As a family, we eat mostly gluten-free, but we still enjoy old favorites like homemade hamburger helper on occasion or a gluten-free chickpea pizza crust. This recipe quickly became a repeat request from the kids and the parents aren’t complaining either!
When your kids are literally swooning over a whole wheat pizza crust and asking for fourths, you know you have a winner. (Or, perhaps your kids haven’t had homemade pizza with actual wheat flour in YEARS – that could be it, too.)
We generally have homemade pizza every Sunday, and this year my kids have been in charge every other week as I’ve volunteered with the high school youth group. This is a huge benefit of the kids knowing how to cook – it allowed me to serve our community in a way I could not have done (at dinnertime!) without adding stress to our lives.
The Ultimate Crispy Pizza Crust
This crust really is a winner: 100% whole grains, simple to put together, baked with a special secret that makes it crispy on the bottom, almost so crunchy that you get that “I want to eat another potato chip” thing going on. (Resist that, by the way – no binging on pizza! Moderation…)
When I was doing my crazy pizza weekend, I only looked at 3 whole wheat pizza crust recipes, because they were all similar enough. You need:
- whole wheat flour (preferably white whole wheat)
- water
- yeast
- a sweetener to activate the yeast
- salt
- olive oil
And you’re good to go!
Easy Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe
Because of the short rise time required and my time crunch to get my oldest out the door for an impromptu trip with a friend to an a cappella concert, I chose the recipe in From Freezer to Table by my friends Polly and Rachel. I didn’t need to freeze the crust, but it’s nice to know that I could (as dough, unbaked) if I wanted to!
My version tweaks the flour amount a bit and really changes up the baking style, which I think you’ll love.
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Best Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe with a Crispy Crust
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Description
My family’s favorite whole wheat pizza dough recipe. So simple and delicious with a perfectly crispy crust!
Ingredients
- 1 c. water, 100-110F
- 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast, or one packet (I like the SAF brand)
- 1 tsp. sugar or maple syrup
- 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp. Real Salt
- 2 3/4 c. (300g) freshly milled white whole wheat flour (plus at least 1/4 c. more likely needed)
Instructions
- Heat the water (or use warm tap water). You know it’s about 100F if it feels warmer than your body temp, but not at all painful to leave your finger in for more than 5-10 seconds.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (like a KitchenAid), whisk the water, yeast, and sugar/maple syrup until combined. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to “proof” the yeast. (That means you should see bubbles.)
- Once bubbly, add 1 Tbs. of the olive oil (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!) and the salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase) to the bowl and whisk to combine.
- Use the dough hook. Turn the mixer to low speed and add about 1/3 of the flour at a time. Turn up the speed to medium once all the flour is added. If a ball of dough doesn’t form and pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl, it’s too sticky. Add flour 1/8 or 1/4 cup at a time until it does. Be sure to give the flour a chance to be incorporated into the dough before adding more.
- Let the mixer do the work for you with the dough hook for 5 minutes on medium-high.
- Pour the other tablespoon of olive oil on the dough and flip it around a few times with your hands to coat.
- Cover the bowl with a plate to keep the moisture in and let rise for 30 minutes (hopefully in a warm place). It should double in size.
- 20 minutes into the rise, preheat the oven to 450F.
- When ready to bake the pizza, put 2 10-inch cast iron skillets or one large 2-burner cast iron griddle on medium heat.
- Add a fat like refined coconut oil (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!) to the pan and push it around to cover the whole surface. Place the dough in the pan, and with wet fingers, quickly press the dough out to the edges of the pan, pushing a bit up at the edge to form a crust. It gets a little hot, so move fast! Not a job suited for children or wimps!
- If you don’t like moving quickly, are afraid of the heat, or really want a thinner crust, use a rolling pin to roll out the crust on a flexible cutting board dusted with flour. Flip or shift the dough onto the heated cast iron. (Good luck! It’s very possible but try not drop it…)
- Set a timer for 2 minutes for the dough to sit over medium heat on the stovetop.
- Choose:
- Quickly put the sauce and topping on the pizza while it’s on the stovetop, then bake for 7-10 minutes, watching for the cheese to brown. If you can’t get the toppings on before the 2-minute timer, turn the burner off while you finish.
- Pre-bake the crust without toppings (after the 2 minutes on the stovetop) for 5-10 minutes, watching the top closely. When it begins to brown, pull the crusts out of the oven. (If you can’t fit the pans side-by-side on the middle rack, put one on top and one on the bottom and switch after 3 minutes, then 3 minutes again, to make sure the crust doesn’t over-brown on the bottom.) Turn the oven off and set it to broil on high. Add sauce and toppings to the pre-baked crust, then broil for 1-3 minutes, just to brown the cheese to your liking.
Notes
If you don’t have cast iron…that’s so sad! You should get some. But in the meantime, this recipe isn’t dead to you. Just use a pre-heated baking stone and spread carefully with wet fingers OR put on parchment paper on a baking sheet (but you may have to increase the bake time).
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Do I Need a Grain Mill?
If you don’t have a grain mill, also sad. BUT you should be able to make this recipe with commercially milled flour as well, I just didn’t test it as such. (Commercially milled flour is usually lighter than home-milled grains because some of the bran and germ is sifted out, so if anything, the crust might get tastier.)
More Grain Grinding Challenge Series Posts
The Grinding Challenge Series is getting me to use my Mockmill grain mill! Here’s what we’re covering:- Intro to the challenge and a video of setting up the Mockmill for the first time
- How to Translate Whole Wheat Recipe to Einkorn (and an interview with an einkorn farmer)
- Bio-Individuality – why it’s both the new face of health and the genesis of this whole project
- How to Translate Baking Recipes to Weights
- Why Baking with Weights Is the Best for Kids
- Testing Pizza Dough with Freshly Milled Grain: Whole Wheat, Einkorn, Gluten-free (whole grain and not-whole-grain)
- Interview with a Master Gluten-free Baker
- Testing Tortillas with Freshly Milled Grain: Whole Wheat and Gluten-free
- Why Mill Your Own Gluten-free Grains?
- How to Make a Gluten-free Sourdough Starter
- Whole Grain, Gum-Free Gluten-free Flour Blend (& a bit on whether xanthan gum is bad for you)
- Interview with a Grain Milling Expert
- The Official Kitchen Stewardship® Mockmill Review
Recipes We’ve Worked on in the Series:
- Spelt Banana Muffins
- Einkorn Applesauce Muffins (with peanut butter variation)
- 100% Whole Grain Gluten-free Tortillas
- Whole Wheat Pizza
- Crispy Crust Gluten-Free Pizza (amazing!)
- Einkorn Pizza Dough
- 100% Whole Grain Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts (no gum!)
- How to Make a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
Don’t worry, if you don’t have a grain mill or couldn’t imagine yourself grinding grain yourself, I’ll be sure to address when any of these CAN’T be done with commercial flour. Usually, recipes are very compatible!
I don’t usually write reviews but I’ve made pizza crust before and this is by far the best whole wheat crust recipe! It ended up making 4 thin crust small pizzas. Soooo yummy!
That’s awesome Tara! Thanks for the review!
I am amazed that people say homemade pizza is unhealthy. If all the ingredients are whole foods, then the outcome is still going to be nourishing goodness! Pile on the veggies, peeps!