How to Make Whole Grain Pizza Dough

Make your own pizza dough the healthy way.

Pizza lovers who are conscious of good nutritional value can have their pie and eat it too. Just make a pizza crust with whole grains. A pizza stone is a great investment and cooks perfect crusts every time. You can use an ordinary baking sheet instead if you don’t have a stone.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Mixing bowl
• Active dry yeast
• Oatmeal
• Cracked wheat or bulgur
• Olive oil
• Mixing spoon
• Whole wheat flour
• Rolling pin
• Pizza stone or baking sheet

1. Heat 1/2 cup water in a mixing bowl for 15 seconds in a microwave oven. The water should be lukewarm.

2. Add 1 rounded teaspoon of active dry yeast, 1/4 cup of oatmeal, 1/4 cup of cracked wheat and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir gently with a mixing spoon. Set the bowl aside for a few minutes, until the yeast begins to bubble.

3. Mix in 1 cup of whole wheat flour. Gradually add and stir in more flour until the mixture forms a soft lump of dough that you can knead.

4. Knead the dough on a floured surface for few minutes, sprinkling flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough has a smooth and uniform texture.

5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a diameter just smaller than that of the pizza stone or baking sheet. Let it rest for five minutes before baking.

6. Heat the oven to 350 F. Top your pizza dough any way you like and bake it on the stone or on the sheet for 10 to 15 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• A pizza stone is a great investment and cooks perfect crusts every time.

• An empty parmesan cheese container is useful for sprinkling flour.

• Other grain products may be mixed in, such as bulgur wheat and oat bran.

• Cracked wheat or other grains may be sometimes be found in the hot cereal aisle.

• Shredded Mozzarella cheese may be purchased in bulk at the big club stores and frozen in smaller freezer bags for future pizzas.

References

• Feeding the Whole Family; Cynthia Lair