pizza!

this recipe is adapted from a book called the complete book of pizza. (which seems to be out of print?)

if you want to make it using all whole wheat flour, i’m not going to stop you. i personally like it half and half, but if you really love whole wheat go for it. if you have an electric mixer with a dough hook, you can evade all of the hand mixing and kneading. (and the kneading will be a lot faster, as well.)

ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup (4 tbsp.) vegetable oil
2 packages dry yeast
2 tsp. honey (or yeast-feeding substance of your choice)
1 1/2 cups warm water
you will also need cornmeal and olive oil and whatever you like putting on pizzas

dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm (not hot) water and add the honey. set aside for at least 5 minutes. mix the flour and salt in a bowl. make a depression in the centre of the flour and add 3 tbsp. of the oil and the other cup of warm water. put some flour on whatever surface you are planning on kneading the dough on. add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix the ingredients with your hands. gather the dough together and place it on the floured surface. knead the dough, adding more flour if necessary. knead for 8 to 10 minutes. the dough should be elastic and cohesive.
put remaining tbsp. of oil in a clean bowl and swish it around so the bowl is somewhat evenly coated. put the dough in and roll it around so it is also somewhat evenly coated with oil. cover the bowl with a towel (preferably of the non-fluffy variety, otherwise my mother warns “the fluff gets involved”) and put it in a warm, draft-free place (such as an oven that’s not on) for 1 1/2 hours.

now it’s time to actually make the pizza! we have a pizza stone and pizza peel, these are pretty useful tools to have. you can also use a baking sheet, or alternatively go build a brick oven. (if you choose to do this, you should probably do it before you make the dough.)
i prefer to split the dough into several individual pizzas. this is helpful because: it allows for a variety of pizzas, it’s easier to get smaller pizzas in and out of the oven, and my family does make-your-own-pizza night. fifths or sixths is probably the way to go.
preheat the oven to 500 F. (preheat for at least 30 min. if you are using a stone, even if it reaches 500 before then.)
roll each dough ball out (flouring work surface and rolling pin as needed) so it’s nice and thin (maybe 8 or 9 inch diameter? i don’t actually measure my dinner.) sprinkle cornmeal on your baking surface. (actually if you are using a stone, it’s best to put the cornmeal on the peel rather than shoving your hand into the oven to sprinkle it on the stone.) lift the dough onto the baking surface and roll up the edge all around to make a rim. brush with olive oil and put whatever you want on it. bake for around 10 min. or until crust is golden brown.

tip specific to using a pizza peel and stone: put cornmeal on your peel, assemble pizza, blah blah. using a hot mitt, pull the rack with the stone on it out partway. holding the peel at a slight angle, gentle wiggle it until the pizza slides off and onto the stone (obviously you will need to aim the pizza correctly.) push the rack back into the oven, close it, set the timer.

what should you put on it?
the one i made tonight had: tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, kalamata olives, sundried tomato, and green onions. do what your tastebuds tell you is right.