Today I’m sharing my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, a variation of my standard recipe that is just a little bit healthier, at least for pizza.
Pizza Night is somewhat of an event at our house. It begins late on Friday afternoon when I head to the kitchen to make pizza dough. While it’s a ritual almost 20 years in the making, my methods have changed a bit over the years.
When my 4th bread machine in 14 years bit the dust, my 10-year old KitchenAid mixer led the charge and has continued to churn out pizza dough faithfully for several years now. Once upon a time I could make a batch of dough and freeze half for another time, I’m now making a double batch that is devoured in one sitting.
Such is life with a large family.
Pizza night would be rather expensive if I didn’t make it myself. But, 20 years ago, making homemade pizza intimidated me and/or grated on my nerves that it didn’t taste quite as good as my childhood favorite pizza from ChiChi’s.
But, that was 20 years ago, after much trial and error, I’ve found what works for me, for us. Usually, it’s fresh homemade dough with a homemade sauce and a smattering of toppings. Pepperoni and mushrooms are my go-to toppings, but we’re adventuresome at our house; my eldest put flaked crab meat on his pizza a few weeks ago.
Some nights when I’m too tired, I ditch the homemade dough for French bread, pita, or a biscuit crust, but everyone prefers homemade dough, baked in a very hot oven where the crust sometimes bubbles up in spots, just like at ChiChi’s.
There probably aren’t that many different ways to make pizza dough in the world. I have a few different recipes that I’ve shared here and in my cookbooks, but it didn’t dawn on me until the last few weeks that I haven’t shared the one version that I use all the time. All the time.
It’s basically the pizza dough recipe that I have memorized now. I make a double batch every week and there are rarely leftovers, much to our chagrin. We like pizza. What can I say?
This dough isn’t hugely different from the other one here on the site, but I have made a few changes.
Early this summer my husband’s doctor recommended that he follow the South Beach Diet. It was a thing a few years ago and has probably fallen out of vogue. Regardless, we like it when a doc actually considers diet changes instead of popping a pill, so we both read the book.
While I don’t agree with the fake food and sweeteners prescribed in the book, there were a few things that struck me:
- If you’re going to eat grains, eat whole grains.
- Sugar is sugar, so avoid excess carbs, particularly sweeteners.
We aren’t ready to dismiss pizza altogether, but we’ve made a couple small changes in our pizza making. First off, I use at least half whole wheat flour, often the Ivory Whole Wheat from Bob’s Red Mill. Second, I use agave nectar instead of honey or sugar. In doing so, I make pizza a wee bit healthier, giving it whole grain goodness and taking away some of the excess sugar.
The beauty of the whole experiment is that my family doesn’t even notice the difference! Whole wheat pizza dough tastes great. And I feel a little bit better about the small change in our nutrition.
As I said I make a double batch each week that results in six pizzas, sometimes seven if I make the girls smaller, personal pizzas for them to decorate themselves. Pizza night is a BIG DEAL around here; grown-men weep if I skip it.
Other pizza things you should know:
–> Here are some of our favorite toppings.
–> Here are the pizza tools I lean on. (The food scale is a must!)
–> Here’s my lazy day sauce recipe.
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cups 9 ounces unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 9 ounces white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Place the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the agave nectar. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the water and stir gently. Allow to proof for a few minutes until foamy.
- Add the olive oil, flours, and salt. Place the bowl on the mixer and stir with the bread hook until a dough ball forms around the hook, scraping down the sides. (Alternatively, you can stir in the flour with a wooden spoon.)
- Knead the dough ball for several minutes, either with the dough hook or by hand on a lightly floured surface.
- Once the dough ball is smooth and elastic, grease the bowl and place the dough ball in the center. Cover and allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- When the dough is ready, remove it to a floured surface and cut into three portions. Shape each portion into a round ball. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes and then proceed with your pizza recipe.
- Form each dough ball into a thin flat disk and place on a greased pizza pan or baking dish. Top with sauce and toppings and bake in a 475 degree oven for 9 to 10 minutes or until the crust is crisp and the cheese is melted.
You can freeze dough for up to 3 months, simply let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
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I want to try this, but to accommodate our pizza night I would have to make it ahead of time and freeze. Will this dough freeze well?
It would be good up to a day ahead of time, stored in the fridge, formed in the final dough balls. Place in a 9×13 pan and cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap.
Freeze it only 20 minutes into the first rise.
How would I adjust the recipe to use sugar instead of agave nectar? Is it a 1 for 1 substitution? Otherwise I have all the ingredients for a great pizza dinner tonight. Thanks
No, agave is sweeter so you can use less. Use 1/4 cup sugar and add a tablespoon of water.
This is a good time to experiment. I recently purchased some heritage Sonoran wheat berries. Next time we plan pizza night I’ll do your whole wheat recipe alongside our usual recipe and compare the two pizzas. Anytime I can sneak whole grain on hubby I consider it a win. Also agave nectar has fallen out of favor so I think I’ll substitute honey in the recipe. (That is a 1:1 substitute for anyone else asking the same question.) You’re batting 100% lately Jessica keep the advice and recipes coming.
Thanks! I’ve read that you can use half the agave, so I’d recommend using 1/4 cup honey in this recipe.
Honey is also twice as sweet as sugar by volume, so we always do the same as you did for agave. I find almost any recipe (muffins, bread etc) I can replace the sugar with half the amount of honey and it works out perfectly!
Do you mean 1/4 cup of honey? Or 1/4 of the amount of the original recipe. Since the original calls for 2T agave, are you recommending 1 1/2 t honey. Yikes, sorry; I’m confused.
Sorry. I edited my comment above and someone else has since chimed in. I use 1/4 cup honey when I make it with honey, but Kate says you should be able to use less. You don’t even have to use sweetener to make the dough work. I often don’t. But, this is how we like it best.
Thanks, I will be using honey when I fix it, since I have it and not the agave nectar.
I think I will be trying this when I get some white whole wheat flour. Have you ever tried it with regular whole wheat which is what I have right now?
Now that the seasons are changing I’m about ready to start making bread dough and do other baking.
I really like pizza and want to start making it a little more often.
Yes, it has a slightly wheatier flavor which is more noticeable, but certainly not bad.
Jessica, you are the one who introduced me to pizza screens and I cannot thank you enough! I now have 4 (two large, two individual size) and WE LOVE THEM!!
Aren’t they great?! I love them.
Can you post a video on how you shape your dough?
Yes! It’s something my husband and I are working on.
I have been trying to find a good whole wheat pizza dough recipe for YEARS! I made this last night and finally found a winner. I think the olive oil really make the difference and keeps the dough from drying out. Thank you!!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!