Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

[Low-N-Slow]

I posted my 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe a couple years ago, it seems, on "TOB", but apparently it's now gone forever. No matter, I revised it within the last six months, after a bit of an epiphany, and the result is infinitely better, and nearly indistinguishable from real pizzeria dough, the kind you stretch and toss in the air to make a real, thin-crust pizza.

This is for two 400 gm. dough balls that each make one 14-16" thin-crust pizza skin:

375 gm. King Arthur Whole White Wheat Flour
60 gm. vital wheat gluten
1 tsp. instant dry yeast (bread machine yeast)
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 rounded tsp. salt (Diamond Crystal kosher)
325 ml. water
1 Tbl. olive oil

Additional (~2 Tbl.) King Arthur Whole White Wheat Flour for kneading

Mix well all ingredients except oil in mixing bowl, and let rest for 15 minutes. Add oil, working into dough until incorporated, and rest an additional 15 minutes. Split dough into two evenly-weighted pieces. Spread a tablespoon of the additional flour on board, and knead a piece for about 1-2 minutes, until bench flour is mostly incorporated. Let first piece rest, and similarly knead the other, incorporating the other additional tablespoon of bench flour. Go back to the first and knead it 1-2 minutes again, followed once more by the same for the second piece. Form each into a ball, and refrigerate, covered, for 24 hours. After the dough warms to room temp, it can be handled just like you see at a pizzeria. King Arthur Whole White Wheat Flour is available at Whole Foods, as is vital wheat gluten in bulk.

[café au lait]

Just curious as to why you are using grams? Is it because the focus is on the weight rather than the measurement? I haven't seen my food scale in years! Thanks anyway for posting.

[Low-N-Slow]

In baking, weight is everything. Measuring by volume may (read: will) give undesirable variation, especially with the flour components. Consider if you use a measuring cup to scoop flour from a bag, versus pouring the same flour into the cup. With scooping, compaction will occur, giving more flour by weight in the same volume, as opposed to pouring or sifting into the same-volume container. Therefore, one can only trust measurement by weight to insure consistency. Using grams, as opposed to English equivalents, gives better precision and finer control.

[hungryone]

I use a similar recipe....I think the key to good pizza dough (like many other breads) is long, slow, cold fermentation. That overnight rest in the fridge is important to the flavor of the endt product.

[foodieCon]

Hi,

thanks for the recipe. i've been looking for something like this to use. I usually don't have much time on my hands after work, so making a dough quickly and easily is a good thing. How long could this stay in the fridge before using? Does it freeze well?

thanks again!

[Low-N-Slow]

Consider a 24-hour cold ferment as a minimum. Some "fanatics" go as long a a week to 10 days. I don't see the point, as the toppings overpower any further development of flavor in the dough.

[foodieCon]

a week to 10 days in the fridge eh? Great, thanks for the info. I'll see if I can whip up some dough this weekend. I have most of the ingredients.

Thanks again.