Crispy, hearty and tasty, this pizza crust will take your pizza night to a whole new level. It was easy to make, and it was very filling. Plus, with my pre-baked crust method, you can easily involve the whole family in building pizzas together. If you are planning on a pizza night this weekend, you’ll have to try this!
Now I know many of people are intimidated by home-made breads and dough. But I am telling you, this is something that you can make! Home-made pizza crust is a great place to start in the realm of bread making. It doesn’t have to rise very much, so you don’t have the challenge of a fallen or dense bread like you might with loaf breads. And if you use a specific pizza-crust yeast you don’t even have to deal with waiting for it to rise part.
I am a fan of sourdough start as a yeast—it’s what I use for all my bread, rolls and pizza crusts. But I am aware that most people don’t have sour-dough start in their fridge, so I will give you this recipe with directions using pizza-crust yeast also.
The best part about homemade anything is that you have complete control over what ingredients go into it. Take a look at your store-bought bread ingredients—there is a lot of stuff in there! Homemade is simple. Yeast, flour, water, salt, a little oil, sugar is optional. And that is it!
When you start your pizza dinner with a hearty whole wheat crust, you can actually end up with a pretty nourishing meal. Once again, the toppings make all the difference here. Go easy on the cheese and pepperoni, and be generous with the veggies, and you will have a nutritious and delicious dinner.
I chose to have us make personal pizzas, so my recipe tells you to divide the dough into 5 balls. My kids LOVED making their very own, and then we didn’t have any fighting over ingredients. Plus my husband and I have different tastes regarding the quantity of cheese and pepperoni used, so that saved us from the pizza building battle. If you prefer to make larger pizzas, you can divide this recipe into 2 instead.
Meal:
(1) 7” pizza crust (personal pan size, rolled thin)
¼ cup pizza sauce
1 ½ oz mozzarella cheese (part skim, low moisture)
1 oz Polska Kielbasa sausage
6 slices pepperoni
4 grape tomatoes
2 Tbsp chopped bell pepper
1 cup of sliced cucumbers
Here is the pizza crust recipe. The 1st recipe will be using traditional yeast. The 2nd recipe will be the Sourdough version. Also, I will include some pictures to demonstrate my “Rolling Station” method.
Recipe Used in this meal:
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (Pizza-Crust Yeast)
Serving size: (1) 7” diameter crust
Servings per Recipe: 5
Ingredients
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 packet of Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast (no rise needed)
1 ½ cups warm water (120-130°F degrees)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
Directions
Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook. In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine yeast, sugar, salt and 1 cup of flour. Stir to combine.
Add the oil and warm water, and mix with dough hook on low speed until well blended.
Add 2 more cups of whole wheat flour by scooping it into the measuring cup with a large spoon. Don’t pack the flour down. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.
Continue to knead in the mixer for 5 minutes, gradually adding remaining ¼ cup of flour. The dough should pull away from the bowl and form a ball around the hook. When you touch it, it should be smooth and elastic, and hold the shape of a pinch. You may need to knead by hand for a minute at the end. (NOTE: if dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. If it’s too dry, you can add a tiny bit more water)
Pre-heat the oven to 475°. (NOTE: If using pizza stones, place them in the oven now and let them heat up. This helps create a very crispy crust).
Divide the dough into 5 balls. Create a “Rolling Station” by placing two 24” long pieces of saran wrap down on the counter. Place 1 dough ball on the saran wrap. Cover with two more pieces of saran wrap. Proceed to roll it out to the desired diameter and thinness. (NOTE: For a 7” pizza, roll out to about 9 inches so that you can make the crust)
Sprinkle pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal. Use the saran wrap to transfer pizza crust to hot pizza stone.
Peel off the top layer of plastic wrap, roll the edges of the dough to make a crust. Then replace the plastic on the top of your crust (this ensures an easy transfer with no sticking sections that might rip your crust).
Flip the crust over and peel off the bottom layer of saran wrap, and set aside.
Now lift the crust using the saran wrap and quickly flip it onto the corn-meal covered pizza stone. Peel away the saran wrap and use it for the next pizza.
Pre-bake the crust for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven. (NOTE: This also means you can pre-prep for pizza night. Bake your crusts earlier in the day and finish them as a family for a fun dinner activity)
Build you pizza with sauce, cheese and desired toppings, and return to the oven. Finish baking for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
Sour Dough Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
Serving size: (1) 7” diameter crust
Servings per Recipe: 5
Ingredients
1 cup sourdough start
1 cup water, (room temp, chlorine free*)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 ½ to 3 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
Directions
Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook. In the bowl of the stand mixer, add 1 cup of starter, 1 cup of water, oil and salt. Mix with dough hook on low speed until well blended.
Add 3 cups of whole wheat flour by scooping it into the measuring cup with a large spoon. Don’t pack the flour down. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.
Continue to knead in the mixer for 5 minutes, gradually adding remaining ¼-½ cup of flour. The dough should pull away from the bowl and form a ball around the hook. When you touch it, it should be smooth and elastic, and hold the shape of a pinch. You may need to knead by hand for a minute at the end. (NOTE: if dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. If it’s too dry, you can add a tiny bit more water)
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with saran wrap and allow to rise (minimum 3 hours in a warm place, or up to 24 hours on the counter).**
When ready to make the crusts, pre-heat the oven to 475°. (NOTE: If using pizza stones, place them in the oven now and let them heat up. This helps create a very crispy crust).
Punch down the dough. Divide into 5 balls. Create a “Rolling Station” by placing two 24” long pieces of saran wrap down on the counter. Place 1 dough ball on the saran wrap. Cover with two more pieces of saran wrap. Proceed to roll it out to the desired diameter and thinness. (NOTE: For a 7” pizza, roll out to about 9 inches so that you can make the crust)
Sprinkle pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal. Use the saran wrap to transfer pizza crust to hot pizza stone.
Peel off the top layer of plastic wrap, roll the edges of the dough to make a crust. Then replace the plastic on the top of your crust (this ensures an easy transfer with no sticking sections that might rip your crust).
Flip the crust over and peel off the bottom layer of saran wrap, and set aside.
Now lift the crust using the saran wrap and quickly flip it onto the corn-meal covered pizza stone. Peel away the saran wrap and use it for the next pizza.
Pre-bake the crust for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven. (NOTE: This also means you can pre-prep for pizza night. Bake your crusts earlier in the day and finish them as a family for a fun dinner activity)
Build you pizza with sauce, cheese and desired toppings, and return to the oven. Finish baking for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
*Chlorine-free water is important because the chlorine will kill the sourdough yeast. You can either use a pitcher filter which removes chlorine or leave tap water in a pitcher on the counter for 12 hours before using it. The chlorine will evaporate out.
**Sourdough starter yeast is a slow rising yeast. You can let it raise for up to 24 hours before baking it. I typically like to make this dough the night before.
Above is the set up for the dough "Rolling Station". This is mess free and so easy! You will want to use this method any time you are rolling out dough (pie crusts, sugar cookies, etc.)
Below is a picture to demonstrate how to peel up the plastic and roll the edges for your crust.
Nutrition Facts Label for Entire Meal:
Nutrition Facts Label for Whole Wheat Crust:
