Baking with Whole Grains: Whole Grain Pizza Dough

Over the past six (!) years that I have been here in this space sharing recipes with you, I’ve learned lots about what foods you all like and what foods you love. It comes as no surprise that pizza is near the very top of the list of best loved foods for most people. I’m certainly no exception. We make pizza at least once every few weeks if not more, and over the past few years we have gotten pretty darn good at making awesome pizza at home. Having a stellar pizza crust recipe and method have made all the difference, but of course as I continue making more things using whole grains, pizza was clearly something I needed to transition.

Many of you have been asking for a wheat pizza dough recipe for quite some time but to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure where to start. Thankfully King Arthur Flour’s Whole Grain Baking book had a few recipes that gave me a great starting point. I first tried this dough as 100% whole wheat (using all white whole wheat flour). While the dough held up well to toppings and tasted great, we found it a bit lacking in texture. So, I continued to play around with the recipe, experimenting with different proportions of flour and different methods.

The version here has been our favorite of them all, and it’s exactly what I was hoping for. It uses half white whole wheat flour to provide a nutritional boost, but also uses half bread flour to give the dough that chewy texture we look for in a great pizza. I fully expect this to become our go-to dough from now on because really, why not? It’s every bit as good as our old favorite but it’s a bit healthier, and it’s all ready to be dressed up with your favorite toppings.

King Arthur Flour has generously agreed to provide several great giveaways over the course of this whole grain baking series. Today we are giving away one of my absolute favorite kitchen essentials – a pizza stone, as well as a flour coupon. Head on over to the giveaway page to enter! Also, be sure to check out King Arthur Flour’s Whole Grain Baking book and their website for hundreds more reliable whole grain recipes.

Yield enough dough for 2 large pizzas or 6 calzones

Ingredients

2½ cups (10 oz.) white whole wheat flour*
2½ cups (10 5/8 oz.) unbleached bread flour*
2 cups (16 oz.) lukewarm water
4½ tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast
1¾ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. honey
Dash of dried oregano, basil, and cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

01
In a medium bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flours, water, yeast, salt, olive oil and honey. Mix together on low speed until a cohesive dough has formed. If desired, sprinkle with dried oregano, basil and/or cayenne for additional seasoning (optional). Continue to knead until a smooth, elastic dough has formed, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.
02
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently press down to deflate it. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. (If freezing the dough for later use, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.) Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes.
03
To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.
04
For step by step photos and other tips on homemade pizza dough, please see this post.
*If desired, this dough can be made 100% whole grain by using all white whole wheat flour and omitting the bread flour. However, the bread flour gives the dough the chewy texture that makes homemade pizza dough extra special. While the dough still tastes good with 100% white whole wheat flour, you may find the texture somewhat lacking.

Source

adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking