Homemade Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust and Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread

My family absolutely loves pizza, and we love take-out or delivery and even the take and bake pizzas, but they are way too expensive to have frequently.  Therefore, I make a pizza every couple of weeks or so.  When I first started out I would make my crust with white flour because whole wheat was bitter.  Then when I purchased my grain mill I began adding in whole wheat flour, but the crust was too tough when I used 100% whole wheat.  Well, I figured out  through trial and error that the key to making a wonderful light and tasty crust when using 100% whole wheat is to not add too much flour.  I never knead my dough by hand but let my mixer do all the work.  This way I can keep the dough sticky, but still knead it enough.  Now my family raves over the pizza crust.

Tomatoes with seasoning that have
been cooked to thicken.

Before I begin making my crust I start with the sauce.  I use my homemade canned tomatoes and let them simmer on the stove for 40-60 min.  While it's simmering I add a pizza seasoning.  This makes a wonderfully thick sauce once it has cooked down, but if you are in a hurry spaghetti sauce works well.  Many times I make pizza a day or two after we have had spaghetti and use up the leftover sauce.

Now onto the crust.



Pizza Crust Ingredients: Makes Two Crusts
1 1/3 C Warm Milk
2 1/2 t. Yeast
1/4 C Sugar
1/4 C. Gluten
1/2 t. Salt
2 T. Olive Oil
3 1/4 C Whole Wheat Flour

• First combine the warm milk, yeast and sugar and let sit until bubbly.
• Next combine the rest of the ingredients, but the flour.
• Slowly add flour to make a soft dough that is quite sticky.  The dough should stick a bit to your hands if you touched it.

• Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.
• Divide the dough in half if making two equal sized pizzas.  I usually make a large pizza (2/3 of the dough) and the rest I use to make Focaccia bread (see below).
• Grease the pan you will be using well with olive oil along with your hands.
• Pat the dough into the pan. 
• For the edge of the crust I spray a bit of olive oil and then sprinkle salt, garlic and Parmesan cheese.  This makes a wonderful crust for your pizza.
• I then bake for a 5-10 minutes so the dough is cooked slightly.

• Spread the sauce onto the crust.

• Add meat and vegetables.

This time I used browned sausage for the meat and the only
vegis I had on hand were onions.  I usually like green peppers
and mushrooms but I was scraping the bottom of the vegi
drawer in the fridge this time.  

• Add your favorite cheese.
• I like my pepperoni on top of the cheese and then I sprinkle on a bit more cheese. 

• Bake at 375 degrees for 12-18 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden.

Fresh out of the oven.

Focaccia Bread:
For the Focaccia Bread I use the rest of the dough and press down all over with my fingertips to make little dents in the dough.  I then spray with olive oil and sprinkle the dough with garlic powder, salt and rosemary.  I might add Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.

We love dipping this in extra pizza sauce or some olive oil which I have added chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as my family does.