My mom is funny.  When I emailed her about her pizza crust recipe and the story of Brother B, she was concerned about his privacy.  So this nugget is about Brother B, not his full name. 

Brother B is from a farming monastery in upstate NY.  I went there on a retreat during college and proceeded to sleep twelve hours a day. The elderly nun overseeing the women’s guest house made homey casseroles.  No internet and probably not much cell phone reception.  Did I say I slept twelve hours a day?  I also read and hiked around the property.  Looked at the sheep.  An idyllic quiet place, it is my idea of a vacation.  (Someday I would like to do similar here.  One of those bucket list ideas, y’know.)

Anyway, my farmer father met Brother B at an agriculture committee.  My mother invited him over for dinner.  Those were the trailer days, so my mom cooked frugally.  She served Brother B homemade lentil soup.  In her words, “a very good soup made with dry beans from the food co-op”.  Brother B was not thrilled and fussed with his bowl. 

“Gee, Margaret, I get this in the monastery all the time.”

Mom reassured him there were two made-from-scratch pizzas in the oven.  He brightened up right away. 

Her pizza crust is made with whole-wheat flour.  Well, not entirely, thank goodness.  I’d be hacking on cardboard.  Part whole-wheat, part regular.  Whole-wheat flour needs to be fresh and kept in the fridge, it can get stale and bitter.  Mom’s advice is to look for a date on the bag or buy from a busy co-op store selling a lot of it.  I bought Bob’s Red Mill 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour.   

Pizza Dough

   1 cup warm water from the tap but not boiling.

   1 Tablespoon yeast

   2 Tablespoons oil

   1 teaspoon sugar

   1 teaspoon salt

   1 1/4 cup white flour

   1 cup whole wheat flour

Mix yeast into warm water. Add sugar and salt, then oil and all the flour. Knead in additional flour if needed. Dough should be smooth after kneading. Dough should be able to be handled without sticking to hands. Keep hands floured which helps. Spread on 2 greased pans. Add sauce, cheese, pepperoni, etc. Bake at 400 for 15-20 mins.

She went on to state:  “You better try this recipe out to be sure it works ok. My directions were sketchy. I was used to doing it. Or compare it to others to be sure the directions sound right.”

Hrm.  I did.  I went here, saw all the extra instructions, and heeded some of them. The dough will rise.  And rise some more. *exasperation* I don’t have a lot of patience with yeast.  Or lengthy bread processes, at least in terms of pizza.  I want my pizza. Now.  But no, I won’t buy a Boboli crust.  A cross between luxury and accessibility, I want sublime for minimal.  But then you would question why I decided to roast onions and garlic one hour for toppings.  I don’t get myself either. 

I smooshed those lovelies up and added some balsamic vinegar.

And some feta, bacon, and chopped bell pepper.

Made a white sauce roux (butter, flour, milk) with grated parmesan and slathered. Piled on the topping.

In.  

And out.

Tasty, tasty.  Brother B, eat your heart out.