Whole Wheat Pizza Hand Pockets Recipes

PIZZA POCKETS

Steps:

• Roll out refrigerated pizza dough to 1/4-inch thick; cut into 3-inch rounds. Top with tomato sauce and grated mozzarella and parmesan. Brush the edges with beaten egg, fold in half and press to seal. Brush with egg and sprinkle with parmesan before baking. Poke a hole in each; bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk the warm water, yeast, and honey together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes or until foamy on top. *If you don't have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.
• Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. It will be slightly tacky to the touch. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 5 minutes. The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed if needed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray- just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it's doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
• Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time- see freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle. Lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker's peels dusted with cornmeal.
• Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings.
• To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 15-16 minutes.
• Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Store leftover pizza covered tightly in the refrigerator and reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices may be frozen up to 1 month.

HOT DOG PIZZA POCKETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Whisk the egg in a small bowl with a fork until blended; set the egg wash aside.
• Unfold one of the sheets of puff pastry and roll it out flat; cut into 4 squares. Roll one of the squares into a 6-inch square. Place a hot dog on the right edge of the square. Spread 2 teaspoons of the pizza sauce to the left of the hot dog, leaving a 1/2-inch border of dough uncovered on the left side and a 1/4-inch border on the top and bottom. Sprinkle 2 heaping tablespoons of the mozzarella and about 12 pieces of the pepperoni on top of the pizza sauce. Brush the uncovered edges of the dough with a little egg wash. Tightly roll the dough from the hot dog side to the egg wash side and press down on the seam to seal it. Pinch the top and bottom of the pocket closed and tuck the dough under. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and continue with the remaining ingredients, including cutting the second sheet of puff pastry to wrap the remaining hot dogs.
• Prick the wrapped hot dogs with a fork 3 times diagonally along the length of each, then brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle each with about 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 1 1/2 teaspoons Parmesan.
• Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving with extra pizza sauce on the side.

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Proof yeast in a measuring cup with lukewarm water.
• In a food processor add whole wheat and all purpose flours, proofed yeast, oil mixed with honey and salt. Pulse processor to combine all ingredients. Then process until the dough forms a ball on the blade. Remove dough to a large oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until dough has doubled in bulk.
• Punch down dough and transfer to a floured board and knead briefly. Divide dough into 4 equal portions and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls of dough, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring the dough to room temperature before proceeding.
• On a floured board roll and stretch each piece of dough into a 7 to 8-inch circle. Place each circle on a wooden pizza peel or pizza pan and top as desired.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. and bake 7 to 8 minutes per pizza.

WHOLE-WHEAT PIZZA HAND POCKETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
• Mix together the mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, pepperoni, egg yolk and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
• Divide the dough into eight even pieces. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and roll a piece of dough out into a 5-inch round. Put 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of the cheese filling in the center and top with about 2 teaspoonfuls of sauce. Brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg and fold one side over the filling to make a half moon. Press and crimp the edges. Put the pocket on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, filling and sauce. Brush the tops of the hand pockets with egg and cut a 1-inch vent in the center of each.
• Bake until golden brown and the filling begins to bubble, 24 to 28 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes before serving.
• Alternatively, freeze the unbaked hand pockets for up to 1 month; bake as above, from frozen, 25 to 29 minutes.

WHOLE-WHEAT CHERRY TOMATO AND ZUCCHINI PAN PIZZA

Steps:

• Set a pizza stone or baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Toss the zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and let sit.
• Spray the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with cooking spray. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and start pressing it into a rectangular shape. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press it evenly all the way to the edges. Place the pan on the hot pizza stone and partially bake for about 10 minutes. The bottom should be lightly golden brown and crisp.
• Remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the crust with the mozzarella in an even layer. Pat-dry the zucchini and shingle the rounds in a single layer over the mozzarella. Spray the cherry tomatoes with cooking spray and toss with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, then top the zucchini layer with the tomatoes, olives and feta. Drizzle all over with the olive oil.
• Return the pizza to the oven and bake until the bottom is deep golden brown and the cherry tomatoes have wilted, 18 to 20 minutes,
• Top with torn basil leaves. Cut into 8 squares.
• Stir together the warm water, honey and yeast in a measuring cup or small bowl. Let sit until a small layer of foam develops at the top, 3 to 5 minutes. (If this doesn't happen, discard and try again with new yeast.)
• Whisk the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl. Add the foamy yeast mixture and olive oil and mix together with a stiff rubber spatula. Form the dough into a uniform ball in the center of the bowl. Be sure to scrape and use any dough stuck to the sides. The dough will be very sticky at this stage. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and keep in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour. Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on a clean, dry work surface. Scrape the dough onto the floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes, working in just enough flour to make the dough less sticky but still moist to the touch. Form the dough into 1, 2 or 4 balls, for large, medium and small pizzas. Place the dough ball(s) on the prepared baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let rest for 30 minutes. The dough can then be shaped and cooked as desired or wrapped well and frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen dough at room temperature, shape and cook as desired.