixture and EVOO into well, and stir until a dough forms.

• Rub a little EVOO onto the sides of the bowl and the dough ball.

• Cover bowl with a clean cloth, and allow the dough to rise in a warm place – I just leave the bowl on my kitchen counter – for apr. 1 hour.

• Spread a little water on kitchen counter or tabletop, and place cling wrap on top.
• Sprinkle wrap generously with flour, and voila! A rolling surface with built-in clean-up strategy.
• Divide dough into 4 balls.
• Subdivide each ball into 4 smaller balls, resulting in 16 balls of dough.

• Sprinkle the rolling pin and each dough ball with flour, and roll to desired size and thickness. Add more flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking.

• Place crusts between pieces of parchment paper, and freeze flat in a gallon size freezer bag for no more than 3 months.
• Quick tip: Stack crusts as illustrated, trim excess parchment paper around crusts, and place in the freezer bag all at once.

• BAKE FROM FROZEN! DO NOT THAW!
• Preheat oven to 425.
• Place an aluminum foil lined baking sheet on the oven rack beneath the racks(s) to be used for cooking the pizza(s). Another built-in clean-up strategy.
• Remove crust(s) from freezer, and oil the bottom of the crust AND a perforated pizza pan with EVOO. This is very important to keep crust from sticking to pan.
• Rub the edges of the top of the crust with a little EVOO.
• Add desired toppings.
• Bake apr. 12-15 minutes, or to desired level of doneness.