Preparation

• I used an inexpensive mixer with a dough hook, but you can easily knead by hand.

  Warm 7/8 cup of slightly sparkling water; it should be warm, not hot.
  ^{Sparkling water helps make the dough lighter and softer.
  You can also use still water instead.}

  Pour into a small bowl:
  • 1/2 tsp of dried sourdough yeast
  ^{[or 1/4 tsp of instant yeast or 1 tsp of fresh yeast];}
  • 1/2 cup of warm water;
  mix, and your yeast is ready.

  Pour into the mixer bowl:
  • the 2 cups of whole wheat flour;
  • the 1/2 tsp of oil;
  start the mixer at speed 1 and add the 1/2 cup of water with dissolved yeast.
  Continue the work for about 10 minutes, adding the remaining water little by little, not necessarily all of it.
  I added it all [for a total of 7/8 cup].
  Add the salt halfway through so it can no longer come into direct contact with the yeast.

  At the end of the 10 minutes of kneading, you’ll have an elastic but hydrated dough.
  If you have difficulty handling it, use a dough scraper.

  

• Dust the bottom of a bowl with a little flour.

  You can use a bowl for kneading/fermenting with a hermetically sealed lid [like a Tupperware to be clear] or seal it with plastic wrap.

  Move the dough into the bowl.

  

• Seal the bowl and place it in the coldest room of the house in the dark.

  After a couple of hours, work the dough again inside the bowl.

  Reseal the bowl and place it back in the coldest room of the house in the dark just like before.

  After about 24 hours [so the next day roughly at the same time you kneaded], the dough should have doubled or nearly doubled; various factors such as flour, yeast, and environmental conditions affect the fermentation.

  

• I usually use the electric oven baking tray dimensions 10×11.5 inches or a rectangular tray dimensions 12×8 inches.

  Prepare the tray you intend to use and line it with a sheet of parchment paper oiled with a paper towel soaked in olive oil.
  Turn the dough over onto the tray.
  Spread the dough inside the tray with your fingertips until you reach the edges [more or less thick depending on the desired softness and crispiness].

  Let it rest in the completely turned-off oven for a couple of hours.

  

• Top the pizza as desired.

  ^{Avoid fatty toppings [little mozzarella].
  You can replace mozzarella with lean protein sources from ricotta to bresaola to lean cooked ham or cured ham to lean speck to fish.
  Prefer vegetables [which, among other things, add volume and satiate].}

  Margherita Pizza:
  • whole wheat margherita pizza.

• I used the fan-assisted electric oven, which from experience is more easily manageable than the non-fan-assisted kitchen oven.

  Preheat the oven well.
  Bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes.
  Temperature and times may vary from oven to oven and depending on the thickness of the pizza.
  Lift the pizza to check that the base is cooked; then remove it from the oven.

  Wait until it is lukewarm, then cut it into slices.

  Your whole wheat pizza with 24-hour fermentation is ready.

  Enjoy your meal!

  

• • before the pizza, have a large portion of vegetables [raw or cooked];
  • respect your portions;
  • after the pizza, take a walk.

  You might be interested in the article on pizza and glycemia.

• ^{—
  Glycemic Index Pizza and Long or Short Fermentation?
  Today, schools of thought seem to have split.
  We still have USEFUL TIPS TO REDUCE PIZZA’S IMPACT ON GLYCEMIA available, and we must continue to rely on them.
  Glycemic response is personal, and the variables are numerous.
  • with a glucometer in hand, test your personal response to try to adjust.
  More on this and tips here → glycemic index pizza.
  —}