Before you head off into the wonders/horrors of a three day yom tov there’s still time for one more dairy recipe. (Technically, this recipe is pareve, but it makes a great vehicle for dairy foods, i.e. cheese.)
A friend of mine here in Chicago is using Shavuot as an excuse for an interactive lunch: make your own pizza. For the purpose of this lunch, we’ll be eating store bought crusts, but if we wanted to take it up a notch, we could make this great whole wheat dough.
The recipe makes a chewy crust that browns nicely. Like any other recipe for pizza dough, the key to this one is a really hot oven. You can change the proportion of whole wheat to bread flour, but I wouldn’t go more than 50-50. If you are using vegetable toppings remember to put them under the cheese so they don’t burn.
What’s your favorite way to eat a pizza?
Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
1 cup whole wheat dough
1 teaspoon sugar
1 envelope instant yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
Directions
Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a bowl.
While mixing, add the water and 2 tablespoons of oil until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.
Scrape the ball onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth, firm ball.
Grease a bowl with the remaining oil, add the dough, and cover it with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm place and let it double in size, about one hour.
After 40 minutes, preheat the oven to 450°F.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Press each dough ball into a 1/2 inch thick flat round, adding flour or oil to the work surface as necessary. Press or roll the dough until it is as thin as you can make it. Allow the dough to rest if it becomes difficult to work with.
Brush lightly with olive oil and top as desired.
Bake for at least 10 minutes, rotating once, until crisp.
Shavuot
Pronounced: shah-voo-OTE (oo as in boot), also shah-VOO-us, Origin: Hebrew, the holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, falls in the Hebrew month Sivan, which usually coincides with May or June.
