Whole Wheat Pizza (2 pies!)

One thing, my kids can’t live without is pizza. They’re only 7, 5, and 3 (and the baby doesn’t eat pizza), but every time we have pizza, there are cheers all around. However, I refuse to buy the crap pizza that places like Little Caesars, Pizza Hut and Papa Johns are selling these days. They’re greasy, heavy, and made with all kinds of crap. So, I searched high and low, and made several pie recipes before I found just the right one. So let us get to it shall we?

Prep Time	Cook Time	Ready In
1 hr (including rise time)	15 minutes total	1hr 15 min

Servings	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein
16	125	1	24	5

Cost for both crusts: $1.43 (Estimated cost of toppings $4 for a total of approx $5.43 for both pies).
NOTE: The nutritional information is just for the crust. 



What you’ll need:

• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1-3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon of instant SAF yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups of white whole wheat flour or all purpose whole wheat flour 

I now use my bread machine to throw all the ingredients in there and just mix it up and let it rise. But you can certainly do this by hand.

Take all your ingredients, all except for about a quarter cup of flour. You’ll add this in as you’re kneading the dough. Also, keep in mind, if it’s a very dry day, or a very humid day, your flour needs will vary. So the four cups is a guideline only. I take this time right now to add in garlic and basil and oregano. If you want, you can add it in before you add in your flour and other ingredients. I find there is no difference in taste. So, add the rest in, stir until the dough starts to ball up, and then turn it out on your counter. It should look something like this, perhaps minus the herbs and spices.

 

Now we’re going to knead the dough. If you’ve never kneaded dough, it can be daunting as people think it’s hard. However, I’ve uploaded a vid for you, of me in my cool blue and white summer shirt, that shows you just how easy it really is. You basically just want to smish the dough between your hands and the counter or table so that you get the gluten good and wet and stretchy. So knead away for about 6 minutes. If you notice that the dough is not uniform enough, keep kneading, otherwise oil a bowl, put in your dough, turn to coat, and then cover it and let it rise. This will take about 45 minutes.

Now for the fun part. Divide your dough in half. This recipe makes a-two pizza-a-pies.  Now you want to roll the dough out onto your counter with a rolling pin. Just get it in a circular shape. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust.Don’t stretch too hard! You don’t want to break it. When you get it the right size, just place it on your greased pan, (I just spray like a 2 second shot of olive oil from my mister, and that’s that, or you can use a block of butter and grease the pan). Then, roll the crust towards the inside just a bit as you can see here, to get that “finished” look. Let it sit and rise for around 10 minutes. Preheat your oven now to 450º


You’ll want to pre-bake your dough before you put anything on it. This gives you that nice crust that doesn’t flop around. Put in the oven for about 5 or 6 minutes and then simply spread your sauce add in your toppings and cheese and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes. When it’s done, let it cool for around 10 minutes, or else your cheese and topping will be sliding all over the place, and it will flop around. Lastly profit from making at home pizza for a fraction of the cost of even store bought!

The best part? You can pre