Homemade pizza is a favorite for kids and adults alike – well, ANY pizza will fit the bill for many, but if you value real food, homemade pizza is truly the best “healthy junk food” ever! At least two of my children would eat pizza every day and never bat an eye. 😉 They all loved when we tested different flours in homemade pizza all weekend!
We have a tradition of having pizza (almost) every Sunday, which was also my own family’s tradition when I was a kid. My mom tended to make homemade pizza in the winter and we grabbed takeout in the summer so we could do yard work and garden all day long, my dad’s only day off from work.
I hated picking up sticks on the lawn, and my mother could probably tell some belly laughable stories about my dramatics and downright naughty moments when it came to chores, but the pizza at the end of the day (along with some America’s Funniest Home Videos on Sunday night) alllllmost made it worth it.
At least, in retrospect. As a kid, I was just grumpy with no foresight and lots of pouting and worse.
Don’t worry, mom, karma is getting me back. I have four kids. 😉 None of them were born with an inherent love of chores!
Does Einkorn Flour Make a Good Pizza Crust?
But who doesn’t have an inherent love of pizza? (Ok, don’t actually answer that – I know there are people out there for whom pizza is “not their favorite,” but you gotta admit that it is an ultimate fav of many!)
In fact, pizza is the most often lamented food item when people have to give up gluten, grains, or dairy, don’t you think?
For those who are gluten sensitive (not Celiac), einkorn often proves to a be a very nice option (although a great gluten-free pizza crust is possible, as is a grain-free crust – this one uses chickpea flour!).
Remembers that einkorn, an ancient wheat, has a different gluten structure and chromosomes than modern wheat, so it treats people’s guts differently most of the time. Einkorn has a lovely depth of flavor, a bit nutty, and with oregano-rich tomato sauce and gooey cheese, it’s perfect. Here’s where to get U.S.-grown einkorn for your mill.
This crust is not 100% whole grain einkorn, but it IS 100% whole grain pizza crust, made with mostly freshly milled einkorn flour. Confused yet? I can’t wait to show you what I came up with!
Many thanks to Nom Eat Nom for the recipe inspiration, although I edited it a LOT. 
For example, as you can read in more detail in the pizza testing post, the original recipe called for 1 1/3 cup whole grain einkorn flour and 1/3 cup oat bran.
I chose to use buckwheat because it strikes me as rather dense and chewy, and millet because I had just learned that it has a bit of a yeasty, beer-y flavor, and that sounded perfect for pizza dough.
Yep. Master baker at work. #guessing
I also didn’t knead it for 5 minutes because experts in einkorn baking say not to knead nearly that much. The family didn’t like it as much as the crispy gluten-free crust, but it’s up there in “yummy” factor for sure.
The method I used to bake it the pizza is pretty unique, and I have to thank my cousin for teaching it to me (with plain white flour pizza crusts). the bottom gets so crispy and the cast iron just makes it quite amazing (although you can use a baking stone or pizza pan/cookie sheet if you have to).
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The Best Fresh Ground Whole Grain Einkorn Pizza Dough Recipe
- Yield: 2
- Category: Bread
- Cuisine: Pizza
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. water (100-110F)
- 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (I like SAF brand)
- 1 tsp. maple syrup
- 1 3/4 c. (155g) whole grain einkorn flour, freshly milled if possible! (I am using the Mockmill for this recipe)
- 1/3 c. (40g) freshly milled buckwheatflour (it truly isn’t the same if you buy flour at the store)
- 1/3 c. (30g) freshly milled millet flour
- 1/2 tsp. Real Salt
- 1–2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
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 a large bowl, whisk the water, yeast, and maple syrup until combined. Set aside for at least 5 minutes to “proof” the yeast. (That means you should see bubbles.)
- Meanwhile, grind the flours into a separate bowl (if you want, or at least weigh them to get ready for milling).
- Add about half the flours to the water mixture and whisk for about 30 seconds.
- Add almost all the remaining flour and stir until uniform. The “dough” will still be pretty sticky, but not quite runny like batter. Just annoying. 😉
- Open your bottle of olive oil to have at the ready.
- Lightly knead in the last 1/3 cup of flour mixture or so, just until it’s all incorporated. Pour a dollop of olive oil on top and flip the dough around to coat it as best you can.
- Let the dough rest for 5 minutes (cover with a plate to keep the moisture in).
- Wet your fingers, then fold the dough from one side to the other about 6 times.
- Cover with a plate and allow to rest for 5 more minutes.
- Fold 6 times again with wet fingers (it’s still pretty sticky, don’t let that worry you).
- Cover with a plate again and allow to rest/rise for 1 hour. It will nearly double in size this time. 10 minutes before the hour is up, preheat the oven to 450F. (maybe 500F? I should re-test but might not have time)
- When ready to bake the pizza, put 2 10-inch cast iron skillets or one large 2-burner cast iron griddle fat like refined coconut oil 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!
- 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 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.
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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).
What do you think? Did I choose the right flour blend to replace the oat bran? I could taste the buckwheat a bit, even with such a small amount involved, so if you want to swap one out, leave the millet and maybe try quinoa or teff instead of buckwheat. It was delish though!
The other 100% whole grain einkorn crust that want to try someday is from my friends at Einkorn.com.
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, Einkorn, 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
Plus where to find einkorn and unlock your special offer on the Mockmill HERE.
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!
