This fail proof whole wheat pizza dough recipe will have you creating delicious and healthy whole wheat pizza crusts in no time at all, and is an amazing 5 ingredient recipe (perfect for this weeks Five Ingredient Friday recipe).
A new year is upon us. And just as the year is new, so is my resolve to eat a little healthier. And what better way to start eating a little healthier than enjoying a favorite food like pizza?
The problem is, sometimes pizza dough can be very tricky to make and comes out a little lack-luster. So I’m going to show you how to make the best fail proof whole wheat pizza dough.
This is a dough I’ve made a bunch of times but have never just talked about the dough itself and some tips and tricks to making it amazing. So today is the day I’m going to share all my secrets for making whole wheat pizza dough.
To make whole wheat pizza dough you’re going to start by dissolving a packet of yeast in some warm water. You’ll stir it once, and then just let it sit for 5 minute until it gets all bubbly. Meanwhile in the bowl of a stand mixer you’ll mix flour and salt, and then add the yeast mixture and olive oil and mix the dough with a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients, and then knead at a low speed for 5 minutes. The dough should be sticky to touch. Remove the dough from the mixer and form into one big ball and a one small or four smaller balls and place the dough ball(s) in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for half an hour. The dough will double in size.
With this recipe you can choose how big you want your pizza to be. I’ve found that my favorite size to make is smaller-to-medium size pizzas of about 8-10 inches. With this recipe you’ll get three thin rolled 8-10 inch pizzas. Or I like making 12 inch pizzas that I roll very thin (I used this whole wheat pizza crust to make this sun dried tomato clam pizza)
After the half hour of rising time take one of the dough balls and place on a well-floured surface and roll it out. I use a rolling mini dough rolling pin, and then use my hands to stretch it into a circle. Place some corn meal on a baking sheet, and place pizza dough on the baking sheet. What you’ll do next is pinch the rim of the pizza so that it you form a little ‘lip’ or crust. The comes the step that is going to make your pizza crust extra good. You’re going to bake it (without any toppings on it) of 5 minutes. Then remove it from the oven and add some pizza sauce.
And add some desired toppings (I usually just use low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese and some Italian seasoning) and then bake for 15 minutes and then you have yourself a delicious pizza with a whole wheat crust.
The glory of making a pizza crust that is whole wheat? Because it’s pizza and pizza is an all around favorite – your family will gobble it up and get to enjoy a favorite food that is healthy!
I love using these products to make whole wheat pizza crust:
Some fun pizza topping you might enjoy on whole wheat pizza dough:
- Beer brat and caramelized onion pizza
- Sun dried tomato clam pizza
- Jalapeno enchilada pizza
- Prosciutto fig arugula flatbread
I’d love to hear for you – what is your favorite pizza topping?
Fail Proof Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 packet active dry yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups whole wheat flour plus 2 Tbs and more for rolling out the dough
- 1 Tbs cornmeal for lining the pan
Instructions
- In a small bowl pour packet of yeast and 1/4 cup warm water (I run my tap on just hot until it is really hot to touch). Stir it once, then let it rest for 5 minutes until it gets foamy at the top.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer add the 2 cups plus 2 Tbs whole wheat flour and 1 tsp salt.
- After the 5 minutes add the yeast mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer, and add 3/4 cups warm water and 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, stir it until loosely combined with a wooden spoon. Then, with the dough hook attachment set it on speed 2 and let the dough 'knead' for 5 minutes (you can knead it by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.)
- After 5 minutes of kneading, stop the mixer and form the dough into a ball (s) -I usually do 2-3 dough balls depending on what I'm making (2 12 inch very thin crusts or 3 8-inch crusts) and place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 30 minutes (it will double in size after 30 minutes).
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Now sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and on a floured surface roll out one of the dough balls or with floured hands stretch the dough into a circle, then place on the prepared baking sheet and stretch a little more, pinch the edges of pizza dough to form a crust. Next bake pizza crust (minus toppings) for 5 minutes, remove from oven, and then add toppings (sauce/cheese/toppings).
- Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until the cheese around the edges starts getting brown. Remove from oven, slice, and enjoy!
Lauren says
did not work out 🙁
Sweetphi says
Oh no, can I help troubleshoot? Where did it go wrong?
Manar says
I loved making this recipe, thank you soo much for indeed the best and simplest recipe out there for whole-wheat pizza.
I searched a lot for the best recipe and I’m glad I found yours.
It tasted DELICIOUS, my husband loved it even more than the all purpose one!
I teaked it a bit though while making, added a whole package of instant yeast. Also a few more evoo tbs in the dough to soften and risen it even more.
