Back-to-school meals can be made healthy and in a flash with this Whole Wheat Pizza. Bake with your favorite toppings or serve with hummus and salad greens.
The kids are back in school! Woot! But, you’d think things would calm down in my house. Not quite! I have two schools this year and that means two car pools and two fundraisers entities trying to get into my wallet.
While I’m trying to balance volunteering, blogging & home life I am just like everyone else trying to get dinner on the table. One of our families favorite meals is a no-brainer, pizza.
Seriously which family doesn’t love pizza? It’s versatile and adaptable. You can make it kid-friendly or healthy.
Why this recipe is so awesome
I typically make one for the kids and one for the hubby and I. Don’t get me wrong, I like a slice of cheesy pizza, but sometimes you want something lighter, something healthier.
My favorite way to serve pizza is with a salad. I love topping each pizza bite with the tangy greens. I mop up the dressing on my plate with the crust. Mmmmm…..
I have made several attempts on a whole wheat pizza crust, but many have turned out to be bricks that were immediately thrown out. Whole wheat flour can be tricky and it soaks up a lot of moisture.
But I finally succeeded creating a delicious whole wheat pizza that is fluffy and not a cardboard. Lay on the cheese and pepperoni or add goat cheese and veggies. Go crazy, go healthy!
I personally like this whole wheat pizza crust baked plain and then smeared on my hubby’s famous Garlic Hummus. Because I love salad and vinaigrette with my pizza, I added it on top, too.
Ingredients you need
- Warm water: This is for the yeast to foam up in. The water should be warm to the touch and not hot. If too hot, the yeast will die.
- Active dry yeast: You can also use instant yeast. If doing this, you do not need to let it foam up in warm water before mixing.
- Whole wheat flour: Just like regular flour, be sure you are using fresh whole wheat flour. Any flour that has been sitting in your pantry for over six months should be discarded.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I am a huge proponent for olive oil. You should taste it by itself first to be sure it is not rancid.
- Kosher salt: The measurements below are for kosher salt. If using fine sea salt, use ¾ teaspoon instead.
Step-by-step directions
1. In a small bowl stir together water and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes. If using instant yeast, you can go ahead and add it to the whole flour in the next step.
2. On a well-floured work surface, place whole wheat flour in a pile. Create a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture into the center, along with olive oil and salt.
3. Using a fork or your fingers, gradually mix everything together. Mixture will be a little sticky. Add little bit of flour as needed, while you continuously knead the dough until it is soft and smooth, about 20-30 minutes.
4. Roll the dough into a ball and place in a bowl dusted with flour and cover with a clean dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 500ºF. Roll the dough into a 10 to 12 inch circle and transfer to a baking pan or pizza stone. To prevent dough from sticking generously coat the pan with corn meal.
6. If making a traditional pizza, tomato sauce, cheese and toppings. Bake until golden for 10-12 minutes. If making with hummus, bake without toppings. Then let pizza dough cool and spread on hummus.
Recipe tips and FAQs
You can make the dough ahead of time or in the bread machine. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Just bring it to room temperature and let it rise before shaping into a circle onto the baking sheet.
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
Back-to-school meals can be made healthy and in a flash with this Whole Wheat Pizza. Bake with your favorite toppings or serve with hummus and salad greens.
Ingredients
- ½ cup water, warm
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl stir together water and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- On a well-floured work surface, place whole wheat flour in a pile. Create a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture into the center, along with olive oil and salt.
- Using a fork or your fingers, gradually mix everything together. Mixture will be a little sticky. Add little bit of flour as needed, while you continuously knead the dough until it is soft and smooth, about 20-30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into a ball and place in a bowl dusted with flour and cover with a clean dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 500ºF.
- Roll the dough into a 10 to 12 inch circle and transfer to a pan.
- If making a traditional pizza, tomato sauce, cheese and toppings.
- Bake until golden 10-12 minutes.
- If making with hummus, bake without toppings. Then let pizza dough cool and spread on hummus.
Notes
Serving Suggestions: Serve alone or with salad. Even better, top your pizza with salad!
Cooking Tips: The dough can also be prepared in a bread machine, made ahead and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to use. Just bring dough back to room temperature before baking.
You can also bake it without any toppings, as in the above pictured hummus pizza, for 8-10 minutes. Let dough cool for 5 minutes then spread with hummus and top with fresh greens.
To prepare above pizza, bake pizza crust alone then remove from oven and schmear on your favorite hummus and top with salad.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 165Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 585mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 5gSugar: 0gProtein: 6g
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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This is right up my alley. I love a pizza like this!!
Just gorgeous~I want to bite in to a slice right now! This would be perfect on top of my Udi’s gluten-free pizza crusts I stocked up on last week. Love this EASY dinner idea-pinning right now on to my weekly meal plan! P.S. Three Cheers for back-to-school today 🙂
Wow that looks so good!Why have I never thought to use hummus on pizza?!
Yummy! Thanks for stopping by.
What a beautiful looking pizza – and healthy too, what more could you ask for?!
Well, there’s pizza and pizza, isn’t there: one surely can’t buy this at Pizza Hut 🙂 ! Have to copy: thanks!!
Love your post and I can’t wait to try and I will be trying your recipe after converting it to gluten free.
YUM!!! I always have some homemade hummus in my fridge…so what an incredible idea for a quick, delicious dinner! I love salad with my pizza, too 🙂
What a delicious looking pizza!! I love making different pizza’s, thanks for the great ideas!!
Mmmmm…that looks amazing. I often make a similar pizza but right on a ww pita. I need to try that dough, it looks so good. Beautiful photos, too!
What a lovely meal. All I need to make this is the hummus and pizza dough. I’m growing cherry tomatoes and baby greens in the garden. This recipe is a wonderful way to celebrate fresh fresh produce!
Hi Laura,
I had one of these for lunch! Of course mine was on store bought naan and can’t compare to the home made wheat crust you made 🙂
Beautiful Laura, Happy Sunday
This looks like the perfect pizza to me. I have always liked lots of green salad leaves on my pizzas, which others think is a bit strange.
Garlic hummus on a pizza with whole-wheat crust? Yes, please!
Love the idea of garlic hummus on pizza. Brilliant. And you’re right that whole wheat doughs can be tough to handle sometimes. This looks great – and so healthy! Good stuff – thank you.
Gorgeous pizza!!! I’ve never had whole wheat dough but this is irresistable!
Yum! Your idea of putting hummus on there makes me think of an even faster version — pita — for those nights when baking a pizza crust is even too time consuming!
I’m loving this pizza! Adding hummus is a great idea!
Hummus and whole wheat dough sound fantastic! Love the idea. Happy Sunday!
Hummus pizza – Oh yea! I’ll take the whole thing please and thank you!