Whole Wheat Pizza: A simple and wholesome recipe

Whole Wheat Pizza, yes you heard me right. Pizza it is.

I am going to share a tried and tested whole wheat pizza recipe today because almost all of us love pizza but the maida base becomes a culprit.

Let me start from the beginning.

My younger brother was craving pizza for over a week and I somehow managed to distract him every single day. Until one fine morning when I decided to let him indulge.

Earlier that week I picked up good quality whole wheat grains. Washed them thoroughly and dried them properly for over 3-4 days. Post which I ground them to flour.

But hey, you don’t need to go through all of this elaborate procedure. Just get yourself some freshly ground whole wheat flour and not the packed branded atta. Most branded atta fail to give the desired result of good bread unless it is specifically made for the purpose of baking.

Back to my story, So with my whole wheat flour was ready and with all the ingredients in my fridge I landed up using just those to make our whole wheat pizza.

Whole Wheat Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

• For the pizza base

Whole wheat flour- 2 cups

Dry Yeast- 2 tsp

Sugar-1tbsp

Salt-pinch

Oil-1 tbsp

Water-3/4 to 1 cup

• For the base sauce:

Tomatoes-4 medium, blanched, and finely chopped

Oregano-1/2 tsp

Garlic-5-6cloves

Black pepper-1/2 tsp

Salt

Oil-1tbsp

• Toppings:

Capsicum-2

Baby corn-3

Mushroom-6-8pcs, sautéed

Cheese

You can indulge in other toppings like shredded chicken, egg, spinach, yellow corn, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.

Procedure

For the pizza base

• Take water in a bowl and warm it up slightly. (* Note- The water needs to be warm, not hot)
• Add in the sugar and let it dissolve. Then add in the yeast. Leave it aside for 10-15 mins till it froths up. (* If the frothing doesn’t happen to discard the yeast)
• In a large vessel take the whole wheat flour and add in the salt, oil, and herbs *if you like.
• Finally, add in the frothed yeast and mix the flour with a spatula.
• Gradually add in the water and start mixing the dough. Knead it, till it is soft and pliable.
• Cover it with a damp muslin and leave it aside for about 2 hours till it doubles in size.

For the pizza base sauce:

• Heat oil in a wok. Add in the garlic and let it turn translucent.
• Then add in the finely chopped blanched tomatoes and leave them to cook.
• Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and oregano and adjust it as per personal taste.
• Let the sauce simmer a bit and then leave it aside to cool.

Making the pizza Base:

• Take the pizza dough and knead it gently. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Leave it again for 15-30 mins.
• Oil the oven tray. Place one of the dough balls on it and gently press the dough to spread it evenly. *I like my pizza to be thin crust so I make it slightly thinner and then brush some oil on it.

Baking the pizza:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 c for 15 mins.
• Pour some pizza base sauce on the pizza base and spread it evenly.

• Place the topping as you like on the pizza. Sprinkle some cheese * if you like.
• Set it for baking for 20 mins on bake mode.
• Once the base is cooked and the top has browned. Take it out.
• Similarly, make the rest of the 3 pizzas and enjoy them with friends and family.

Note: To make the pizza protein-rich, top it with some grilled chicken or paneer, or tofu along with the vegetables.

While we all enjoy pizza. It is easy to go overboard with it and one foolproof way to avoid it is to load the pizza base with loads of vegetables, good protein, and less cheese. Happy eating