White Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Makes six, 12-inch pizza crusts.

From 101 Cookbooks.

4 ½ cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour

1 ¾ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

¼ cup olive oil

1 ¾ cups water, ice cold

Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. By hand stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If needed, add a touch of water or flour to reach the desired effect. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky.

Transfer the dough to a floured countertop. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and mold each into a ball. Rub each ball with olive oil and slip into plastic sandwich bags. Refrigerator overnight. Dough can be left in fridge for up to 4 days.

When you are ready to make pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before making the pizza. Keep them covered so they don't dry out.

At the same time place a baking stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.

Uncover or unwrap the dough balls and dust them with flour. Working one at a time, gently roll out dough into a circle about 12-inches in diameter. If the dough is being fussy and keeps springing back, let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Dust the baking stone or back of a baking sheet with cornmeal or semolina flour. Place the rolled-out dough on the prepared sheet pan.

Add your toppings and slide the topped pizza onto the baking stone. Bake until the crust is crisp and nicely colored, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

*Dough freezes nicely. Freeze after dividing up dough and putting in Ziploc bags. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Then continue to form and cook as indicated above.