All right, food groupies, it’s time for round two of the New Year’s Pizza Bake Off. Last week, you received the recipe from the southern Minnesota contingent of the family. This week’s offering is from the northwest Iowa branch, a recipe they’ve perfected since their wedding in July. Theirs features a yummy whole wheat pizza crust, homemade sauce, and steamed broccoli as one of their toppings. Without any further ado, here’s recipe #2.
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur’s whole wheat flour
Dissolve yeast in water. Add honey and oil. Add salt to flour. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon until you must knead it. Knead dough 100 times per cup of flour, 50 times per half cup. Let rise for 45 minutes in a clean, moist, covered container. Push dough down and let it rise for 45 minutes again. Punch down and roll into a circle. Place on a pizza stone. (You can divide the dough in two for thin crust pizzas.)
Pizza Sauce
1 small can crushed tomatoes (use diced tomatoes if you prefer chunky sauce)
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, crushed
Italian spices (basil, thyme, marjoram, oregano, anise, fennel) to taste
1/4 chopped sweet red pepper
Saute onions and pepper in olive oil. When soft, add tomatoes and tomato paste. (You may want to mash diced tomatoes with a potato masher to reach desired consistency.) Add garlic, vinegar and other spices. Let simmer 15 minutes to saturate flavors.
Spread sauce on top of dough. Add toppings (this couple likes steamed broccoli florets, onion, olives, mushrooms) or anything else you like. Sprinkle with 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese starts to brown.
