Pizza Dough

Todd and I use to have pizza pretty much ever Friday night. During the beginning of our marriage I was trying different pizza doughs quite often. I'd find one and kinda like, but after a few times I'd go searching for a new one. That was until I found The One.

This has been my all time favorite pizza dough. It's made with mainly bread flour, but has just a 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. I've made it with just all white flour, but the wheat just gives it a nice chewy texture and a little more flavor. The recipe yields 3 pizzas. I'm not quite sure how big those are suppose to be. I use a 17" pizza pan. When I half the recipe it creates a nice thin crust. Well, thin enough for Todd and thick enough so I have some what of a crust. I usually like to make 3/4th of the dough and use all of it on my 17". To me it's the perfect crust! But I believe that the best part of a pizza is the crust. So you could go ether way depending on your liking. Also if you have a hard time with getting the crust cooked all the way and your toppings cooked just right, bake the crust for about 5 minutes before adding the toppings.

Pizza Dough
Allrecipes.com

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

5 1/2 cups bread flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit until creamy; about 10 minutes.
2. Stir the olive oil, whole wheat flour, salt and 4 cups of the bread flour into the yeast mixture. Mix in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume; about 1 hour.
3. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and form into rounds. Cover the rounds and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
4. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into the desired shape, cover it with your favorite toppings and bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for about 20 minutes or until the crust and cheese are golden brown.
   

(if you want to add a little extra flavor, before baking brush the crust with melted butter. Then sprinkle on some grated parmesan and garlic powder.)