Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

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Whole Wheat Pizza Dough adds some texture and flavor to my original pizza dough recipe. Adding some 100% whole wheat flour and honey to a base recipe adds a whole new dimension and taste. Give it a try at your next pizza party!

We love our pizza parties, and it’s always a good reason to try new recipes. Try a Taco Pizza Recipe, a delicious Meatball Pizza Recipe, or just use a combination of three cheeses (as pictured here). You can’t go wrong!

Best Whole Wheat Pizza

I’ve been posting one new pizza recipe each month lately, and I decided it was time for a new crust as well. I have memories of the best whole wheat pizza at a place that we visited in college when Mike and I were dating. THE BEST PIZZA EVER. I tried to replicate the taste here, and hope that you give it a try soon!

Since pizza is the meal I’d pig out on if it were my last day on earth, it’s pretty important that I try and share all the ideas with you. While I love a good old fashioned white crust (aka my Homemade Pizza Dough – original recipe), I love experimenting with new flavors.

Just like my Whole Wheat Honey Bread recipe, this recipe uses a percentage of whole wheat. Anytime you use 100% whole wheat in a recipe (without any other type of flour), your dough will be dry. That’s why I used about 43% whole wheat to 57% bread flour here. You could also play around with this ratio and use your own as well as use all-purpose flour in place of the bread flour.

In case you are wondering, this three cheese pizza includes shredded mozzarella, goat cheese, and parmesan cheese. Try to shred your own cheese for the ultimate flavor. Melts better too!

In addition, I highly recommend my Pizza Sauce from Scratch. So much tastier than store-bought and super EASY to make too!

Ingredients needed:

• Yeast – I use Red Star Active Dry Yeast.
• Sugar – Just a pinch helps to activate the yeast.
• Water – Water temp is important. Make sure it is warm, but not hot.
• Salt – Kosher salt for the win.
• Honey – I use raw honey.
• Oil – Olive Oil is the perfect healthy fat for this dough.
• Flour – For this recipe, you’ll need whole wheat flour plus bread flour.

How to make whole wheat honey pizza dough

Note: You can definitely make this recipe by hand instead of using a mixer. It will take a little bit more time and some arm strength, but you can do it.

1. Activate the yeast. Using a large standing mixer, combine the yeast, sugar, salt, and warm water. Take a spatula, and stir it around a couple of times. Then let it sit for about 15 minutes so that the yeast activates. You should see a bubbly mixture when it’s ready. See below.
2. Add honey, oil, and salt. Then add the honey, olive oil, and kosher salt to the mixer. Stir with a spatula.
3. Add flour to desired consistency. Start by adding the whole wheat flour to the mixer. Add about one cup of bread flour and start the mixer. Let the mixer run and occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Gradually add more flour (a little bit at a time) until you get a nice dough consistency. It should be slightly sticky, but easy to handle.
4. Let the dough rise. Grease a medium bowl with olive oil. Remove the dough from the mixer, and form it into a ball. Then place it in the bowl, and cover it with a clean dishtowel. Place the bowl in a quiet corner of your kitchen and let rise until approximately doubled in size. The rise may be different each time, and will vary depending on where you live.
5. Form pizzas. Once the dough rises, it’s time to form the dough into pizzas. You can use cast iron skillets, baking sheets, or pizza stones. Sprinkle some flour on a large cutting board or baking mat, and separate the dough into three sections. Roll one section of dough at a time, using plenty of flour to roll it out. You can also use your hands.
6. Let rest. Let the pizza doughs rest for 15 or 20 minutes before adding the toppings.
7. Add toppings. Spread pizza sauce on the dough, followed by your desired toppings. Don’t overload the pizzas for best results.
8. Bake. Bake pizzas until they are baked through and browned on the bottom.

Expert Tips

1. When you add the warm water to the yeast and sugar – be careful to use WARM water, not hot. If the water is too hot, the yeast will disappear and you can’t make pizza dough without yeast. Also, do not use cool water because it won’t activate the yeast.
2. Don’t add all the flour at once because every baking day is different. Some days you will need a bit more flour and some days, you will need less.
3. The dough shouldn’t be overly sticky when ready. It should bounce back slightly to the touch. Over time, you will learn exactly how much flour is needed to make the ultimate pizza dough.
4. Unlike french bread and cinnamon rolls, this dough only needs to rise once.
5. When done cooking, the bottom of the crust should be slightly brown and crunchy.

* Note: Depending on where you live, the temperature outside your house and/or inside your house, you may need more or less time for the dough to rise. Experiment a bit, and if the dough is ready too far ahead of time, place it in the refrigerator for awhile. If it’s not ready to bake when you want it, place the bowl over another bowl of warm water for awhile. Alternatively, you could start the oven on a low temp, turn it off, place the dough in the oven for a bit to get it moving along.

Happy pizza making! 🙂

ICE CREAM anyone?

A pizza party isn’t complete without ice cream. Make my delicious Mint Chip Ice Cream, Blueberry Ice Cream, Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream, or some kid-favorite Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. There are even more recipes on the blog!

Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)

• Bosch Universal Mixer – The mixer I’ve used for years, and perfect for bread making.
• Glass Mixing Bowl – Used to let the dough rise.
• Cast Iron Skillet – I use a variety of sizes for pizza. This one is pretty large.

I also use Red Star Active Dry Yeast. (This is a very large amount. I keep a bunch in the freezer, and it lasts a long time.) We have perfect bread-making weather here in Texas, and my bread always rises pretty quickly. You may need a Quick Rise Yeast, depending on where you live.

Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.

xoxo ~Sue

LET’S EAT PIZZA!