Pull-Apart Pizza and Homemade Pizza Sauce

My kids loooooove pizza.  We have made pizza probably almost 587 times.  We make it a lot.  I was so happy when I came across this recipe because it's made with whole wheat flour and it's a change from the normal, every-day pizza.  I may venture out to say we even prefer this pull-apart pizza over the norm.  It might look like there are a lot of steps to it, but it's really quite simple.  And it's really quite yummy.

Pull-Apart Pizza and Homemade Pizza Sauce
Yield: 4-6 servings

If you prefer to use all-purpose flour instead of wheat flour I'm sure it would still turn out great.  Or even half all-purpose, half whole wheat.  I've never tried it but I don't think it would change much, probably just the amount of total flour you add.  I love wheat flour so that's what we always use.  The possibilities for the filling in the middle are also endless.  You can add as much or as little toppings as you would like. (That's why I leave out an amount of pepperoni in the ingredients list.)

Ingredients
Pizza Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 tablespoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups white whole wheat flour (approximately)

Pizza Sauce
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Filling
3/4 cup pizza sauce
8 ounces mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni
1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese


Directions
For the dough:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour. Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.  Judge the dough by how it feels and not by the exact flour amount.  You may need to add more or less.  The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.  Wheat flour can become dense with too much so make sure to err on the lesser side because you can always add more while it's kneading.
2. Knead the dough in the mixer for about 7 minutes.  Lightly grease another bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl.  Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled (about an hour).
3. Gently punch down the dough and press it onto a lightly greased counter to a 17x14- inch rectangle.
4. Spread the pizza sauce evenly across the top.  Don't go all the way to the edges or it will spill out when you roll it up.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese then layer on the pepperoni and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.
5. Beginning with one of the long edges, roll the dough up cinnamon roll style.  Try to keep the roll as tight as you possibly can.  Pinch the sides as you roll along to keep sauce from spilling out.  Pinch the long seam to seal it up once it's all rolled together.
6. Carefully lift the roll and place it seam side down, diagonally, on a lined (parchment or silpat) baking sheet.  Cut a slice almost down to the bottom of the roll (careful not to cut all the way through!) every inch or so the length of the pizza roll. Gently pull the slices to alternating sides down the length leaving the bottom of the dough intact so the rolls don't completely separate.
7.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  While the oven is preheating let the rolls rise, uncovered is fine, until slightly puffy.  I let them rise between 15-30 minutes.
8. Bake the pizza rolls for 18-22 minutes until they are golden on top and the bread is baked through.
9. Let the rolls rest for about 5 minutes before pulling apart.  The filling will be hot.  You can dip the rolls in extra, warmed pizza sauce if you'd like.

For the Pizza sauce:
Blend all ingredients in a blender until it's the consistency you like.  I do it for about 10 seconds.  Preferable let it rest about 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to marry together before putting it onto the rolled out pizza dough.  I like to make this in the morning and leave it in the fridge until I'm ready to make the pizza later that afternoon.  Store any leftover sauce in the refrigerator.

Source: Melskitchencafe.com and slightly adapted from cookingclassy.com