Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza~ Preparing Whole Wheat Dough

During the cold months here in central New York, the oven gets more than a work out. I will never forget the first homemade  pizza dough recipe I read years ago. It instructed me to heat my oven temperature to 500 degrees F.! I was like, “No Way”, lol! For many, many years whenever I baked my homemade pizza, the highest the oven temperature would go is 450 dgrees F. I mean, what did I think the oven was going to do do at 500 degrees?? Make a darn good pizza, is what it does. I often forget how much I enjoy a whole wheat crust much more than the ones prepared with all purpose flour. For this recipe I thought I would make it extra special by stuffing the crust edges with cheese. One of the most simple, yet tasty things to do with homemade pizza. I would have liked to include a picture of stuffing the crust, but was losing the light quickly for good picture taking…next time!

1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 degrees)
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/2 to to 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
*I typically add about 3 cups when using all purpose flour.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

*cornmeal
*more olive oil

For Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza you will need
5 mozzarella chesse stick sliced into two shorter sticks.

Tips~ The dough can be refrigerated for a day or two or frozen for a couple of weeks, I like to season any exposed crust with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano.

Tips~ A Quick Pizza Sauce. 1 cup garlic flavored tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon basil, 1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/3 teaspoon pepper and salt to taste. Good for 2(12 inch pizzas)

 

1. In a large bowl, add the yeast, warm water and honey. Gently stir and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Add 1 cup of flour, salt and olive oil.Stir well to combine. Gradually add in the remaining flour until soft dough form. Transfer to a glass bowl drizzled with olive oil. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes in a warm, dry space.

3. After 40 minutes, divide the dough into 2 equal dough balls. Knead each for a minute, transfer to a plate, cover loosely and let rise for another 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees and adjust the oven rack to lowest shelf.

4. To prepare cheese stuffed crust, tansfer one dough ball to a baking sheet that is drizzled with olive oil and then a light layer of cornmeal. using your hands, press and form a 12 inch circle.

5. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and take your cheese stick pieces and form a circle around the dough’s outer edge. fold dough over cheese to cover completely. Fill center with cheese, sauce and favorite toppings. Bake on lowest rack for 14 to 16 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Let rest for a few minutes before slicing. Yields 2 pizzas, 6 slices per pizza.

Hawaiian Pizza Toppings included, 4 ounces sliced or shredded mozzarella, 4 ounces pizza sauce, 3/4 cup chopped (baked) ham, 3/4 cup fresh diced pineapple, 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion  and 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.