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Overnight Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Yield: 2 large pizzas
Prep Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups warm water
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 5 or more cups whole wheat flour, see note - you may need to use upwards of 6 or so, depending on how sticky the dough is

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, honey, oil and salt. Gradually add the flour until a soft dough is formed. Knead for 5-7 minutes (about 10 minutes if kneading by hand).
  • Transfer the dough to a large bowl lightly greased with cooking spray. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap (or a lid, if the bowl has one) and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
  • Remove the bowl 2-3 hours before making pizza. The dough should be at room temperature (it is really hard to roll it out if it is still chilled).
  • Lightly punch down the dough and shape it into pizzas, top with sauce and toppings and bake in a 475 or 500 degree oven on a preheated pizza stone or on a baking sheet (for an in-depth look at baking methods, here is a great tutorial).

Notes

Whole Wheat Flour: I always use white whole wheat flour which produces a lighter crust than red whole wheat flour but either can be used. This recipe can also be made with all white flour or half white/half wheat. Judge the dough by how it feels, not necessarily the exact amount of flour you've added. It should be soft and smooth after kneading and shouldn't leave any sticky residue on your fingers - but take care not to overflour so it is stiff. You should be able to easily stretch the dough without a lot of stickiness.
Update: several of you have had issues with dough that is too sticky. Again, the flour amount in the recipe is just a guideline, I use more or less depending on lots of different factors each time I make it. Originally the amount read as 4-5 cups flour but as it seems most people are using a bit more, I've edited the ingredient list to reflect that.