Hang on to your pie plate — King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking will change the way every baker thinks about whole grains. Forget what you know about whole grain baking. Instead, envision light, flaky croissants; airy cakes; moist brownies; dreamy piecrusts; and scrumptious cookies—all made with whole grains.
Whole grains benefit from an overnight rest period, making them ideal for this do-ahead pizza crust, one of our favorites. Using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour helps hold this crust together. The crust is satisfyingly crisp, with a chewy interior. Smoked mozzarella makes for a wood-fired flavor that stands up to the hearty flavor of the crust and adds a terrific nuance to the pizza.
YIELD: 2 thin-crust pizzas, 12-inch rounds or 10 x 12-inch rectangles, 8 servings
BAKING TEMPERATURE: 500 degrees F
BAKING TIME: 9 to 11 minutes
FOR THE CRUST:
1 cup (4 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1 cup (5 3/4 ounces) semolina flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons (v/s ounce) olive oil
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) cool water
FOR THE TOPPING:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) kalamata olives, pitted and halved
2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella
TO MAKE THE CRUST: This dough is much slacker than most; it's so wet, you can't really knead it by hand, and you'll be tempted to add way too much flour. We suggest using an electric mixer, fitted with a dough hook. Combine the flours, salt and yeast in your mixer bowl. With the mixer running on its lowest speed, add the olive oil, then pour in the water. After you've added all the water, increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for 2 minutes. Cover the dough and let it rise for 45 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface and give it a fold. This will be a very messy process, so be sure your hands and work surface are well-floured; you will find it helpful to use a baker’s bench knife. Use the scraper to gently fold the dough over itself, as you would a business letter, brushing away any excess flour as you fold to keep from incorporating raw flour into the middle of the dough. Next, fold the dough in a similar fashion, this time from the long ends, to make a packet.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover it tightly, and place it in the refrigerator overnight. The dough will be too loose to use until it's had an overnight rest.
TO SHAPE AND TOP THE PIZZA: About 30 minutes before you're ready to make the pizza, put your baking stone on the bottom rack of the oven, and heat the oven (and stone) to 500 degrees F.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and divide it in half. It will still be very wet; work with one half at a time on a generously floured surface, and try to keep from poking the surface of the dough as you work. With floured hands, flip the dough a couple of times to be sure it's floured on both sides, and then roll or stretch it to a large round or rectangular shape. A 13 x 18-inch half-sheet pan works well if you're making a rectangular pizza. You'll want to finish the stretching on a piece of parchment paper. Keep flouring your hands and gently press the dough out to the edges of the parchment; the dough will be quite thin.
If you wind up with holes, don’t worry; just pinch the edges of the hole together and keep going.
For the first pizza, spread half of the tomato sauce in a thin layer over the dough, top with half the olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Reserve the cheese.
TO BAKE THE PIZZA: When your pizza is topped, and your stone and oven are piping hot, use a pizza peel to deposit the pizza, parchment paper and all, onto the hot baking stone. If you don’t have a peel, put the parchment on your thinnest baking sheet, and place the sheet directly on the stone. Bake the pizza until the crust is set and starting to color around the edges, 4 to 5 minutes. Use the peel to remove the pizza, still on the parchment, from the oven. Put the pizza on the counter and top it with half the mozzarella cheeses.
Use the peel to return the pizza to the oven, this time without the parchment, and bake until the crust is crisp and browned, and the cheese is melted and bubbly, 5 to 6 minutes more. Using your peel, remove the pizza from the oven. Cut and serve immediately.
While the first pizza is baking, stretch and top the second pizza according to the above instructions. When you remove the first pizza from the oven, repeat the baking process for the second pizza.
