Pizza Pizza!

I jinxed myself when I said I only usually buy one or two things at Whole Foods. I came out with two full bags. Gulp. I just couldn’t resist the beautiful stacks of vegetables and vivacious grains. I got lots of good stuff though! Some great veggies, more grains, stocked up on almond milk (it’s actually cheaper there than at the Teeter). People probably thought I was crazy because I took pictures of each of the grains I bought so I wouldn’t forget again!

For dinner tonight I whipped up some homemade pizza so I could try out some of my new ingredients. Fresh basil, mozzarella cheese, and buckwheat flour.

I used my basic go-to pizza dough recipe, and made a few swaps.

Here’s the base recipe I use:

1 3/4c flour

2/3 cup warm water

1/2 packet yeast

dash of salt

splash of olive oil

Combine warm water and yeast. Then added in flour, salt , and oil. Mix for several minutes (if doing by hand knead 5-10 minutes). Allow to rise about an hour in warm place. When dough has doubled in size, roll out to form crust. Top with toppings galore and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

I almost always always do some variation on this dough. If you’re scared of crossing over into the world of homemade breads, I suggest starting with pizza dough. It’s hard to mess up. I always mix up the types of flours I use. I really like all whole wheat flour and my husband’s favorite version is about 1 cup all purpose flour with 3/4 cup whole wheat. I’ve done it with and without yeast, with and without olive oil, let it rise and not let it rise, thrown in different spices…the possibilities are endless. It’s easily doubled, tripled, whatever amount you need. And it freezes well too!

Last night I used the end both my whole wheat and all purpose flours. I’d guess a little more than 3/4c whole wheat flour, then topped off with all purpose flour to make a cup. Then I tried 3/4c buckwheat flour. It was too late at night to let it rise so I skipped that step.

Then I topped it off with a little leftover vodka sauce, a handful of torn spinach leaves, slices of mozzarella, and quite a few basil leaves.

My own version of a margherita pizza!

This version of the crust was good, but either the buckwheat flour and/or not letting rise made it a little too “heavy” for such delicate toppings.

I had 2 slices to start with, then went back for 2 more!

Now off to finish Julie and Julia! I sure hope I stay awake this time!!

What’s your favorite pizza topping?

Tagged as: basil, cheese, pizza, recipes, whole foods