I've been making tons of tomato sauce and canning it up for winter and planned on showing you all my pics of how I did. But Crystal has posted such an awesome tutorial on her blog that I decided to just refer you to the expert! LOL She always does such an awesome job of step by step methods of things that many of us want to do, but never really learned how. I wish I saw her post before I did mine, because she doesn't even peel her tomatoes! With the exception of my frozen ones I blanched and peeled EVERY single tomato for my sauces, talk about time consuming, lol. Ya learn something new every day though, I guess.
One of the things that I love doing w/my homemade tomato sauce is to make pizza sauce for homemade pizza. Every Thursday is Family Movie Night for us, and we have homemade pizza and watch Little House on the Prairie (or similar, family oriented wholesome show). Since we do not have TV, this is actually a big deal for us and is looked forward to all week long, lol. I thought I'd share some of my favorite whole wheat pizza crusts. We have two that we really enjoy, and are most often in the rotation (although I may try other recipes on occasion just for a change of pace) so I consider them to be "tried & true."
Today I'll share our most favorite. This is a pan pizza recipe ( similar to the old Pizza Hut pan pizza - they reformulated their recipe in the last few years and it's just not the same) Pizza Hut's "pan pizza" literally meant "pizza fried in pan", so although it is whole wheat, that does not mean that it's the the ultimate picture of health, though it will still have far more health benefits than ANYTHING you would get from Pizza Hut, lol. A big portion of the "health factor" is also in what you decide to put ON the pizza. I have served pizza's on this crust to many friends and family and have never had complaints (actually more like requests for more!) I've even gone over to friends/family's home and made it for their family before (including out of town family, & sometimes the same house many times!). So I hope that your family will enjoy it as well.
Whole Wheat Pizza Hut "Original Pan" Pizza
Dough:
1 1/3 cups warm water
1/4cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups flour (you can start with 1/2 all-purpose or bread flour, if you're worried about texture, however I use all White Whole Wheat, and have for several years now)
1 Tblspn sugar or honey
4 tsp vital wheat gluten
1 pkg (2 1/4tsp) instant yeast (if you don't have instant be sure to activate yeast first in a little of the water)
2 Tblspn Olive oil
*If using all whole wheat flour, for best results soak your flour with 1-2Tblspns lemon juice or yogurt, and the honey from the recipe overnight, if desired for better digestion and a softer dough. If not, you may skip this optional step.
1. Combine in bread machine (or mixer) and knead for 10-20 minutes or until kneading cycle (not entire dough cycle, just until machine stops kneading) is finished.
2. Remove the dough, on a floured surface, and divide into 3 balls.
3. In three 9-inch cake pans, put 2-4 Tblspns oil in each, and spread evenly on bottom of pan (the bottom of the pan should be covered with the oil)
4. Roll each dough ball into a 9 in circle and place in prepared pan. Spray outer edge of dough with Pam. Cover with a plate and allow to rise 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
Sauce:
1 (8oz) can Tomato Sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp each marjoram, dried basil, and garlic salt
*combine and let sit 1 hour
Toppings: 1 lb mozzerella cheese, meat/veggies, of choice
For each 9-inch pizza: Preheat oven to 475 degrees. (I prefer to precook the dough for about 5-8 minutes at this point, but this is up to you) Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1 inch of edge. Distribute about 1/3cup mozzarella cheese on sauce. Place toppings on cheese (meats, veggies, etc), then top with another 3/4c cheese. Bake until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is browned, 15-20 minutes (maybe another 8-10 if you prebaked crust before topping). Cover with foil sprayed with Pam if the top is cooking faster than the bottom.
So those are the basic instructions, and here's how I do it...
(ignore the herbs in the first 2 pics, this was actually for an herb crust I made another day, I'll share that recipe later)
actual dough, w/o herbs, lol
**Here's where white flour gets the most mileage in our home, for dusting countertops, and rolling out dough! LOL
**I only divide it into 2 (unequal) parts because I use one 12-inch pan for mom/dad and a 8-inch for AJ
**Now that I know about how much oil we like, I just pour enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
**Can you tell which one is AJ's? LOL (Hint: the one w/the least color!) Since Family Movie/Pizza Night is special, we let him have the toppings of choice
**for my guys, pizza is just not complete w/o wings, and some homemade ranch dressing!
Enjoy!
I'm a wannabe in every sense of the word. I wanna be good enough to make it to heaven, but Jesus died because I will never be. I wanna be a mom of ten living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, training my girls to honor God & their husbands, by being content, happy homemakers...yet God has seen fit to bless us with the opportunity to help rear for Him two boys (22 and 12), in the middle of suburbia ;) I wanna be a helpmate to my husband in every way possible, yet more often than not, I'm in his way, lol. I wanna be the perfect parent, that raises perfect children, yet I am constantly humbled by the fact that only He is perfect, and I must allow him to lead. I wanna be the ultimate caretaker of my temple, and the pinnacle of health to all around me, yet no amount of healthy eating/exercise keeps me from dropping to my knees often, in need of healing from the Great Physician. I could go on and on about the the things that I am trying to be, but I invite you instead to come and join me as I travel on my path toward virtue... ~Proverbs 31:10-31~
) Pizza Hut's "pan pizza" literally meant "pizza fried in pan", so although it is whole wheat, that does not mean that it's the the ultimate picture of health, though it will still have far more health benefits than ANYTHING you would get from Pizza Hut, lol. A big portion of the "health factor" is also in what you decide to put ON the pizza. I have served pizza's on this crust to many friends and family and have never had complaints (actually more like requests for more!) I've even gone over to friends/family's home and made it for their family before (including out of town family, & sometimes the same house many times!
). So I hope that your family will enjoy it as well. 
actual dough, w/o herbs, lol
**Here's where white flour gets the most mileage in our home, for dusting countertops, and rolling out dough! LOL
**I only divide it into 2 (unequal) parts because I use one 12-inch pan for mom/dad and a 8-inch for AJ 
**Now that I know about how much oil we like, I just pour enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
**Can you tell which one is AJ's? LOL (Hint: the one w/the least color!) Since Family Movie/Pizza Night is special, we let him have the toppings of choice 
**for my guys, pizza is just not complete w/o wings, and some homemade ranch dressing!
