Honey-Wheat Pizza Crust

There have been a couple of requests for me to share my recipe for pizza dough, and I'm just now getting around to it. It's taken me awhile because this is just one of those things that I simply throw together and never take much note of exactly what I'm doing. Also, I rarely make it the same way twice, so putting together a recipe is just a tiny bit problematic. But I persevered, and here you find the fruit of my labors. ;)

We make homemade pizza a lot at our house-- usually about once a week. Usually it's some sort of veggie pizza, although we do make the BBQ chicken variety every now and then. As long as your ingredients are great quality, you really can't go wrong with whatever you put on a pizza. I mean, what's not to like? I also vary the ingredients of the dough quite a bit. Sometimes I throw in stuff like wheat germ, rolled oats, herbs, garlic... Ooh, carmelized onions would be yummy too! I'll have to try that one next time. Also, sometimes I use lower-glycemic sweeteners like agave nectar or sucanat in place of the honey. If you don't have ground flaxseed, or just don't want to use it, that's okay too. You can use all whole wheat flour if you want, too-- we just prefer the taste that this recipe delivers. It all works, just watch the texture of the dough as it kneads and adjust quantities of flour/oil/water to make it come together. As you get comfortable with the whole process it's a lot of fun to experiment.

The biggest tool for homemade pizza success is, in our experience, the pizza stone. Unless you like your crust a bit soggy or floppy, the stone is indispensable. It is completely worth the investment. So here's to a killer pizza party this weekend!


Honey-Wheat Pizza Crust
makes 1 (14-16 inch) pizza round

3/4 cup very warm water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon honey
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
about 1 cup all purpose flour
about 1 cup whole wheat flour
1-2 tablespoons cornmeal

1. Combine water, salt, honey, olive oil in a large bowl of a standing mixer, stir well. Add yeast, and allow to sit and proof for a few minutes.
2. Add flax and flour gradually to yeast mixture, using the dough hook of your mixer at the appropriate speed. (Or with a wooden spoon if you're mixing by hand) Eventually the dough should come together, forming a ball. Dough should be tacky, not sticky. Knead for 10 minutes. (I just use the standing mixer but if you want to old-school it, much power to you!)
3. Keeping the dough in large bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm location for about 45 minutes. Sometime in here, preheat your oven (with the stone inside) to 400 degrees.
4. Punch dough down; let rest a few minutes. Roll dough out on counter to desired thickness/size. Take stone from oven, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place dough round on stone and top with desired fixings.
5. Bake in oven for 16-20 minutes. After you take it out, let it rest on the stone (and its cooling rack) for a few minutes to let everything set just so. Cut into slices and enjoy!