Added salt, onion & garlic powders & oregano while mixing the dry ingredients for a tastier dough And it was heavenly.
I’ll definitely be making it and putting it in the freezer after parbaking for a quicker meal next time.
So thank you again!
Sweetphi says
I’m so happy to hear this – thank you for coming back and leaving this feedback! Those changes you made sound really delicious, I’ll have to try adding some seasonings next time I make this!!
Lindsey says
Has anyone made this without precooking the crust? I’ve never precooked any of my homemade crusts, except cauliflower crusts. So I’m wondering how necessary this step is.
Sorry no star rating yet bc I haven’t finished cooking my pizza yet, but I will say so far it’s been a really easy pizza dough to make.
Cooks notes: I added a tiny bit of sugar to the yeast + warm water mixture bc like some other commenters mentioned, I was under the influence that yeast needed sugar to properly rise. Maybe I’ll try without sugar in the future, but it was such a small amount I doubt it really counts.
Sweetphi says
Hi there! Hope you loved this recipe. You know, I’ve made it without precooking the crust a time or two, it’s still very good, but sometimes (depending on the pan I’m using) it seems not as cooked properly in the middle (if that makes sense) as it does when it’s prebaked, but it’s still good, so it’s a personal preference.
Re: adding sugar to the yeast+water for proofing…it’s not necessary, active dry yeast will proof just fine without sugar, but it’ll go a little slower. Sugar will increase the proofing time so it doesn’t hurt 🙂
Pizzohh says
This recipe was fantastic. I just googled 100% whole wheat pizza dough and sifted through a few other options. They all wanted partial ww with AP or white ww flour. I’m shocked at how light, airy, and soft this dough was. It reminds me of some ww pita I’ve made, where it’s nice and soft. I rolled one out with a rolling pin, a simple thin crust style with pepperoni and it was very good. But it really shined on the second pizza. No rolling pin, just gently pressed and rounded with hands for a more medium hand tossed style crust. Then loaded it with veggies (peppers, onions, artichokes, mush, olives, etc) mozz and feta and this dough held it all like a champ. The parbaking allowed the crust to form and not get watery, weighed down by the toppings. This is harder to achieve with a more delicate white flour dough. But this dough was still springy, chewy, had a crispy bottom. We were just shocked while eating it! I put dough on parchment then directly onto a pizza stone. I added prob 1.5 Tbl of garlic and onion powder to the flour. I find this adds some flavor to the dough. Whole wheat on its own can be a bit bland, or bitter, or lacking flavor for some people. So this tried to hedge against that a bit. I also replaced 1.5 Tbl of water with orange juice. This seems minute but I saw this in a King Arthur ww pizza dough recipe and figured why not. It’s also supposed to help balance any bitterness coming from the 100% ww. Some people also add honey to their ww pizza dough’s. I don’t really like sweetness in a pizza dough but it can certainly be done (1-2 Tbl). Lastly I doubled the recipe and divided into thirds. I got 2 nicely sized pizzas for pizza night and then froze one dough ball after the rise. I can’t recommend this recipe enough. Thank you for posting!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so so much for the lovely feedback on this post. I loved reading about all the toppings and different ways you tried this.
DanaClark says
I do not have a mixer that can handle this, can I just mix it the conventional way?
Sweetphi says
Yes absolutely you can mix it the old fashioned way with a spoon and kneading it by hand
Woohoo says
Turned out good. I left the dough for an hour instead. I had some leftover dough so I made garlic naan from it. So good, soft and fluffy!
Sweetphi says
Oh what a wonderful idea about the naan, thanks for the feedback, glad you loved it!
Wendy says
Can this recipe be doubled?
Sweetphi says
Yes it most definitely can!
Gabrielle says
Hi! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Do you recommend sifting the flour?
Thanks!
Sweetphi says
I’ve never sifted the flour, but you could if you feel like your flour is especially lumpy 🙂
Meena Gupta says
Why my pizza is raw in the middle and dark brown at the edges, what temp. I should use and which rack?. My oven has only burner at the top , not at the bottom. Pls advice.
Thanks. I am desperate, pls reply
Sweetphi says
Hi there, the instructions list to bake at 450 and do a parbake, and then add sauce and topping and bake for an additional 15 minutes. If your heat source is at the top, I would recommend cooking on the bottom 1/3 of your oven. Hopefully everything worked out.
Jo says
Thank you for this recipe! Tried it and I love it! Easy and straightforward and I got a very nice thin crust. I baked without topping for 5min then my lamb minced and feta topping added for 7 min.
