We eat a lot of pizza around here. By a lot, I mean at least once a week. Sometimes we go through long stretches of pizza-hunger, making it for dinner every two or three days. (For some reason, this happens most frequently in the summer, despite the heat of the oven.) I don’t lie when I say that pizza is one of my favorite foods.

Dan and I are well-stocked with pizza dough most weeks, because we make a recipe that divides into four medium-sized pizza rounds. Usually we freeze three, and cook up one the same night. We prefer a dough that’s part whole wheat for health, taste, and texture reasons, and we like it rolled out very thin and topped minimally with garlicky tomato sauce, local cheese, and olives.

Here’s our dough recipe, adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated Best Recipe bible. What you put on top of the pizza dough is up to you!

Fastest Pizza Dough

• 1 1/2 c. warm water (about 105 degrees)
• 1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp. rapid-rise dry yeast
• 1 tbs. sugar
• 2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour, plus extra for dusting hands and work surfaces
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• extra olive oil for oiling bowl

1. Set oven to 200 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn oven off.
2. Meanwhile, pour water into a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar into water and mix. Add oil, flour, and salt and mix until the dough is cohesive. It should be soft and a little sticky. (If it’s too sticky add a tablespoon or so of extra flour at a time.)
3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand with a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball.
4. Place the dough into a deep, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel (or plastic wrap). Set the bowl in the oven for 40 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Remove from oven, punch the dough down, and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef’s knife or dough scaper to halve, quarter, or cut dough into eighths. Form each piece into a ball and cover with a damp cloth. Let rest for 5 -30 minutes.
6. Set one dough ball aside and wrap the rest tightly in plastic wrap. Store them in the freezer.
7. Place a large cookie sheet in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
8. Using your hands, flatten the dough and stretch it outward with your fingertips, rotating the dough to form a circle or oblong rectangle. Use a rolling pin to further flatten it, if you like.
9. Gently transfer the dough to a pizza peel dusted with flour or cornmeal (we use a flexible cutting board — we don’t have a pizza peel) and top as desired.
10. Use a quick jerking action to transfer the pizza from the peel (or cutting board) to the hot pan in the oven. Bake for 5 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the pizza. Serve immediately.