Monday, May 11, 2009

Almost Local Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza


This is a quick and relatively easy dinner option for us. I personally don't like pizza so I make a separate pan of breadsticks for myself. I like the following recipe which can be found at http://www.wheatfoods.org/Quick-Whole-Wheat-Pizza-Crust.217.1.htm

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 package active dry yeast/instant yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot tap water (120 - 125°F)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey or granulated sugar

I mix the ingredients together in a bowl and then dump it out on to a floured countertop. I add parsley, oregano, and a little garlic salt to the dough to taste. Knead for a couple minutes adding extra flour as needed. Then roll out with a rolling pin into a circle big enough for your pizza pan. You can make 2 thin crust pizzas or 1 regular crust with this recipe. Carefully transfer the dough to a greased pizza pan.



Last time I bought cheese sticks Kraft brand was on sale so I bought that kind. We think they are gross: plastic like with no flavor. I thought I'd use them up by making this pizza with a stuffed crust. Just push some extra dough up over the lip of the pan. Place strips of the cheese around the edge and push them in to the dough slightly. Then roll the lip down and over the cheese while pushing the whole edge back against the lip of the pan.



Time to add the toppings. I used home canned tomato sauce and shredded 4 more cheese sticks to put on top of the sauce. I add venison pepper sticks from Brian's deer, sliced thinly with a knife, in place of store bought pepperoni. On goes 1 small can of mushrooms.



As a special touch I melt some butter, mix in a little garlic salt and herbs, and spread that over the crust. It makes it a little more moist which is part of what Brian missed from take out pizza. He approved this recipe and doesn't dislike it like he has some of the others I've tried.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or try a little longer if it isn't crisp.

For our pizza the ingredients are as follows:
Veggie oil, sugar, flour, tomato sauce, pepper stick - all very local
Sea salt - purchased at Lansing Market
Yeast, mushrooms, cheese - purchased at local grocery

Theoretically one could grow their own mushrooms and purchase local cheese for a totally local experience! What is your favorite almost local dish? Or easy dinner idea?

3 comments:

Farmer's Daughter said...

I never thought of adding seasoning to the crust! What a good idea. And the cheese, too!

I like to spread pesto on the dough, then slices of tomato from my garden and either dollops of ricotta or slices of mozzarella. It's so yummy that way!

Captain's Wife - Jennifer said...

I am sooo making that crust! It has been a while since I tried a WW one. Looks fantastic! Homemade pizza is one of our favorite things to make and eat. Yummy!

Melissa ~ Mom to 6 said...

I haven't tried whole wheat crust yet. I do use my bread machine and let it do the mixing for me. then, I bake the crust for about 75% of the time called for, take it out, add topping and then put it back again. I would like to have several crusts made up and in the freezer to pop out for a quick meal. Looks good! Thanks for the recipe.