Sunday, July 10, 2011

Changes... and Pizza!

Hm, a new blog post every 6 months? Seems about my speed... Ha.

Well, I'll just cut to the chase.
I'm changing the way I blog about recipes. I've decided my RecipeShare method is a bit tedious and hard to follow. Today's recipe will be formatted in typical recipe fashion, with ingredients and proportions all grouped together for easier reading and (hopefully) executing.

The inspiration behind this nutty, whole-grain pizza crust is the fact that my husband has lost over 110 pounds since January 2011. And now I'm trying to lighten up, myself, in attempts to keep up with the love of my life who now has more energy and more willpower than I imagined possible!
I started my own weight-loss endeavour this week and was, of course, suffering from a serious pizza craving right off the bat. Determined to keep my calories in check, I whipped up a first attempt that was, um, okay.

This recipe is my second try! Texture and flavor much better than the first crust, and this one actually rose while sitting outside in our 100-degree (evening) heat, giving it bit more complexity, flavor-wise, as well as some lightness, which is sometimes hard to come by in hardcore whole-grain doughs like this.
*I rolled it very, very thin to create more surface area (and, thus, the impression that I was getting more). I'd be interested to hear if anyone tries a thicker crust.


Hannah's Hardcore Whole-Grain Dough

2 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. olive oil
1 c. warm-hot water (my Grandma Hanson always said to dip your pinky in the water to test if it was hot enough, just hot enough to be uncomfortable should be perfect)

Mix above ingredients in a large bowl just until yeast "blooms" a bit and makes the water cloudy- 20 seconds or less if your yeast is active.

Add:
1 1/2c. whole wheat flour
1 c. unprocessed wheat bran
1/2c. buckwheat flour
generous sprinkle of italian seasoning


Mix well with a wooden spoon, may need to add a bit more warm water if it's too dry- add just enough to help it bind together. Then, ditch the spoon, dump out the dough and start kneading, the dough will be very stiff. You don't have to knead forever... just several turns of the dough until it seems like you've squeezed and prodded the yeast into every corner. Form the dough into a ball.
Spray the inside of the dirty mixing bowl with non-stick spray and place the dough inside. Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place for an hour.
(I only let it go for an hour- might have risen more if I'd let it go for longer....)

I cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, used one and bagged up the other 3 to put in the freezer.

With the reserved piece of dough, roll very, very thin on a silpat- I put a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray over the top and rolled it with a french rolling pin. I mean, as thin as you can get it without making a hole!

Transfer carefully to a piece of parchment paper (won't stick when it bakes) and bake on a pizza stone (or whatever you've got) that's been preheated to a 400-degree broil (Low broil, if you only have 2 settings).
Bake for 3-4 minutes, till the crust has firmed up and starts to curl up on the edges- almost like a huge cracker.
Remove from the oven (with parchment paper), top with desired toppings (precook veggies/mushrooms, meat) and place back in to melt the cheese and make it all yummy- about another 3-4 minutes.


Hannah's Notes:

If you divide the dough into 4 pieces, cook one piece and serve 2 people with it- crust is 130 calories per serving (you're on your own with the toppings!).

I love using tomato paste instead of sauce.

I love using my oven's broiler because it doesn't heat up the house like the oven, and I can control the heat better than I can on my outdoor grill.

I think feta cheese tastes awesome on pizza- the oven's heat dries it out just a bit (it doesn't melt) and makes it more tangy.