Spelt Pizza Dough
Shared by: miprip
Source: Marla Stanley
Ingredients
Directions
1) Dissolve the sugar, yeast, and salt in the lukewarm water (and olive oil, if you're using it).
2) Add the flour, starting with white whole wheat flour, then spelt flour. Add more as needed to make a smooth, soft dough. OR, put all ingredients in breadmaker on pizza dough cycle.
3) Knead the dough (with your hands, a mixer, or your bread machine set on the dough cycle) until it's smooth and elastic, about 7 to 10 minutes.
4) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or other container (or leave in bread machine), cover it, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, however long you can.
5) Gently punch the dough down to deflate. Divide into four pieces for medium-crust, 3 pieces for thicker crust. Roll each piece, on a floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, into a circle to fit a 12" pizza pan. To roll, work from the center to the outside like pie dough. Let the dough rest several times to relax it and make it more cooperative. Turn it over from time to time and roll the reverse side.
6) Place the rounds on pizza pans; on greased baking sheets; or, if you have a pizza stone in your oven, on parchment.
7) Preheat your oven to 450°F. While it's heating, get out your toppings.
8) Brush each crust with a bit of olive oil; spread pizza sauce lightly over the surface, add toppings and sprinkle the top with grated cheese.
9) Bake the pizzas for 15 to 20 minutes, until they're golden brown, the toppings are hot and bubbly, and the cheese is melted. Remove the pizzas from the oven.
10) Immediately transfer pizzas to a cooling rack, so their bottoms don't get soggy. After about 10 minutes (to allow the toppings to set), slice and serve; a pair of scissors is a great cutting tool.