Wheat Crust Tomato Basil Mozzarella Pizza (Pizza Margherita)
While I’m recovering from my vacation you all can enjoy the second installment of pizza recipes from the L’il Sis. This one is a classic Pizza Margherita, but with a healthy wheat crust. Don’t be afraid to make this from scratch - it’s not as hard as it looks, I promise!
I was going to follow up the story of L’il Sis moving to the Big City with tales of the woe and misfortune that befall a wide-eyed young thing from the Midwest. But it would be lies. Lies!
The truth is, the L’il Sis hasn’t gotten bamboozled by smooth-talking New York men. She hasn’t lost her modest college savings. She hasn’t gotten mugged, lost, splashed by a cab, sneered at by Upper East Siders, or anything else like that.
On the contrary, the girl is doing great – a job, a place to live (well, my living room), money for beer, etc. Her spirits are high, and she’s a plain old joy to have around. In fact, if you could divide the world into joke-tellers and laughers, the L’il Sis would be laugher of the highest degree. She one of those people that make life a little lighter, a little sparklier, and if you’re a wannabe joke-teller she makes you feel like your very own Carrot Top. (Er, you know, someone funny.)
So anyway, this pizza isn’t going make you bust a gut in the proverbial sense, but you may want to eat a lot of it, so try not to bust your gut in the literal sense either.
Serves: 4 – 5 (makes 2 thin crust pizzas)
Time: Active time is 30 minutes for the dough, then at least 1 hour for it to rise. Assembling the crust, pizza and toppings takes 45 minutes, and then another 20 minutes for baking time.
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust via Allrecipes
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 Tbl active dry yeast
1 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. The L’il Sis and I like to do this before work and come home to a nice yeasty ball rising away.
When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan.
Sauce (enough for 2 pizzas, light on sauce, multiply by 1/2 if you like a more saucy pizza):
6 oz tomato paste
3/4 cup warm water
3 Tbl grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
enough salt to taste
Thoroughly mix together all the above ingredients.
Topping and Assembling
1 large handful basil, washed and ripped into small pieces
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Top the dough with a thin coating of sauce, then sprinkle over the tomatoes, basil, and cheese
Bake at 425º until cheese is melted and slightly browned, about 20 minutes.
