sometimes twice as much is better

while i love my whole wheat pizza crust, one thing about it always bothered me; it was dry. i mean, you feel good eating it because it's whole wheat, and therefore, healthy, however, i'm one of those people who feel that healthy can also be tasty. so i experimented.
last night i came across a discovery...using 4 tablespoons of olive oil in the dough, instead of the 2 i previously called for, creates a softer and chewier crust...not dry at all!
i've updated the pizza recipes on the site to reflect the additional oil...i hope this encourages you all to create your own whole wheat pizza crusts at home!
and, as an added bonus...just because you are such wonderful people, i've also decided to give you another variation on the pizza...see below:

crispy proscuitto pizza

ingredients:
the new and improved pizza dough from here or here
1 small can, tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons water
several sprigs fresh thyme
4 ounces very thinly slices proscuitto
1 cup shredded mozzarella (not fresh)
1.5 cups shredded parmesan

directions:
prepare pizza dough per my instructions.
while it is rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. lay the proscuitto out in one layer on a baking sheet and pop into the oven. keep an eye on it, but let it get crispy. this will take about five minutes, and you'll know it's crisping because it's edges will curl.
meanwhile, mix the tomato paste with a little water until it's thinned out some, and then add the thyme and mix together.
spread out the dough in a thin layer, making sure to create a crust. sprinkle parmesan onto the crust of the pizza (for added flavor) and then spread the tomato mixture evenly on the middle of the crust. add the proscuitto, breaking it up with your hands as you go. then top with the mozzarella and then the remaining parmesan.
the pizza will only need to bake for about 15 minutes...but keep an eye on it to make sure that the cheese has bubbled and browned.

notes:
this is my cheat pizza sauce. it's a simple solution when you are in a pinch (most of us have tomato paste lying around, right?) and it tastes excellent. the mixture can't be too wet or the crust will be soggy, that's why you can't use fresh mozzarella either.
the crust, once you are used to making it, takes less than 8 minutes to pull together. so it's perfect for a weeknight meal.
at some point i will use it to make zeppoles...so stay tuned for that!