Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Homemade pizza is one of my favorite things to make.  It's just fun for me to plan the toppings, shape the dough, pile everything on, and finally pull a perfect little pie out of the oven.  Call me crazy, but I love it.

This whole wheat dough is a variation on the dough I've posted before, but it's got a nice texture and crunch to it.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Makes six 8" pies
Time: 1 hour or more

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt or sea salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Warm 1 1/4 cups water to 120-130ºF, checking with a thermometer.  Do not skip this step!  Too cold, you won't activate the yeast, and your dough won't rise.  Too hot, you kill the yeast, same result.  Once the water is at temperature, add a little bit of yeast to the water to make sure it is good yeast.  It will smell yeasty, and the water will become cloudy.  Go ahead and use this yeasty water in the next step.

2. Combine the flour, remaining yeast, and salt in a food processor.  With the machine running, add 1 1/4 cups water and 2 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube. 

3. Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture forms a slightly sticky ball.  Do not add more than 1/4 cup of water here.  If it is too wet, which is unlikely, add flour a tablespoon at a time. 

4. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few seconds to form a smooth, round ball.  Smear the remaining olive oil in a large bowl, turn the dough in it, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours.  You can also let it rise in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours. 

Once the dough has risen, you can do two things:
(a) Cut it into six pieces (or however many you want), wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to one month.  When ready to use, let it defrost in the refrigerator or on the counter to room temperature. 
(b) Proceed to step 5 with your remaining dough.

5. Form the dough into a ball and divide it into however many pies you are going to make.  Place each ball on a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  Let the dough rest until it puffs slightly, about 20 minutes.  Proceed to any pizza recipe.