Honey-Wheat Pizza Dough

This recipe is from the California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook, which also has many delicious pizza recipes. I'm partial to the Honey-Wheat Dough recipe, and I use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup bread flour instead of what they have in the recipe below.

1 tsp yeast

1/2 cup plus 1 tsp warm water

1 cup bread flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

5 tsp clover honey

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tsp for coating

Dissolve the yeast in the water and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes. If using an electric mixer, use the mixing paddle attachment because the batch size is too small for the dough hook to be effective (unless you 4 times the recipe, then the dough hook will work). Combine all other ingredients except the additional tsp olive oil and combine them with the dissolved yeast in the mixing bowl. Allow these ingredients to mix gradually, use the lowest speeds to mix the dough. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Over-mixing will produce tough, rubbery dough, and friction will cause dough to rise too fast. If mixing by hand use a wooden spoon to mix all ingredients, then lightly oil your hands and knead for 5 minutes. When done, the dough should be slightly tacky, barely beyond sticking to your hands.

Lightly oil the dough ball and interior or 1-quart glass bowl. Place the dough ball in the bowl and seal the bowl with clear food wrap; seal air tight. Set aside at room temperature to rise until double in bulk, 1 1/2- 2 hours.

The dough can be used at this point, but it will not be that wonderful, chewy, flavorful dough that it will later become. Punch down the dough, reform a nice round ball and return it to the same bowl, cover again with clear food wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight, cover airtight.

About 2 hours before you are ready to assemble your pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Use a sharp knife to divide the dough into 2 equal portions (or 4 equal portions if smaller 6-inch pizzas are desired for appetizers).

Roll the smaller doughs into round balls on a smooth, clean surface; be sure to seal any holes by pinching or rolling.

Place the newly formed dough balls in a glass casserole dish, spaced far enough apart to allow for each to double in size. Seal the top of the dish air-tight with clear food wrap. Set aside at room temperature until the dough balls have doubled in size (about 2 hours). They should be smooth and puffy.

Now to stretch and form; sprinkle a medium dusting of flour over a clean smooth surface, carefully remove a dough ball from the dish, being very careful to preserve its round shape. Flour the dough liberally. Place the floured dough on the floured smooth surface.

Form 9-inch round by pressing down with your fingers to stretch or toss to stretch. Lightly sprinkle cornmeal or semolina or flour over the surface of a wooden pizza peel. Arrange the stretched dough over the floured peel surface. Work quickly adding sauces and toppings so the dough doesn't become soggy or sticky. Transfer pizza from peel to stone.

I usually dress the pizza right on the stone and place it in the oven from there. I think the Pizza Kitchen way is best. But I don't have all the tools. Bake pizza at 500˚ for 8-10 minutes.