Pizza Margherita

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Pizza Margherita

star rating (15) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

Dough
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (100°F to 115°F)
2 tablespoons honey
3 1/2-3 3/4 cups King Arthur 100% Organic White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Toppings
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced into thin rounds
2 cups diced fresh mozzarella cheese
12 fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon bread salt or other fine salt

Preheat the oven to 425°F. If you're using a baking stone, preheat the oven to 450°F.

To make the dough: Stir together the yeast, water, honey, and 1 cup of the flour in a large mixing bowl, in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in the bucket of a bread machine. Cover the mixture and let it stand for 30 minutes; it'll be very soupy.

Add 2 cups of the remaining flour, the vital wheat gluten, and the salt to the yeast mixture, along with the olive oil and sesame seeds. Mix and knead the dough-by hand, mixer, or bread machine-for about 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to make a smooth elastic dough. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for at least 2 hours, or until it's doubled in size.

Assembling the pizza: Divide the dough in half, roll each piece on a floured surface into a 13" to 15" round (depending on the size of your pizza pans), and place the rounds on lightly oiled pans. (A 13" diameter yields a thin crust; a 15" diameter yields a cracker-thin crust.) Turn in the overhanging edge to form a rim. If you plan to use a baking stone to bake the pizza, place the dough on two baker's peels, dusted with cornmeal or surfaced with parchment.

Brush each round with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Divide the tomato slices between the rounds. Divide the cheese and sprinkle it on top of the tomatoes. Divide the basil leaves and sprinkle them on top of the cheese. Divide and sprinkle on the salt and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil.

Bake the pizzas in the pans for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top and bottom crusts are nicely browned. If you're using baking stones, bake for 15 to 25 minutes (leaving the pizza on the parchment), or until the crust is nicely browned on the bottom. Cut into wedges and serve immediately, garnished with additional fresh basil, if desired. Yield: 2 pizzas, about a dozen large slices.

Reviews

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  • star rating 05/19/2012
  • clwilson1 from KAF Community
  • I'm almost ashamed to admit that I totally screwed up this recipe but it was so forgiving that it still turned out amazing! First, I was in a hurry yesterday morning and looking for a pizza crust that didn't need to rise overnight. I was also out of regular flour and wouldn't be able to go to the store until much later in the day. When I saw this one, I was ecstatic because I knew I had a bag of whole wheat flour in the freezer just begging to be used. When I was ready to start making the crust around 2 pm, the 1st problem arose- what I thought was a half a bag of whole wheat flour only contained a scant cup. Still needing pizza dough for dinner, I quickly decided I'd make up the difference with bread flour. Knew it would turn out differently but forged ahead anyway. The only change I made was to add a spoon full of KF Pizza dough flavor and omit the wheat gluten which I didn't have. Problem #2- I didn't reread the recipe and just measured all the ingredients into my mixer! Then I looked at the recipe again and mentally began cursing because I know better but was still in too much of a hurry. Not wanting to toss the bowl & contents and still craving homemade pizza, I forged ahead again. Set it aside to rise (covered in plastic! I did read that part!) and finally went to the grocery store. It had doubled in size by the time I was ready to proceed and I was feeling a little better about the outcome. I had to add about 1/4 cup of flour to get it to a good kneading consistency and it was too elastic to roll so I stretched and shaped by hand into 2 crusts on parchment. Added toppings and then transferred to my stone in the oven. They browned and puffed nicely during the baking and looked/smelled amazing! The taste was equally wonderful and it was proclaimed 'Excellent!' by both husband and daughter! I didn't confess my screw-up to them and basked in the compliments but plan to make this again soon using the correct ingredients/procedures to see if it's better than my fluke.
  • star rating 01/26/2012
  • Dana from Idaho
  • For a whole wheat crust, this was great. Nice dough to work with. I made one pizza with the olive oil sauce as directed and the other with a traditional red sauce... the winner... hands down the red sauce. In our opinion using the olive oil really made the crust taste whole wheat. The kids didn't really care for it. We will be making this healthy and yummy crust again, but using red sauce. As a fan of the now and later KAF crust, can you freeze the other whole wheat crust to use later?
    Yes, you may freeze the dough after the first rise. If you are freezing for any length of time, additional yeast is recommended. Elisabeth
  • star rating 10/07/2011
  • Natasha from Iowa
  • I wanted a delicious whole wheat pizza crust from scratch and I found it! The process was straight forward- just dump in all the ingredients and let it rise in two steps. I used the kitchen aid dough hook for mixing. Definitely put the tight plastic wrap over the bowl so that it will rise faster-- I forgot that step and just used a towel. When I used the plastic wrap I got double the amount than the first time. The crust was yummy and easy to roll out, even for thin crust without tearing apart. Definitely will pass this along to friends and fam.
  • star rating 04/05/2011
  • cookinggram from KAF Community
  • I made this today, in my bread machine. I started with a total of 3 cups flour- had to add about 3 more tbsp while dough still oscillating- just enough to take the dough away from sides of machine. In less than 45 min., the dough had peaked at the top of the machine door. Had to remove and put in larger container to continue rising. The dough is light and airy. Will make much more of this dough in the future. Thank you for the healthy recipe.
  • star rating 03/16/2011
  • A budding baker from California
  • Disappointing!! I had started with great hopes looking at the other reviews but it didn't turn out as I had expected. We love the deep dish pizza but were looking for a change and therefore decided to try this one. I think I am going back to that one.
    Thanks for giving this recipe a try. Frank @ KAF.
  • star rating 07/31/2010
  • Jeff from Illinois
  • I made this very tasty and healthy recipe as written with King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour. The dough easily makes two 18-20 inch pizzas that are closer to pan style than thin crust. Not even close to 'cracker' thin. If I make it again I will omit or reduce the sesame seeds. The sesame seeds added a very noticeable flavor to the crust.
  • star rating 06/22/2010
  • del from detroit
  • Great healthy pizza crust! I did use the vital gluten and came out nice. Made a pizza and two calzones.
  • star rating 02/05/2010
  • Diane from Baltimore, Maryland
  • I am hooked on this recipe!!! used my bread maker to mix the dough, I have made the recipe two times in two weeks turned out great, I think I even like it better than white dough pizza. Easy to make and great taste.
  • star rating 01/09/2010
  • from
  • this recipe is also great for calzones!
  • star rating 01/08/2010
  • Sarah from Kansas City, MO
  • This is the easiest wheat dough to work with that I've ever made, and I've made a lot! I use a stand mixer on speed 2 and I ended up kneading the dough (on speed 2) for the full 5 minutes and added quite a bit of flour in the process. I will definitely make this again. I left out the vital wheat gluten since I had none, and this made two very big thin crusts.
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