I've been googling pizza dough recipes and a few of them are intriguing, but none of them quite what I'm looking for.
I would love to use semolina flour as I bought 50lbs of durum. Sourdough would be great too, but it could be other things too. whatcha got for me to try?
I bake pizza as a special treat on a sunday so I go for tasy not for super healthy.
I guess you can go 20% percent whole grain and still have a tasty pizza.
Of course, I want it tasty, but there is no reason to not use whole grains at at least 50% as that is how we eat everything else and like it that way. Plus, I'm borderline diabetic, so anything to slow down the breaking down of sugars is good for me.
I would think spelt might be a good addition, but just not sure how high a percentage you want to go with that. Spelt will increase the extensibility and has great flavor. So, maybe a combination of durum/semolina, spelt and AP or Tipo 00 flour? That should up the taste and add more whole grains to the dough since you mentioned that was important for you.
50% home-milled kamut. which is very close to durum.
35% home-milled hard white spring wheat, Prairie Gold.
15% store-bought AP flour.
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autolyse the home-milled flour, but not the AP flour.
commercial yeast gives a more traditional flavor and aroma for pizza crust than does sourdough. But if you use sourdough, use fresh levain, and other procedures to minimize acidity in the dough.
I generally parbake (pre-bake) the crust, mainly the top.
Here’s mine. I’ve recently gotten more “serious” (e.g., weight instead of volume), but haven’t gotten around to converting this recipe to weight yet, since really I do it by feel.
The sourdough starter I use is out of Reinhart’s “Whole Grain Baking”, so hydration may need to be adjusted slightly for higher-hydration starters.
1/4 cup sourdough starter (or 1/4 tsp yeast in warm weather, up to 1/2 tsp in cold weather)
1.5+ Cups warm water
1.25 tsp salt (table, not kosher - adjust up for kosher)
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1.5 cups bread flour or high gluten flour
Optional 1 T olive oil (recommended for regular pies, less recommended for Sicilian)
Whisk sourdough starter into water. When well mixed, add salt, followed by flours. Mix into a shaggy dough. I usually need to add a couple tablespoons of water at this point. Rest in a bowl overnight or longer. Based on how it looks in the morning and whether I’m baking for lunch or dinner, I might give it some time in the oven on proofing mode. In a cold kitchen you want to use hotter water for an evening mix for dinner the next day. Short version: I normally mix this about 9 pm and bake it at 6 the next day, but I modify by how the dough looks and feels and according to my needs.
A couple hours before baking (or longer if doing Sicilian - this dough is ideal for Sicilian and tasty but hard to handle for regular pizza) do some stretch and folds, then divide into two (for 14 inch pizzas), or pan & dimple 3-4 times on a cookie sheet for Sicilian. Note that I need to add a good deal of flour (always whole wheat) while doing stretch & folds. Note also that I refrigerate my flour, which I believe makes it thirstier. You may need to adjust hydration down and/or add some flour while doing stretch & folds, as I do. I like keeping it really no-knead, though, which is why I do it this way. It’s my easy, casual dough.
As you might be able to tell, this was originally a Lahey dough that I’ve modified over time.
My sauce:
1 28 oz can 6 in 1 ground tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
optionally a couple cloves of crushed garlic
Mix it all and spoon on your pizza - this is plenty for 2 Sicilians or 4 14 inch pies.
If you want to take the % of whole wheat up, you’ll want more water. Take it down, and you’ll want less water.
Baking:
For Sicilian, I parbake after a 2+ hour rise in the pan (3-4 T oil on the cookie sheet). Preheat to 500, bake 10 minutes (putting the cookie sheet on the stone if you have one). Sauce & top, bake another 10-12 more, also at 500. Note that it will hold for several hours at least after the parbake if you want.
For regular pies, I do a 12 minute bake in a preheated 550 degree oven. This might seem long, but it’s a wet dough, and we like a thorough bake around here.