Anita Ojeda 
Making healthier pizza starts with a whole grain pizza crust. A little vital wheat gluten makes this the best whole-wheat pizza dough, hands down.
The Best Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
“I offered to take another staff member’s cafeteria duty for supper,” I told my house guest. “When the other kids get home, could you tell them about the pizza options?”
“Sure,” she answered.
I pointed to the first pizza, “That’s a weird Mexican pizza with beans, and cheese, and enchilada sauce on it.”
She made a little face.
“I know, sounds weird, but I ran out of tomato sauce yesterday.” I pointed to the second pizza, “And that’s a spicy one with lots of jalapeños, so be careful.”
“What’s that one?” she asked, pointing to the third pizza.
“That has pesto, spinach, feta cheese, and almonds.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I’ve got to hurry,” I said as I slipped on my shoes. “Thank you for letting everyone know!”
As I crossed campus, I ran into another of my teenage house guests. “You may eat in the cafe if you’d like, or, there’s some pizza at home.” Her face lit up. “It’s weird pizza. If you don’t like it, it’s ok.”
She looked at her friend, “Can she come, too?”
“Sure, why not. But remember, the pizza is not normal!”
They shrugged and ran towards the house.
By the time I reached the cafeteria, my two other houseguests had decided to try the ‘weird pizza.’ I figured if they hated it, they all knew where to find the cafeteria.
Thirty minutes later, I returned to the house.
The crowd had demolished my strangest creation along with the spicy jalapeño pizza. “You all survived the weird pizza?”
They nodded and started talking about their favorites.
It Starts With Whole-Grain Pizza Crust
What none of my unsuspecting pizza testers knew is that they had eaten healthy, whole-grain pizza with very little cheese. By adding a little vital wheat gluten flour to the dough, it turns out just right. Using whole-wheat flour has several advantages. First of all, teenagers eat less (which means leftovers for me) but still feel full. Second of all, whole-wheat has more fiber and protein and nourishes their growing bodies better than pizza dough made with white flour. I call that a win-win situation!
I call this my best whole-wheat pizza dough recipe ever. One batch will make three 15″ pizzas, so you can experiment with toppings. Who would have guessed that kids would eat black beans on pizza? But that one won the informal favorite-pizza-poll of the evening.
I used 1/2 cup of green enchilada sauce, 2 cups of my black beans, 1/2 cup of frozen corn, 1 1/2 cups of grated jack cheese, and a small can of sliced olives.
For the pesto pizza I used 3 Tbs. of pesto sauce, 5 oz of fresh spinach, 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese, 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of sliced almonds.
The fiesta pizza takes a little more time to assemble. I chopped and sautéed three jalapeños in a teaspoon of olive oil, and then mixed them with a 1/4 cup of boiling water, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1 8 oz package of Neufchetal cheese. Once this formed a creamy sauce, I rolled out the pizza dough and used a small spoon to make a circle of cheese before folding the crust over it to make a stuffed crust. I spread the remaining sauce on the pizza, then added roasted red peppers, 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, 1/2 jar of capers, and 1 cup of grated mozzarella.
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Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Description
Whole grain pizza crust will give your pizza a gourmet, nutty flavor. Try it! I guarantee you’ll love it!
Ingredients
2 cups very warm water
2 Tablespoons dry yeast
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup olive oil
5 cups whole-wheat flour (I use Prairie Gold by Wheat Montana because it’s non-GMO)
Instructions
Pour the hot water into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast, brown sugar, oil, and yeast. Dump the vital wheat gluten flour on the other side of the bowl and pour the salt on top. Let this mixture proof for 10 minutes.
Add four cups of flour and mix well (either with a large wooden spoon or in a stand mixer with a dough hook). Once a stiff dough forms, dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. You’ll probably need to add between 1-2 more cups of flour. You want the dough to ‘clean itself’ from any surfaces, but not become overly stiff.
Place dough back in the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Allow it to rise for about an hour (until it doubles in size).
Punch it back down and divide it into three equal sections.
Roll each section out, place on a cookie sheet, and fold the edge over and pinch it to make a crust that will hold the ingredients in.
Top with your favorite ingredients (see below for suggestions), and bake in a pre-heated oven at 400˚ for 20-30 minutes (depending on which toppings you choose).
Notes
I used 1/2 cup of green enchilada sauce, 2 cups of my black beans, 1/2 cup of frozen corn, 1 1/2 cups of grated jack cheese, and a small can of sliced olives.
For the pesto pizza I used 3 Tbs. of pesto sauce, 5 oz of fresh spinach, 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese, 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of sliced almonds.
The fiesta pizza takes a little more time to assemble. I chopped and sautéed three jalapeños in a teaspoon of olive oil, and then mixed them with a 1/4 cup of boiling water, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1 8 oz package of Neufchetal cheese. Once this formed a creamy sauce, I rolled out the pizza dough and used a small spoon to make a circle of cheese before folding the crust over it to make a stuffed crust. I spread the remaining sauce on the pizza, then added roasted red peppers, 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, 1/2 jar of capers, and 1 cup of grated mozzarella.
- Category: Pizza
- Cuisine: Italian
What’s YOUR favorite way to eat pizza?
Yum!!! I love ‘weird pizza’! It’s fun to change it up and create something new –and these sounds delish!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who likes weird! Let me know if you try it!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Green Pesto Pasta with Banza Rotini
I’m with Karrilee! I love “weird pizzas!”
You’re my kind of gal, Tara!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Even Meateaters Will Enjoy These Meatless Meatballs!
These all sound yummy! I was searching for a pizza crust recipe using my favorite flour and I found your site! Good to see you again! I love Wheat Montana flour! As you can see from all my exclamation points I’m really excited. 😛
Amber recently posted…Homemade Play Dough
★★★★★
Awesome! We used to live 30 minutes away from the main Wheat Montana store in Three Forks. We make a yearly pilgrimage to Montana to purchase more wheatberries (ok, we own a rental near there, and check on that, too ;)).