This Whole Wheat Pizza Dough can be made with store-bought or freshly milled flour (spelt works, too). The recipe is no knead, so it’s very quick to pull together! It’s slow risen with a small amount of yeast to help soak the grain.
I have yet to master sourdough pizza crust, but this recipe makes a great alternative if you either don’t have a sourdough starter, or need something a little faster.
You can adjust the amount of yeast according to how fast you want it to rise. My favorite is to use just a little yeast an let the dough rise for a long time in the fridge (which also produces the best tase!), but you can do it in a couple of hours if need be.
Ingredients you’ll need
This is just an overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe – great as a visual grocery list! Scroll down to the recipe card for quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Flour: I use freshly milled spelt for this recipe, but store-bought whole wheat flour works just fine.
- Water: Keep this lukewarm, hot water will destroy the yeast. Keep it below 120°F (I go for 100°F).
- Honey: A runny honey works best. You can also use maple syrup if you prefer.
Notes about the yeast:
I use organic dried yeast for this. Organic yeast moves much slower in comparison to conventionally produced dried yeast.
You can alter the amount of yeast added to make the dough rise faster or slower. For a good soaking time for the flour, I use a small amount of yeast and let the dough sit in the fridge overnight. I pull it out about an hour before baking.
Here are estimates for conventional active dried yeast:
- 2 teaspoons: dough rises in 1-2 hours
- 1 teaspoon: dough rises in 3-4 hours
- 1/2 teaspoon: dough rises in 6-8 hours
- 1/2 teaspoon: dough rises overnight in the fridge
Organic dried yeast will take longer to rise. If you’re living in a high altitude location, your dough will rise faster. If your house is warm, your dough will also rise faster. Humidity impacts the time your yeast needs to works, too. In short: The exact timing for rising time hugely depends on many factors, so I suggest you stick around when you make this for the first time so you can check on the progress regularly.
How to make Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1. First, you’ll need to combine the flour and salt in a large bowl; and the water, honey and yeast in a large measuring jug. Once bubbles appear, pour the yeast mixture over the flour mixture.
2. Next, stir well until a sticky dough forms. You do not need to knead this dough, which makes it so easy to prepare!
Also, the no knead dough has a high hydration, which is great for a whole wheat crust. They tend to be too dry for my taste, but with this technique, it’s not dry at all.
3. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size.
4. You’ll want to generously flour a lined baking sheet (I used sifted flour for the photos for better contrast, I would usually just use whole). Drop half the risen dough on the pan and generously sprinkle with flour.
Use clean fingers to gently press the dough into a roughly 12 inch circle.
5. Finally, top the crust with your favorite toppings, then bake!
Recipe tips
- The dough is very sticky, clumpy and not at all what you’re used to when it comes to yeast dough (definitely not a kneaded, smooth, pliable dough). That’s perfectly fine and exactly how it is supposed to be!
- Use enough flour both on the lined pan and on top of the dough when pressing into a circle. Do not attempt to use a rolling pin, it won’t work. Pressing into a circle by hand is quick and easy once you get the hang of it!
- It’s a little harder to get a crisp crust on this. Make sure to use a rack in the bottom half of your oven to get a crisp bottom without the top burning.
Healthy pizza topping ideas
These are our favorite healthy pizza toppings! They all include with tomato sauce and cheese, unless otherwise notes.
- Tuna, thinly sliced onion and capers
- Sliced peppers and zucchini, black olives, Feta cheese in place of the mozzarella
- Thinly sliced mushrooms and organic ham
- Halved cherry tomatoes and pesto
- For the photos I used a wild mix of stuff I found in the fridge 😅 Tomato sauce, organic ham, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, capers and sun-dried tomato pesto.
Serving ideas
We love adding a big salad as a side for pizza. Lots of salad greens, fresh herbs, sliced peppers and tomatoes and a balsamic vinaigrette are my favorite.
For the photo I made a tomato salad made with a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.
More recipes for freshly milled flour
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! You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups luke-warm water around 100°F
- active dried yeast see notes for amounts and correlating rising times
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4.5 cups store-bought whole wheat or whole spelt flour OR 5 – 5.5 cups freshly milled wheat or spelt (530g); plus extra for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine water, yeast and honey in large measuring jug. Set aside until bubbles appear on top.
- In the meantime, combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Pour bubbly yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir until combined into a scraggly, lumpy, sticky dough.
- Cover with a clean dish cloth and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.
- Once dough is ready, heat oven to 420°F. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone baking mats. Generously dust with flour.
- Drop half of the pizza dough on one baking sheet, then generously dust top with flour. Press into a 12 inch circle, then add your favorite toppings.
- Bake pizza in the lower half of your oven for 15-25 minutes, until crust is baked, lightly crispy on the bottom and cheese is bubbly (check often once you get to 15 minutes to catch it at the right time).
- Let cool for a couple of minutes, then slice to serve. Proceed in the same way with the second half of the dough once the first has been baked.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Flour: I use freshly milled spelt for this recipe, but store-bought whole wheat flour works just fine.
- Water: Keep this lukewarm, hot water will destroy the yeast. Keep it below 120°F (I go for 100°F).
- Honey: A runny honey works best. You can also use maple syrup if you prefer.
- 2 teaspoons: dough rises in 1-2 hours
- 1 teaspoon: dough rises in 3-4 hours
- 1/2 teaspoon: dough rises in 6-8 hours
- 1/2 teaspoon: dough rises overnight in the fridge
Recipe tips
- The dough is very sticky, clumpy and not at all what you’re used to when it comes to yeast dough (definitely not a kneaded, smooth, pliable dough). That’s perfectly fine and exactly how it is supposed to be!
- Use enough flour both on the lined pan and on top of the dough when pressing into a circle. Do not attempt to use a rolling pin, it won’t work. Pressing into a circle by hand is quick and easy once you get the hang of it!
- It’s a little harder to get a crisp crust on this. Make sure to use a rack in the bottom half of your oven to get a crisp bottom without the top burning.
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