Sweetphi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for sharing your feedback – your toppings sound delicious!
Humayra Rashid says
Hi, just wondering if this can be made without a mixer, just using hands. Thanks.
Sweetphi says
Yes of course, I make it that way all the time
Sui Yee says
Hi, thanks for sharing your recipe and it looks simple. May i know what is the cornmeal for? Can i substitute with corn flour?
Sweetphi says
Hi- it’s just used so the crust doesn’t stick to the pan, you could use parchment paper or olive oil 🙂
Sui Yee says
Thank you! 🙂
a dolphin says
Foolproof for real, after misreading the recipe, and putting the yeast in one whole cup of water and then adding another 3/4 cup, and then adding more flour to be able to knead, it still turned out an awesome pizza!
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, I’m so happy to hear this!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback, I truly appreciate it, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe
joel says
how much yeast is in a packet please?
Sweetphi says
Great question – 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast is in a packet (I’ll go and edit the recipe, thank you for the suggestion!)
Joel says
Awesome thanks ,really looking forwards to trying this ?
Meira says
Always looking for a good whole wheat pizza crust so I feel better about my kids eating it for dinner…this was a winner! The dough was Soo easy to make and for the kids to work with and make themselves. And they both devoured their mini pizzas! I just tried it and it’s delicious. Thank you!
Isabel says
In the recipe you say to make 2 balls of dough – one larger and one smaller – and let it rise. “After the half hour of rising time take one of the dough balls and place on a well-floured surface and roll it out. I use a rolling mini dough rolling pin, and then use my hands to stretch it into a circle. Place some corn meal on a baking sheet, and place pizza dough on the baking sheet.”
This may be a dumb question, but are you saying to grab only one of the dough balls for immediate baking and then save the other one for another day using the freezer? Why are you making 2 different size balls? Which one are you saying needs to be rolled out? Do I need to split the larger one in half again in order to make 3 equal sized doughs that make small pizzas? I guess I’m just confused because you’ve said to make these two different sized doughs balls, but I don’t know what to do will all of the dough once it’s done rising since you say to only grab one ball and roll it out.
Thank you for your response in advance!
Sweetphi says
Hi Isabel,
So sorry for the confusion. I made one bigger pizza and one smaller pizza (that was for a weird shaped pizza I was making for a friends baby shower – I made it in the shape of an air balloon – it was adventure themed – so I did one bigger ball and one smaller ball). I kind of always kept doing that (making one bigger one and one smaller one) for some reason lol, but I can totally see how that would be confusing. This recipe makes 2 thin crust pizzas or 1 thicker crust pizza. I’ll go in and edit the recipe this week. Thanks!
Varinder says
Hi…looks yummy…Can you please tell me the amount of flour in gms
Sweetphi says
You could google a conversion calculator, sorry I do not know
Ramya says
Hi I have been looking for this recipe for a while now. Thank you. I have a quick question. can you please tell me what is the quantity of the active dry yeast packet. as where i live i get it loose. Thanks will definitely give this recipe a try.
Sweetphi says
Hi – so happy you came across this recipe! 1 packet = 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast. Hope that helps 🙂
Disa P says
Missed the part of exactly how much water.
Skipped seeing it was 1/4 cup. Obviously I don’t care to read everythinggg gosh haha
Should alert to the proportions in this statement?
To make the dough you’re going to start by dissolving a packet of yeast in some warm water. You’ll stir it once, and then just let it sit for 5 minute until it gets all bubbly.
Sweetphi says
Thanks for the comment, I’ll go and edit it to make it easier to understand 🙂
Shilpa says
My boyfriend and I are trying to cook more at home. I have a Ninja that has a dough “blade” and have been wanting to try it, so we made this whole wheat dough. Turned out delicious!! So filling too. Highly recommend this recipe.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving your feedback – so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Christopher Murray says
My chef charged me with finding and making a whole wheat pizza dough recipe for an event that no one had noticed on the contract.
I found this recipe, and multiplied it by six; turned out great. Had to add a little extra water, but that’s just how scaling works sometimes.
I grilled up one round just to get a feel for the taste and texture before they went out to the event, and everyone in the kitchen loved it.
Have bookmarked this recipe for future use.
Christopher Murray says
For anyone who’s curious, a 6x recipe yielded 25 6oz rounds. I had an industrial dough sheeter at my disposal; 6 oz balls came out to about 12in thin crust rounds. The dough is very workable, though, and at home you can hand stretch for thick crust, or use a rolling pin for thin crust.
Sweetphi says
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for sharing your feedback 🙂