This pizza came out of laziness and a need to clean out some odds and ends from the refrigerator. The result was quite delicious, if I do say so myself!
Pizza Crust
3 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
1 C warm water
2 Tbsp yeast (use less if you don't like a strong yeast flavor)
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Toppings
Pizza sauce of your choosing
1 1/2 C shredded chicken
1 C low fat feta crumbles
1/4 large red onion sliced thinly
Sliced black olives, to your liking
1 C baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
To make crust: Pour warm water into the bowl of a mixer. Add the honey and salt and mix on low until well blended. Add the yeast and mix. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes, then add 1 cup of flour and the olive oil and mix until well blended. Add the rest of the flour and mix well (you could add oregano or basil at this time, too). The dough should turn into a ball. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If the dough is too sticky, more like batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time.
Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute. Place the dough in a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.
After about 45 minutes the dough should have almost doubled in size; punch it down. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is then ready to be rolled out (or frozen for later use, but bring it to room temperature before rolling it out). Roll the dough to fit the size of your pan, round or square. If you prefer thin crust, halve the dough ball and roll out two crusts. Once dough is rolled out, puncture it in a few places with a fork. This keeps it from bubbling up while cooking.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the crust briefly, for about 5 minutes.
To top pizza: Remove crust from oven and top with your favorite pizza sauce. Disperse chicken, feta, onion, and black olives around crust. Tear spinach into small pieces and disperse around pizza. Top with mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles and browns.
