I hope your weekend was as relaxing as mine was. We spent the better half of the weekend catching up on chores and packing for our trip to Cabo. I cannot tell you how excited I am. The last time Tony and I went to Mexico was over the 4th of July — it’s our little relaxation spot in the world where we can disconnect when life seems to be moving at the speed of light.
Before I jet off today, I wanted to share a recipe that I feel everyone needs in their life: 100% whole wheat pizza dough.
This recipe was actually included in the pizza recipe I posted last week, but I figured it deserved it’s own stand alone recipe so you can come back to it time and time again.
Most of the ‘whole wheat’ pizza dough recipes out there that claim to be whole wheat really aren’t, as you’ll find most of them are made with a mix of whole wheat and regular flour (hello, that’s not whole wheat!). I suppose most of the recipes out there do so because whole wheat flour can be dense and on the drier side.
My recipe below is made with a secret ingredient though: whole wheat pastry flour. If you’re a frequent follower of AK, you’ll know that I use this flour quite often because it keeps the final product lighter in texture and less dense than regular whole wheat flour. However whole wheat pastry flour still has all of the benefits of whole wheat flour including fiber and protein, which is why I love it.
So, if you’re looking for an easy whole wheat pizza dough, look no further! This recipe can be made into a pan pizza, regular pizza or thin crust. It’s perfect however you’d like. Just bake for 5 minutes, add your toppings, then bake for 10-15 minutes more.
You’re going to LOVE it.
Question for you: What are your favorite pizza dough toppings?!
Mine are jalapeño, onion, green pepper, pineapple and black olives. I know I’m a weirdo but I embrace it.
If you make this recipe, tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram — or leave a comment below telling me if you liked this! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
How to Make 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm milk (almond milk is preferred -- I like Almond Breeze)
- ½ tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 tablespoon yellow cornmeal, plus extra for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Olive oil, for the crust
Instructions
- First start by making the crust: In a large bowl of an electric mixer, mix almond milk, yeast, honey and olive oil together. Let it sit for a few minutes; you will know your yeast has activated if it begins to foam and bubble after a few minutes. If it doesn’t start to foam or bubble, start over as this is critical to making good dough.
- After just a few minutes, mix in whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal and salt with a wooden spoon. Place dough hook on mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. (If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes.)
- Next place dough in a medium bowl lightly oiled with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise for 1-2 hours or until dough has doubled in size. It’s better if it’s in a slightly warm place. Sometimes I turn on my oven to 180 degrees, then turn it off and place the pizza dough bowl in there with the oven door slightly ajar. This helps create a warm environment.
- Once the dough has risen you have a couple options: do it pan pizza style or roll it out in a 13 inch circle.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. To bake in a pan, grease 11x9 or 8x12 inch baking sheet generously with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with a little cornmeal.
- Dump dough onto the oil rimmed baking sheet, and stretch dough out towards the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for another 20 minutes. It’s okay if it doesn’t stretch all the way to the edges right way, it just needs a little time to rest.
- After dough rests, pull again towards the edges of the pan so that it forms a nice small crust. Brush crust with a little olive oil.
- Bake for 5 minutes, then remove, add toppings and bake again for another 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
- To bake as a circle: roll out dough onto surface dusted with cornmeal. Roll or stretch the dough into a large 13 inch circle. Lift up the edges and fold them over to create a crust. Brush crust with olive oil. Top as desired then bake for 15 minutes or until crust is golden.
Nutrition
Photography: Sarah Fennel
If I wanted to prep this dough would I let it rise then put it in the freezer for future use?
Can you make this gluten free?
I don’t think this recipe would turn out with GF flour. For a GF pizza dough, I would recommend Cauliflower Pizza Crust or Zucchini Crust. Enjoy!
Thank you! I have been trying to find a homemade pizza crust that was Whole Wheat and yet not a heavy brick. Tried regular whole wheat using King Arthur recipe as well as white whole wheat. Told family to be patient it was a work in progress. Yesterday, I googled ‘whole wheat pastry flour pizza dough recipe’. A couple came up, but weren’t really made with WW pastry flour. Yours was. This was a huge hit. Only change I made was I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Stone Ground Dark Rye Flour (whole Grain, Non-GMO) instead of the cornmeal and baking time. I noticed it said on the pkg. that it was good in pizza dough. Followed the recipe instructions exactly (sorta). Hand pressed into a 14″ deep dish pie pan (unlike regular whole wheat I was able to make it a thin crust pizza which we prefer), baked for 8 mins on the lowest possible rack position in the oven. Put sauce and toppings on, baked for 15 mins. then put cheese on and baked 10 mins. Moved it to the highest rack position and baked another 5 mins to brown the cheese a little. Let it rest for 8 mins. transferred to cutting board and cut it up. As it cooled on our plates it was very easy to pick up and eat without a fork. Hubby and sons said ‘you nailed it!’ I’m subscribing to your site. This tells me you do your homework and I can trust your recipes. P.S. I added all the ingredients to the dough mixing machine I have and did not proof the yeast since it was instant or rapid rise. After machine mixes it all up and kneading it goes right into fermenting which warms and rises the dough (highly recommend one (my kitchen aide mixer overheated on making a WW bread loaf. This one has a small footprint and is light and fits in my cabinet when I’m done using it. (Baer Dough Maker on Amazon).
Hi.
Can i use whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour?
Thanks!
I think it might be too dense, but you could try half whole wheat and half all purpose!
Can this recipe be frozen, and what would that look like? What would the thawing and forming process be?
Hi! Here’s a helpful article all about freezing pizza dough: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-freeze-pizza-dough-178431
Beats frozen pizza any day of the week!
I love this recipe! My husband and I LOVE good food too! We lived in Europe with our small children for 7 years. It was a lovely experience (especially for food!) And, due to walking everywhere, we ate whatever we wanted. Well, now that we are back in Ohio with nowhere to walk safely (no sidewalks or public transit), we have had to change our eating habits dramatically. We want to eat well and in a way that is sustainable. So, no fad diets. And, pizza must stay! We have ended up having pizza and movie Fridays with our kids nearly every week. And, this has been our go-to crust recipe for a few months now. Thanks, Monique!
So happy you found this recipe + Ambitious Kitchen! As you probably know I’m all about eating well with delicious food (no fad diets, no skimping on taste). Enjoy your Friday night tradition 🙂
I love what you said about utilizing whole wheat pastry flour. I think that pizza is so amazing and delicious. My friend wants to find a new pizza restaurant in town.
Looks delicious. Can you use almond flour if you’re gluten intolerant?
I wouldn’t recommend swapping flours in this one. Try this recipe or this one instead!
Love this dough! Very easy to work with!! I made it in my breadmaker and it turned out great. Rolled it out and formed it in my springform pan!
Perfect!!
If I don’t have time to bake this right after, can I refrigerate it and bake it later?
You bet!
Tubitos Pizza has great Dough Frozen Pizza Dough
Thank you for sharing this, can’t wait to try it out on my Big Green Egg when I get back home next week, yippee. I love BBQ’d pizza and have been on the look out for a healthier base, thank you.
where do you stay in cabo?
If I am celiac and want to try making this! Do you think replacing the whole wheat flour with an oat flour could maybe work? Would you have another suggestion?
This looks soo gooey good! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I am a lover of whole wheat everything.
That deep dish shot is EVERYTHING!!!! I always make a double batch when I make my ww dough and portion it up for the freezer to have on hand in a pinch 😀