Pizza Dough: Yeast Feast, Part 3

This pizza dough is so common in our house that I almost overlooked it. A friend passed it to me years ago and it's been a staple ever since.

Toss in the bread maker in this order:

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder (more or less to taste)

1 tablespoon whole flax seeds (optional)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or 1 packet)

Set the bread maker to the Dough setting and start thinking about the toppings. I usually put on some canned pizza sauce (freeze the rest in ice cube trays for the next pizza time), turkey pepperoni, sliced green peppers, and about 12 oz shredded mozzarella. Sometimes other toppings make their appearance depending on their availability and my energy level (caramelized onions, snipped fresh spinach, sliced mushrooms, chopped olives, roasted broccoli, feta cheese, or goat cheese). You can get creative here.

I should remember to make 4 personal pizzas because everyone in my family prefers different toppings, but usually I make the 2 pizzas, and personalize each half. Look out if you accidentally eat from someone else's half!

When the dough is done (about 1.5 hours later), I split the dough roughly in half and stretch it out on some cookie sheets or pizza stones into 2 circular-ish crusts. Then layer on the toppings and pop into the oven at about 400 degrees for maybe 15 minutes. Rotate the pans, see if the cheese looks good and melted, and cook for maybe 5 minutes more.

When the cheese is starting to brown on the edges and the crust is looking crusty, you're done!

Slice and enjoy!