Basic Pizza Dough

I admit that I’m usually to lazy to make crust from scratch, especially now that there are several really good, natural brands on the market. But once in a while, I like to make crust from scratch; it’s really not that difficult. Here’s my favorite basic recipe, which harks back to my very first book,Vegetariana.

Makes enough crust for two 12- to 14-inch pizzas

• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup safflower or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons natural granulated sugar
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 cups unbleached white flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Combine the yeast with 2 cups of warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes to dissolve. Stir in the oil and sugar.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours the salt. Make a well in the center and stir in the yeast mixture. Work everything together. first with a wooden spoon and then your hands, to form a dough.

Turn it out onto a well-floured board and knead it for 8 minutes, adding flour until the dough loses stickiness. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and put it in a warm place. Let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down. divide it. and form into two rounds. Roll out each round on a well-floured board and stretch it to fit a 12- to 14-inch round pizza pan. Lightly oil the pans and sprinkle them with cornmeal.

Lay the rounds on the pans and make a lip of dough around the edge. Arrange topping of choice on the dough. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, until crust is golden.

• Explore VegKitchen’s Easy Pizza Recipes.